Local Excitement

It’s a snow day! Who’s excited?

Teachers are excited because the snow buys them a one-day reprieve from returning to a COVID-infused work environment. Parents who share their concerns are feeling a similar sense of relief. I am assuming that kids are excited but I don’t have any on the record here to respond to this topical story.

If you have access to any real-live children, may I strongly suggest that you encourage them to play. If you feel a temptation to join them: don’t hesitate!

The school system called the snow day in record time last evening, putting the kibosh on one of my favorite Twitter traditions: the begging, wheedling, and unbelievably weird warnings from high school students about significant weather events. To be perfectly honest, teens aren’t on Twitter much anyway these days. But when it comes to possible days off they can usually be counted upon to make an effort.

Who else is excited?

The Columbia Association is excited. They were up bright and early to let us now they’re ready for anything.

Whatever weather comes our way, we are ready for it!

CA has a fleet of:

➡️10 trucks

➡️20 smaller pieces of equipment

➡️Countless shovels and snowblowers

Read more about our preparations for any winter precipitation: https://bit.ly/3qBPyB8

The Howard County System is excited, because even though Library buildings are closed, they’ve got us covered through their website.

I’m listening to Requiem for a Mezzo on Overdrive at the moment, working my way through the Daisy Dalyrimple mystery series.

It’s a snow day! Who’s excited?

Me. I’m going to enjoy having one more day with my family, listen to the rest of that episode of Elevate Maryland, and, in all likelihood, I’m going to bake cookies.

Are you excited?

Comments

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...

Separate and Unequal

Remember “Separate but equal”? Remember how that really meant that Black schools languished in broken-down buildings without adequate heat or toilet facilities, with cast-off, ragged learning materials, underfunded and largely ignored? The Supreme Court struck that down in 1954. The evidence was clear that separate was not equal. Plessy v Ferguson had led to - - no, endorsed - - deeply unequal schooling and opportunities. We tend to think of Brown v Board as being purely about racial integration. It was not. It was about the logical consequences of segregation. And they were not, not, not equal. The ruling in 1954 didn’t transform public education for non-whites into a land of milk and honey by any means. But it articulated some essential truths in a way that made including everyone a legal precedent which could be relied upon and built upon. It was better than what came before it but it rested upon unsteady ground. It did not necessarily change the hearts or minds ...

Village Green/Town²

Search This Blog