Village Green/Town²

Every teacher has a story like it. A student turns in a paper appallingly late, but then checks back in less than twenty-four hours to find out why the grade hasn’t been posted yet. Or a high school senior has requested a college recommendation at the eleventh hour but comes around almost immediately to check if it has been sent. For those, and others like them, the following statement is particularly relevant. Not to be outdone by the Governor’s eleventh hour press conference on the reopening of schools, the State Superintendent of Schools Dr. Karen Salmon stepped up to turn in an appallingly late plan on distance learning. This last-minute move would essentially force schools to rip up the plans they have put in place. Teachers have been working throughout the summer on the best ways to implement distance learning. School systems have been devising their overall plans and have submitted them to the state by the agreed upon deadline. In some counties students will start tod...

Ten years ago I attended a Beer and Pizza summit hosted by Candace Dodson Reed. Its purpose was to talk about issues of race in Columbia/HoCo. Despite the fact that Ms. Dodson Reed had experienced substantial pushback from some in the community who didn’t think she should be holding it, the event was well attended. For me it was the beginning of putting my sheltered liberal white woman self out there and realizing how incredibly ignorant I was. Today, ten years on, I’m mortified by how much I didn’t know on that day. To be honest, much of it has been learned in the last several years. A sampling: The History of Redlining and how it perpetuates a wealth gap to this day How SRO’s contribute to the school to prison pipeline  What Microaggressions are and how/why they cause harm How Black and Brown people are policed differently than whites How the health care system often provide substandard care for Black and Brown patients  That is just some of what I have learned....

I was going to write about Governor Hogan’s press event on Thursday but, frankly, the Baltimore Sun editorial board did it better. Read it here . The most important words to me are these: Instead of complaining about local districts, the governor should be reaching out to them, listening and learning about their individual challenges, taking actions to help their circumstances. This is leadership. Listening and collaboration have been in short supply during Hogan’s years in office. Perhaps he sees them as signs of weakness. He appears to prefer a top-down approach where the most important thing is to be seen making pronouncements from a podium: one man in the spotlight. That may be powerful symbolism but, as the Sun editorial board points out, it’s not leadership. After what I thought was a strong start in addressing the pandemic, the Governor didn’t engage in the kind of collaborative follow-up with local jurisdictions that was necessary.  Perhaps he was too busy with ...

How well do you know your co-workers? Think for a minute. Who would be most likely to front you lunch money if you forgot your lunch? Who’s most likely to be late without a good excuse? Who is the best person to work on a team project with? Who is lamentably all talk and no action? Who always takes the time to ask about your family? Who is most likely to wangle six figures out of management? Yes, I’ve been thinking about Governor Hogan and his pick for Chief of Staff, Roy McGrath. I started to say “ill-fated” pick but that sounds like something bad happened to him. In truth, McGrath brought this upon himself. What is foremost in my mind is how well one would need to know a job applicant to have a sense of whether they were likely to use other people’s money as their own.  Thanks to dogged and clear-headed reporting by Pamela Wood of the Baltimore Sun, we know: McGrath used the transition from his job with the Maryland Environmental Service as an opportunity to fund...

In the “big on style, but short on substance” department comes Kimberly Klacik, candidate for Congress in Maryland’s 7th District. Her much-hyped campaign video makes this abundantly clear. Overflowing with the same old tropes that excite Republicans without showing any understanding of Baltimore’s underlying problems, the two minute video served as a springboard to an appearance at the Republican National Convention. While Ms. Klacik appears to be speaking to Black citizens of Baltimore, encouraging them to walk away from the Democratic Party, it seems pretty clear to me that hers is a message tailor-made for affluent whites in the other part of District 7. Hardly a month goes by when I don’t cringe at a letter in the Sun from someone in Howard County opining on what’s wrong with Baltimore and how to fix it. All of this serves as a prelude to what irks me the most about Klacik’s campaign video. Her shoes. (Still photo from Klacik campaign video.) These are not the shoes...

Today, from 2 to 3 pm: a virtual walk-through of the Maker Space at Freetown Farm. To register for the Maker Space Kick-Off, use this link. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeJhGvcEPst8PfugKwGxlGcgh4_XFHggPgBbG-E0rAA1x125A/viewform From the event page: I learned more about the whole Maker movement when I attended the mini Maker Faires at the Chrysalis in Merriweather Park at Symphony Woods. There’s a slide show of things I saw in this post from last year. One of the things I loved was how welcoming and open-ended the concept was. Anyone from any stage of life could participate. There was no bar set for educational or experience  level. If you had ideas, if you loved to tinker - - this was the place for you. Readers of this blog know what an outspoken advocate I am for inquiry-based, hands-on, multi-sensory learning in early childhood. The truth is, it’s good for everybody. Our educational system has long honored paper and pencil achievement over all else. I ...

I woke up out of extemely vivid nightmares this morning. Even two cups of coffee haven’t entirely ameliorated the experience. Putting that aside, I’ve been thinking about the divide in our culture right now in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic. Some attribute it all to one’s political leanings. Others point to educational levels or intelligence. And yet others say it depends on whether people have had a first-hand, personal experience with the illness. Some will not believe what they have not seen. Here’s another theory: The thing that has most profoundly influenced me is my memories of my parents describing life during the Great Depression and World War II. I grew up hearing stories of a national forced to go through difficult times and enduring, pulling together, working for a common good. I didn’t think that I would ever have to live through such a time. But I absolutely believed that caring for others and perservering during hard times were core values, not just my pa...

I’m running late this morning because I stayed up past my bedtime watching a livestream on my iPad. You know how it is. A footnote to last week’s post from local beekeeper Nikki Schmidt: Later on in the week I was the fortunate recipient of a jar of her honey. I wasted no time in preparing my HoCoLocal honey-tasting experience. First, a taste of the honey by itself. The mouth-feel is indescribable. The best word I can think of is sexy. The flavor is light, and so much better than any honey I have every tasted. Local, hand-curated honey is an entirely different animal than what you get at the supermarket. Next up: whole grain toast with butter and honey. Perfection. What a delight. If I am careful I’ll be able to make this little jar last well into the winter, when tea and toast are the perfect antidote to darkness and chill. I’ve read that local honey also has many healthful properties. There are so many good reasons to support local beekeepers. They are all over...

Maryland State Delegate Courtney Watson is on a mission: to make sure residents know they need to request a ballot to vote by mail this November. While Governor Hogan mailed out ballots to everyone for the Primary, he’s decided you need to request them for the General election. A lot of folks don’t understand the change. Delegate Watson has been reaching out by phone to make sure voters know what to do. She posted this account of one such phone call and I asked her if I could share it here. It reads like a blog post. A very good blogpost.  It tells an important story. Someone's Grandmother A dedicated group of 22 volunteers and I are in the process of calling voters in my district.  If they are not home, we leave a detailed message about how to order a mail-in ballot.  Today, one called me back. Not using her real name, I'll call her "Someone's Grandmother".  She called me upset that she couldn't figure out the web page to order the ballot.  A spry 8...

The past twenty-four hours have caused me to think a lot about what people say online. How often do we become outraged at shared screenshots, yet still pass on those scandalous tidbits, or use ‘inside’ knowledge to make ourselves look good, or to make a joke at someone else’s expense?  I had more than a moment of profound embarrassment when I came across the following post on Facebook from someone I do not know. (I have removed any identifying information because names aren’t the reason I’m sharing this.) I got told off again by somebody who I respect about the ********** / Julia McCready fight in Howard County. The person really behind the fight, the one who started the whole thing was *************/ who is feeding tweets from ********* over to Julie McCready to get her cranked up. Apparently ********* use her as a sock puppet. But I was cautioned don't stick up for ***********. He's supposed to be a bad guy. he was described as being mean and rude to both men and...

I didn’t grow up here. I come from a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio called Cleveland Heights. We moved to Connecticut in 1972. (I came to Columbia in 1999.) I came across this photo and the text explaining it in a Facebook group about growing up in Cleveland Heights. It tells of a history I knew absolutely nothing about. I am sharing it here because I think it is relevant to our own struggles with race in Columbia/HoCo. I’ll talk more about that tomorrow. Words of original poster: Taylor Rd Elementary school kids in an ad that ran in the 'Sun Press' Sept.1971. It touted the school as having kids from different backgrounds and the copy says, "We know that Taylor is the kind of melting pot some people just aren't looking for. But if you're inclined and want something else, something more, give us a call." My brother and I are in this ad. Anyone else in FB land recognize anyone?  Response: I was at Taylor at this time (1968 to 1975) and my sister is i...

One night, a long time ago, I was printing, slicing, and taping name labels to each of my daughter’s crayons. And pencils. And markers. Today I opened a bin of random stuff and saw her old pencil box, from 2009, I think. Inside were almost all of what I had put in, unused, save for the markers and a few pencils. I don’t really have an explanation for this. What I do know is that I packed it all away because “it was perfectly good” and “maybe someone would need it.” This afternoon I sat with a wastebasket and carefully removed the name from each pencil and crayon. I cleaned off the pencil box. Added a pair of school scissors. I’m finally going to see if I can find someone who can use them. Something about the repetitive motion of removing each label, so carefully applied - - to no purpose - - made me think about how we do so many things over and over again in Columbia. Sometimes the names are the same, and sometimes they change, and the ages of the players shift. But the arguments are s...

Yesterday this announcement from Howard County resident Lynn Scott caught my eye:  Hi HoCo Families! Have you seen the Little Free Libraries around? Another Howard County resident/friend and I are on a mission to grow and diversify those libraries through an initiative that is taking off nation-wide called Little Free Diverse Libraries. You can read more about the woman who inspired it all here: Why Sharing Diverse Books in Little Free Libraries Matters Our goal is to add diverse books to the existing Little Free Libraries around Howard County in order to reflect the diversity in our community. You can help! —Follow us on Instagram (@littlefreediverselibraryhoco). We'll post as we receive books and deliver them throughout the county. —Donate a book! Use this link . Books will be shipped directly to us and we'll deliver to the libraries. —Let us know about the Little Free Libraries near your house! Feel free to also share diverse books you love and we'll add them to the list...

  Today is National  Honey  Bee Day . According to its founders,  this is  “a day  when beekeepers, beekeeping clubs and associations, and honey bee enthusiasts from across the United States celebrate honey bees and recognize their contribution to humans' everyday lives as a means of protecting this critical species. National Honey Bee Day also pays homage to beekeepers, whose labors ensure … well-managed ,  healthy bees …” Why are you reading about honey bees in  Julia Jackson McCready’s blog?  Beekeepers are all around you . W e’re part of your village , part of the fabric of community that Julia works to weave.  Howard County has a thriving backyard beekeeping population, with over a hundred people taking classes from the Howard County Beekeepers Association every year.  Maryland has over 14,000 registered beehives and many of them are in places you drive past every day. Places like the Robinson Nature Center, the Howard County C...

  Last night I attended (via Zoom) the Police-Free Schools Teach-In hosted by the Anti-Racist Education Alliance. I was there as an ordinary citizen, not as a blogger, so I didn’t take notes. That was probably a mistake, because now I want to write about the experience and I have nothing but recollection to rely on.  The presentation was so well-researched that I think it should be required for all employees of the Howard County School System. Parents, too.  If we are going to take a deeper look at whether we want to have police in our schools we need to be informed about how they got there in the first place and what the results have been. If the mission of schools is to support students, then this is ‘homework’ that is long overdue. Here are a few thoughts that I am mulling over today. Putting police in schools didn’t start until the 1950’s. But, once the door was open, it became more and more an accepted practice. Interestingly enough, communities continue to find mone...

  I live in a community of quadroplexes. One of the things our HOA fees cover is lawn mowing. Every so often in the spring and summer, the sound of mowers and weed-whackers is heard throughout the neighborhood. They use mowers for the large common areas, and the weed-whackers for the tiny, awkwardly shaped yards that most of us have. I came out this week to discover they had mowed my front flower bed.  Well, more like “weed-whacked” it. Even though it is surrounded by a border of red bricks. I guessed they missed that. It was probably easy to miss because I haven’t done anything with the front bed this summer. It seemed irresponsible to send my husband out to buy mulch during a quarantine. So, every so often, I go out and pull up all the weeds and it looks tidy. For a while.  A few weeks ago a lovely purple flower came up in the middle of the untidy mayhem. I am guessing it came from a plant in year’s past, something my daughter and I bought at the Oakland Mills Farmers M...

I received some interesting feedback on yesterday’s post about cell phone use during board of education meetings. One respondent pointed out that it isn’t merely cell phones that pose a problem; any computer use has similar potential for members to post to social media and also to use private messaging. They suggested the creation of a code of conduct rather than an outright ban. Another reader suggested that disallowing cell phones during meetings would be a barrier to members who are parents of young children. The ability for a child to reach out with a homework question or something that was troubling them (not just emergencies) is a part of our current world in a way that it didn’t used to be. Things have changed and parents need to be immediately reachable, they felt. I absolutely see that point of view although I don’t know if I agree. I also don’t have young children anymore so perhaps I am not the best judge of that. I will share a story from my own personal experience that cam...