Stand up . . . with yard sign?

It’s Labor Day. Start of the big push for Nov elections. I’m joining others putting yard signs up for Courtney Watson https://www.facebook.com/CourtneyWatsonHoCo/ Many folks are showing their support for CW with a yard sign. Some folks though are reticent, even though they strongly support CW. They say they want to be polite and not rile their neighbors. I get it and respect that. Been there myself. I am just asking those who feel that way to think about it some more. At certain junctures in our nation’s history, it’s been necessary for folks to stand up and boldly say, “This is where I stand.” In the 1800 election, it was over the Alien Sedition Acts. In 1860, it was about the spread of slavery into new territories. In 1864, it was about giving a mandate to Abe Lincoln to finish the dreadful Civil War without caving in to the many cries to negotiate with the Confederates. In 1968, it was about Civil Rights and the Vietnam War. In 2008, it was about grassroots “hope” and further breaking racial barriers. I know, this is not a presidential year. But you listen to the news these days . . . Hmmm, I submit it’s time to stand up. Does a sign really matter? Well, I grew up in a New England-ish fundamentalist household. My Dad had a plaque near the hallway door that quoted Old Testament scripture: “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” I personally have philosophically moved away from that emphatic approach to religion, but I learned to respect my Dad’s willingness to stand up for what he thought, in his own quiet way (and at times not so quiet - but that’s another story😉) Yep. I personally believe we are at one of those times when if you feel strongly about what’s going on in our country, it’s time to say out loud where you stand. If you live in Maryland District 9B and support Courtney Watson, and haven’t taken a yard sign, please consider it further. Please feel free to contact me directly here via dcryan7@gmail.com or at 301-717-3747 if you start feeling inclined to make a pubic statement about where you stand. And if you live elsewhere, select a like-minded candidate . . . and please, stand up. This time, there is just too much at stake.

Love of Reading vs. Smartphones

I am always wary of criticizing the next generation. Every generation has thought the world would come to ruin because of the lack of some great trait in the youngsters. History has shown that usually it works out ok.

But with that said, I am still quite alarmed by what I see as a substitute teacher in today's public schools -- (I have subbed off-and-on over the past three years, mainly in Spanish since I know the language, but I also sometimes sub for other subjects as well, like English and Soc Studies) -- the lack of desire, in general, to read, and the out-of-control use of smartphones.

Yes, I do believe the smartphone situation is currently completely out-of-control, and that there needs to be a "re-think" and "re-boot" regarding school policies on how to balance the educational benefits the devices can offer, while candidly addressing the negative impact they are having in the classroom.

Granted, I am only a sub, but one advantage I have over staff personnel is that I see a large cross-section of schools and students within a relatively short period of time. (I have taught in every high school within our district -- several times over). And this article in the Washington Post now provides research data that I believe gives some validation to my concerns:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/…/for-american-teens-texti…/…
More and more I am convinced that the best way to address societal ills is to instill in our students at an early age the love of reading and to nurture that all throughout their school years. The benefits from that simple, low-cost effort could be so profound in so many ways.

Morbid historical irony from the Annapolis Capital Gazette shooting -- Will it move us to act?

I have been so saddened by what happened in Annapolis, MD on Thursday.

Yes, this time it hit very close to home.

My parents subscribed to the Capital Gazette paper for years while they lived in Davidsonville, an area just west of Annapolis.

I find it particularly poignant that this particular newspaper is a direct descendant of the colonial Maryland Gazette, a paper whose history included actively opposing the Stamp Act -- the hated tax imposed by the English parliament on the American colonies in 1765 -- one of a series of acts that led to the American Revolution.

Annapolis as a town played a large role in colonial America. There was no Washington, DC until 1790, so Annapolis served both as a prominent seaport and crossroads for the thirteen colonies.

Almost every prominent colonial citizen passed through Annapolis in his/her travels up and down the Atlantic seaboard. They usually stayed at least overnight, and their diaries are replete of the scrumptious Chesapeake Bay seafood fare they ate within the town's taverns.

Annapolis actually served as the nation's capital from 1783-1784. George Washington gave his famous "farewell" resignation from the Army there during that period.

And yes, let's not forget the city's role in a stained side of our history. As we saw in the TV mini-series, "Roots," Annapolis was a major port of entry for the slave trade.

After our country won independence in 1783, Annapolis also played a role in the evolution of our country's self-governance, as we transitioned from The Articles of Confederation to The Constitution we have today. 

In 1786, one year before the Constitutional Convention met in Philadelphia to debate and establish our present governing foundational document, a call went out for delegates from the colonies to meet in Annapolis. Known today as, "The Annapolis Convention,"  the gathering was an attempt by a number of the leading colonies to discuss and explore ways to address the ineffectiveness of the The Articles of Confederation in regulating commerce. While in the end not much of anything decisive came out of the convention, just holding it gave voice to the growing sentiment within our nascent country that some form of a stronger national central government was indeed needed.

So yes, it can be said that Annapolis and its newspaper played at least a strong supporting role in the forming of our Constitution.

Now with all that history, I find it morbidly ironic after Thursday's shooting how the perversion (at least to my mind) of the original intent of the 2nd amendment by a few powerful forces, now appears to have allowed an attack on one aspect of the 1st amendment -- that of freedom of the press.

I personally envision the Founding Fathers, (again, most of whom knew Annapolis well through their travels) standing around the sidewalks of Annapolis reacting to Thursday's news shaking their heads saying, "We didn't mean for this to be the result of our deliberations over the rights of citizens to maintain arms."

I believe they would say to us today, "Hey, that is why we set up the amendment process in the Constitution -- to allow for adaptation to new realities." 

And whoa, do we have new realities today when it comes to the staggering proliferation and easy access to guns in our society.

They would also likely remind us that the "Right to Bear Arms" itself is an amendment -(granted its part of the The Bill of Rights -- but it's still an amendment).

I respect that this is a very divisive issue in our country today. But we have had many of those before in our history -- with plenty of powerful interest groups mixed in to cloud the issues. The Alien Sedition Act, the presidential election of 1800, the all-too drawn-out controversy over slavery, the right of women to vote, and the civil rights movement of the 1960's . . . are just a few that come to mind). 

In the end, I believe the Founding Fathers (and yes, the Founding Mothers) are up there somewhere crying out, "For goodness sake, stop the madness, and do something!"

NHS Class of '71 50th Reunion Survey Results

62 classmates responded to the online survey.

Below is a specific breakdown of the responses:

* Would you like to have a separate Class of '71 50th Reunion in 2021 or maintain a joint one along with the Class of '70 in 2020?

joint - 9
separate - 33
no strong opinion - 20


* Would you prefer the main Sat. reunion event to be:

informal picnic - 39
formal evening - 18
either - 4
other - 1


* If you have other main event suggestions, please enter here:

local alumni houses
dinner cruise on boat e.g. Lake Ticonderoga on Lake George
include a softball game
get some interesting venue


* If feasible, should we strive to have a live band perform at the Sat. main event -- e.g. band featuring NHS classmates?

yes - 46
no - 16

* Should a Friday night informal gathering at a local "watering-hole" be organized as we have previously?

yes - 46
not necessary - 16


* Would you like a tour of the high school to be offered sometime over the weekend?

yes - 31
not necessary - 31


* Should we organize an event for Sunday afternoon?

yes - 15
not necessary - 47
* If so, suggested Sunday planned activities

service project
brunch
river walk or stockade walk


* Other suggested activities for the weekend?

pot luck at NHS
organize a reunion hotel for out-of-towners


* What would be your max ticket price per person for the Sat. main event (assume cash bar) -- above which it would deter your attending?

$35 - 4
$40 - 12
$75 - 20
$100 - 12
$125 - 2
$ 150 - 12


* Are you interested to help organize and plan the event? (Out-of-towners welcome, but again, we really need some local folks!)

yes - local 10
yes - out-of-town 8


* We currently have about $450 in our class treasury. If we need to request some advance monies for deposits, etc., (e.g. $25 - $50), would you be willing to do that? (Assume it would be deducted from your eventual ticket payment)

yes - 56
no - 6


* This may seem like a rather odd question after filling out the above ones, but getting a preliminary sense of commitment re: attendance down in "black & white," even this far out, can be helpful for planning. Of course, we realize that future personal realities might alter expectations, but at this time, are you inclined to attend a 50th reunion -- regardless of how/when we decide to celebrate?

yes w/o guest - 22
yes + guest - 30
not sure - 9
no - 1


* Feel free to add any other suggestions or comments here:

if there is a band, make sure there is an area where others can still talk
invite faculty/admin that are still around
if a sit-down event, rotate seating during meal
have a joint reunion with '70-ers but in 2021
consider joint reunion with Class of '72


Feel free to contact me, David Ryan, at dcryan7@gmail.com

English Writing "Huh?"-ism #004

I recently received a marketing email from a highly respected Maryland-based video production firm. 

It had a feature about a project that had gone very well for them. The article contained the following phrase:

". . . we took a different approach to casting. We used non-union talent, but cast in NYC, Philly and Atlanta to increase the quality of the actors available to us here to shoot in Baltimore. . . ."

Hmmm, while I imagine a case could be made that NYC actors are generally "better" [i.e. "if you can make it in NY, you can make it anywhere"],  I doubt the same could be said for Philly or Atlanta actors. 

But I don't believe the author meant to "dis" the quality of Baltimore actors at all. Rather, I think he meant to say instead that the production team wanted "to expand the pool of quality actors for us to audition." 

The phrasing that was distributed in the eNewsletter needlessly offends, again, something I am sure this producer did not want to do. 

The latter phrasing that I suggest above would be perfectly acceptable to all readers, no?

So yeah, words, and how you organize them, really do matter. As in this case, not paying close attention to that can inadvertently cause one to sound obnoxious.

Suggestion: Whenever possible, take a break after writing the final draft of a communication and before hitting "send." An overnight respite is ideal if possible, especially if it is a communication of importance and/or wide distribution. The return and re-reading of what one wrote with fresh eyes often allows one to catch those subtle, cringe-worthy faux-pas.

Does accuracy of historical details really matter?

So I was at a school sub-teaching the other day, and I ran across the below recent issue of the magazine for students, Scholastic Scope.

Now, Scholastic has an excellent reputation for doing good work in supplementing education curricula. I remember enjoying reading it back when I was in school (the Dark Ages 😉).

Yet, I was puzzled by a graphic inside this issue accompanying an article about the 1776 American Revolution battle of Brooklyn.

Hmmm. Their illustrative map (see below) makes it seem that the Continental forces were facing west, almost as if they were attacking New York City.

How misleading.

Actually, American forces were facing mainly eastward against the British who eventually drove the Americans back against the East River.

OK, you may ask, "David, does it really matter?"

Well, it does if you want to get across to the students the significance of "the miracle" that Gen. Washington pulled off (aided with a lot of luck -- or Providence) by keeping a disaster from becoming a complete disaster.

Washington orchestrated the evacuation of his trapped army, undetected by the British, across the river back into the safety of Manhattan, during the night, under the cover of a most fortuitous fog. 

The operation involved a flotilla of local boats -- yeah, our American version of Dunkirk (a la the recent movie) that took place early in WWII.

If Washington hadn't succeeded, the American Revolution would likely be just a footnote in history. Yeah, the evacuation was that critical and significant -- and only one of many such brushes with "total annihilation" for the Americans in that war.

Students have enough challenges learning valuable "take-aways" from history. Graphics, such as maps, can be effective tools in making those points easier to understand. That's why it's important to get the details right.

English Writing "Huh?"-ism #003

Another post in my series of writing faux pas

Oh, the power of a misplaced or misused comma to confuse . . .

Imagine our surprise when turning on CNN the other night as my wife and I sat down to dinner. Quickly reading the above on-screen Breaking News textbox, we immediately wondered: "Whoa, had the Mueller investigation halted?" or "Was the comma perhaps a mistake and the investigation has stopped questioning wealthy Russians?"

Turns out neither.

We eventually realized that the correct story was that the Mueller team was detaining targeted, wealthy Russians at airports to question them about possible illegal donations. Oh, ok, when you know that, the text starts to makes sense. But that's backwards as to the purpose of the textboxes. On CNN, those boxes are meant to quickly provide the viewer an idea of what's being presently discussed. 

All that had been needed was to put an "and" or an "&" in place of the comma in the Breaking News textbox, and all would have been clear from the git-go.

Yep, proper use and placement of commas IS important.