Skip to main content

Miscellany and a Holler

I'm resisting the urge to write about the Presidential race today. That's not really my department. I will say that I am open to reading why people love their candidate, and the qualities and qualifications that make that person the best. I am oh, so everlastingly tired of nasty smear articles about the candidates they don't like. These will convince no one and do nothing but spread ill will. Can we agree that we don't need any more ill will?

There. I'm done venting.

The school system appears to have started some kind of initiative against irresponsible use of social media, which is kind of hilarious if you really think about it. I'll have more to say about that later in the week.

Early voting continues through Thursday in Howard County. Vote! Tell your friends, neighbors, and coworkers that everyone, even unaffiliated voters, can participate in the Board of Education election. If you have already voted--thank you. I'm putting you in charge of motivating someone else.

County Executive Kittleman has put money in the next budget for a new snow-plow tracker. Something in the order of 1.2 million. It's hard to think about that when yesterday was reaching up towards 80, but--what do you think? Do we need one? I think that, if it works, it's nifty thing to have when you're snowed in and trying to assess your options.

Finally, my husband, Richard McCready, has written a book on creating your own music with music technology. It arrived from Amazon yesterday. We're pretty jazzed about it. I've written before about his commitment to reaching out to "the other 80 per cent" of kids who aren't involved in music by the time they reach high school. Music technology is an appealing and successful way to engage students who might think there's no place in music for them.

A special HoCo Holler to him and to all the Howard County teachers who go the extra mile and find a way to do the best for their students.

 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Teacher Gifts

Today is the last day of school before the Winter Break. It’s a good time to remember the far-reaching nature of our public school system. You may not have children. You may have sent your children to independent schools. It matters not. You will be impacted one way or another. Yesterday I read a long thread on Facebook about several waves of illness in the schools right now. There’s influenza A and norovirus, I believe. And of course there’s COVID. Apparently in some individual schools the rate of illness is high enough for school admin to notify parents.  When I was little the acceptable holiday gift for a teacher was one of those lovely floral handkerchief squares. (I don’t know what it was for male teachers. They were rare in my elementary years.) These days the range of teacher gifts is wider and I have fond memories of Target gift cards which I have written about before. I think it’s safe to say that giving one’s teacher Influenza, norovirus, or COVID is not the ideal holiday...

They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday.  Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was  "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018.  2018 .  But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest.  In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...

Columbia Chance Connection

  Last night, as my husband and I were about to sit down to dinner, our front door swung open and a cheery voice announced, “I’m ba—ack!”  We weren’t expecting anyone. Clearly the only people who’d walk right in to our house would be one of our offspring. I had my reading glasses on so I wasn’t seeing too clearly. It seemed too tall for our youngest, but we knew our eldest was at work. I took off my glasses to see a friendly but confused face scanning our living room. When her gaze landed on us we all had a sudden realization. We didn’t know eachother. “Oh I’m so sorry! I’m in the wrong house! My daughter just moved in and she needed hooks for the kitchen so I ran out to get them.” She waved the package. “All these houses look the same and I don’t know the neighborhood yet. I thought this was my daughter’s house.” We were all getting a bit giggly. “That’s okay. For a quick second we thought you were our daughter,” said my husband. I told her our names and said she should defin...