Relying on suspending or excluding students doesn’t get to the root of behavior problems or make them more interested in school. But a new video, Up for Debate, shows how the Baltimore Urban Debate League has helped students become motivated learners. Watch the video.
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The Truth About our Youth: Maryland’s Youth in the Criminal Justice System
Tuesday, November 12, 2013We are members of the Core Alliance of Youth Leaders of Community Law in Action. Many of us have been charged as adults and held at the Baltimore City Detention Center, an adult jail.
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New class of Community Fellows announced; projects aimed at making Baltimore a stronger city
Tuesday, November 12, 2013OSI-Baltimore announced its 16th annual class of Community Fellows and dedicated $720,000 to support this diverse group of social entrepreneurs.
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Big Change Baltimore
Wednesday, October 30, 2013We’re still processing all of the amazing and inspirational words we heard at Big Change Baltimore, OSI-Baltimore’s 15th Anniversary forum. We’ll be writing and talking a lot more in the coming weeks about the forum, and more importantly—our future work in Baltimore. Watch videos from Big Change Baltimore here.
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Students as teachers
Tuesday, October 01, 2013Five years ago, fresh out of college, I taught my first creative writing workshop in a Baltimore school. That very first day—nervous, young, worried that the kids would see through my lack of expertise—I met a child who lived to write.
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B-more moves towards empathy
Thursday, September 12, 2013We give young people the tools to express emotions that cannot be put into words. We help them understand empathy, and what it feels like to be in someone else’s shoes.
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Volunteering is good for everyone!
Thursday, September 12, 2013I would encourage any senior leader who is looking for ways to learn about him/herself, while accomplishing good in the community where their businesses operate, to work with local non-profits and organize some volunteer activities.
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Then & Now: drug addiction treatment
Tuesday, September 10, 2013One of the Open Society Institute-Baltimore’s first priorities when we opened our doors in 1998 was to make certain that anyone who needed drug addiction treatment was able to get it—whether or not they had health insurance.
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Obstacles to justice
Monday, September 09, 2013Leslie Vass spent 10 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. The story he tells about how the police, the courts and entire criminal justice system failed him is alarming.
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Lesson learned: key to more high school graduates may be fewer suspensions
Monday, September 09, 2013We know from experience—and research—that using suspension as a primary discipline tool is a recipe for school failure. When children are suspended, they are not in school learning, they are not being coached to adopt new and better ways of responding to conflict, and they are not being required to make amends for their misdeeds.
