• Education goes 3D: the power of play

    What makes a classroom different than a children’s museum? In many kindergartens today, children sit passively at their desk while teachers deliver the latest scripted lessons on vocabulary, spelling and addition—lessons sometimes dotted with classes in science and history. In children’s museums, these same students can be seen engineering bridges with tinkertoys, testing the force […]

  • Repeal the death penalty and put the needs of survivors of homicide victims first

    When the Maryland Commission on Capital Punishment urged repeal of the death penalty in 2008, it also made a second, much less publicized recommendation: increase the resources and services for the surviving families of homicide. The Commission clearly listened to the testimony of about a dozen family members of murder victims, including 2005 OSI Baltimore […]

  • Chicken Masala with a side of mentoring

    In Maryland more than 207,000 children are at risk for hunger. The same number of young people are unsupervised during the after-school hours. The child who goes home to an empty house is likely to be the same child who may not have access to food between the end of the school day and the […]

  • Engaging kids through theater

    Let’s give every student the chance to write and produce a play. This can happen in the language arts classroom or as part of an after-school program. The important part is that students are in charge, from brainstorming to production night. Students crave opportunities to express themselves, and theater offers a constructive outlet for the […]