Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon & City Health Commissioner Dr. Joshua Sharfstein

{Thanks, Baltimore Sun}

When she took office at the start of her first term Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon said she wanted to work to make Baltimore a cleaner, greener, and safer city. Could her plan be having a few hiccups?

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Schaefer and unidentified mermaid mark the opening of the National Aquarium{AP photo}

Former Governor William Donald Schaefer celebrated his 87th birthday last Sunday.  For newer Baltimoreans, Schaefer may not be more than a name on a city plaque, a portrait in Annapolis, or a whisper of antics past.  But for anyone who’s called Baltimore home over the last few decades, they’ve had the opportunity to witness the most memorable character in state politics in his natural habitat: the spotlight.

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Obama’s Victory {ABC News}

So what happens next? That’s the question people are asking in terms of what President-elect Barack Obama will do as he prepares to head to the White House as the next leader of this nation. The world is watching for any early signs of how the soon to be President, his Vice President Joe Biden and other members of his team, will help him to govern. From who he selects for various White House appointments to policy decisions every move is certain to be heavily scrutinized. It’s not just because of his place in history as the first African-American president, but because of his promise. His promise and potential as a leader, and his promise to America to bring about change. Of course I’m curious to see how things will go in Washington, but also up 95 here in Baltimore. So, I’m asking what happens next in terms of slots and early voting? Read the rest of this entry »

JHU Post- Election Night Rally

JHU Post-Election Night Rally

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JROTC class at Forest Park High School {thanks, The Baltimore Sun}

Step 5: Send in the military.

I saved this step for last because, honestly, it’s my wild card. It’s a solution that may not be very popular. However, if it were ever implemented in earnest, it could very well be the most effective cure for our ailing schools.

While teaching at Douglass, I regularly found myself escaping to the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) wing of the building during my planning periods. Quiet, clean and empty, its hallways were an alternate universe patrolled by retired military folks in impeccably starched uniforms and crisp fatigues. Quite different from the general population of the school where anonymous packs of feral kids roamed the hallways while classes were in session. Read the rest of this entry »

Voting Machine

“Be prepared or be prepared to fail.”

Those are words I try to live by.

It’s not that I have a political agenda, I’m young and frankly still trying to figure out my political philosophy. Like everyone else though I’m bombarded by the political talk in the local and national newspapers, on T.V., on the radio, and of course here on the web. Read the rest of this entry »

Student volunteers gather in Patterson Park {Baltimore Sun photo}

Step 4: Build social responsibility into the curriculum.

My suggestions for repairing a broken school system have been relatively hard line.  Some readers have called them overly conservative.  Others have seen them as cruel and mechanical.  I imagine all apply to some degree.  There’s rarely a lasting fix that skews one way or another.  It’s more an amalgamation of perspectives.  And that’s why Steps 4 and 5 of my plan are going to confuse some folks.   They’re going to seem like contradictions of thought. In some ways, I suppose they are.  But contradictions can exist in our world.  There are evil people who do beneficent things.  There are good people who perpetrate heinous deeds.

Now, humor me for a few hundred words. I’m about to paint the Volkswagen bus, gun the bio-diesel engine, and roll down the Hippie Highway at 85 liberal miles per hour on this next step.  This is about as far left as I lean on education.  Before I tip over, anyway. Read the rest of this entry »

Teacher of the Year Thomas Acampora {Baltimore Sun photo}

Step 3: Treat teachers like professionals.

In recent years, the public has gotten the equivalent of a backstage pass into Baltimore schools.  Mainstream media - thanks in large part to HBO’s “The Wire” and the documentary “Hard Times at Douglass High” - has provided the public with a raw and sadly accurate depiction of what insiders have known for a long time. Baltimore classrooms are hurting.
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