Village Green/Town²

Facebook has the nifty little feature that tells you each day if you have "memories" from that particular day. I find it both fun and informative to take a look back. I can see what life events I was going through, my commentary on local happenings, and hints at the evolution of my daughter's childhood. Many themes that run throughout my posts remain the same today: family life, my teaching, the local blogging scene, my village of Oakland Mills, Columbia "politics", Howard County government, education and the antics of our Board of Education. Suddenly I had an idea. Perhaps more like an idea for a piece of premise fiction--what if Facebook woke you each morning with posts from your future? One year from today-- Two years from today-- Three years from today-- Weird, eh? What if Facebook could analyze all of your information and somehow send you the opposite of memories: news of the happenings that haven't happened yet? If the old French express...

If the Fourth of July happens and there are no elections coming, will anyone be there to notice? Yes, I know, Independence Day is about our great nation and something bigger than local elections. But, holy mackerel, the last election put a lot of pressure on all those local parades and picnics. Whatever will they look like without scads of electeds and wannabes and supporters in matching t-shirts? What will the people who turn out be celebrating? I was raised to believe that the freedom we have in the United States is the freedom which allows many kinds of people, many kinds of ideas, many kinds of religion. In fact, if I was raised with any notion of American exceptionalism it was this: that we were a great experiment in the world, allowing such a beautiful variety of citizens. Conversely, it was clear that when our country did not provide equal freedoms for all that we had failed. So, for me, the events of this week have been an affirmation of that great experiment. Although we ...

Yesterday the story of Bree Newsome's climb up a flag pole to take down the Confederate flag in South Carolina was national news. But here in Howard County, and especially in Columbia, came the realization that she was one of ours: a graduate of Oakland Mills High School. Reporters from the Sun got to work and started pulling out her local roots. This sto ry in their archives dates from her middle school years, when she was composing music for the Owen Brown Middle School Band. And here's the article about when she won a scholarship from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in 2003. Reporters found this parody video from the 2012 election, as well. The sum of their work yesterday can be found in this piece , "Bree Newsome, who removed Confederate flag, known as principled leader." As you read the stories you begin to get a picture of where Ms. Newsome comes from, how she got from a student in Columbia, Maryland to the top of a flagpole in Columbi...

So what was happening yesterday at that mythical place where Columbia and Howard County intersect? Some folks still complaining about Merriweather County Exec offers then withdraws loan idea for rehabbing older homes Friday night means movie night at the Lakefront Fresh produce stand reappears at Kendall Hardware Colonel Gateway is having a poetry contest Folks party at UUCC from 7-9 It's the last one that intrigues me--a local event tied to news of national import. While our lives are immersed in the very local day-to-day, sometimes something bigger reaches right down into our neighborhoods. That was yesterday . For a while on Friday, all our hyperlocal cares slowed down a little bit as we took in the news from the Supreme Court. Okay, maybe a lot. My day pretty much stopped for this, but I am on vacation. And my social media feed is pretty well trimmed at this point as I witnessed no outrage or complaints. I did, however, see a woman post her joy along with a fearful a...

When I was in the third grade we had an election each month for class president. I don't really recall what duties the office entailed, just that it was a big deal. These elections always came down to the boys versus the girls somehow. And the boys always won. And then one day the teacher sent the boys out to recess and met with the girls privately to give us a valuable piece of information. The boys always pick just one candidate and the they all vote as a block. You all often have several candidates, so your vote is split. But there are actually more girls than boys in the class. If you united behind one candidate-- Aha! The lightbulb went off. Of course it was still difficult for us to negotiate the pickup of one candidate. We weren't used to doing it that way. So we agreed that we would all take turns. Of course it was really about popularity, power, and the pecking order. And so the year ran out before it ever got to be "my turn." But it was a valuable lesson. I...

Yesterday we received my daughter's final middle school report card. And some other kid's test scores. Yes, everyone makes mistakes. These envelopes are all hand-stuffed by real human beings and the turn-around time is short. I get it. It's just the crowning touch on a year when my daughter (and our family) has felt less than valued by the school. Of course, we care less than two hoots about the majority of standardized tests that kids are forced to take throughout the school year. We glance at the numbers, right before we throw them out. But it would be nice if they were actually her numbers. After all, data about some other child is technically personal and should be protected by some measure of confidentiality. Oh, yeah, and data about our child, too. Imagine that. I wonder who got her scores? From the NWEA (creators of the MAP) website: Measures of Academic Progress® (MAP®) creates a personalized assessment experience by adapting to each student’s learning level—...

Bumped into an old friend in an unexpected place on Monday.   You may recognize her as one of Ginger Bread Girl's many friends and relations from Clark's Elioak Farm -- originally from the Enchanted Forest. I was quite surprised to see her at the Inn at Norwood in Sykesville, but I guess everyone needs a little getaway now and then.   Speaking of things I wasn't expecting, the terrible news of Governor Hogan's cancer diagnosis comes to mind. I was both gratified and confused to see Democrats stepping forward on social media with good wishes for recovery. Yes, wishing someone who is gravely ill the very best in care and healing is the right thing to do. But it also feels weird to see some of the Governor's most outspoken opponents in such a hurry to say something nice.   Tom Coale's post on HoCoRising addresses this well, I think. In "The First Human Governor" he states:   In an instant, Governor Hogan went from a man of policy, slogans, ...