September 2010 Issue by Urbanite LLC

DEVIL DOG?

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STREET FASHION

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FALL ARTS GUIDE

september 2010 issue no. 75

y a w A go we

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contents

september 2010 issue no. 75

features 36 40

keynote

harvard law professor john palfrey on the first generation of “digital natives”

onward and upward

baltimore city schools ceo andres alonso has managed a major overhaul of the public schools. the next challenge falls to principals and teachers—and will be harder still. by greg hanscom

46 65

test cancelled

what might school look like if we set out to produce responsible citizens rather than just good test-takers? by rebecca messner

this is your brain on art

neuro-ed researchers say creativity can set kids’ minds on fire. by deborah rudacille

departments 9

this month online at www.urbanitebaltimore.com: resources: a guide to baltimore’s innovative schools and more on the john smith trail

editor’s note

they grow up so fast

what you’re saying

what you’re writing

in defense of chincoteague harvest: planting the seeds, treating the sick, and eating from cans

corkboard

this month: bug fest, defenders’ day, and ignite #6

the goods: local fall fashion

baltimore observed villain or victim?

can pit bulls, bred and trained to fight, be saved? or have we created a monster? by melissa wyse

space windows on the world

a pikesville house lets the outside in. by marianne amoss

on the air: radio: urbanite on the marc steiner show, weaa 88.9 fm sept 1: the state of baltimore’s schools sept 15: the minds behind the neuroeducation initiative sept 28: pit bull pros and cons

lunch trucks take burgers and burritos to the masses. by mary k. zajac

reviewed: sam’s kid and clarence’s taste of new orleans

wine & sprits: packaged deals

the feed: this month in eating

85 on the cover:

illustration by robbi behr

eat/drink one for the road

art/culture

urbanite’s fall arts guide

eye to eye

urbanite’s creative director, alex castro, on maren hassinger

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issue 75: se p t e m b e r 2 0 10 p ub lish e r Tracy Ward Tracy@urbanitebaltimore.com c r e at iv e d ir e c t o r Alex Castro gener al manager Jean Meconi Jean@urbanitebaltimore.com e d i t o r -i n -c h i e f Greg Hanscom Greg@urbanitebaltimore.com m a nag ing e d it o r Marianne K. Amoss Marianne@urbanitebaltimore.com e d i t o r -a t -l a r g e David Dudley David@urbanitebaltimore.com o nline e d it o r s green/sustainable: Heather Dewar Heather@urbanitebaltimore.com style/shopping: Jada Fletcher Jada@urbanitebaltimore.com home/design: Brennen Jensen Brennen@urbanitebaltimore.com food/drink: Tracey Middlekauff Tracey@urbanitebaltimore.com arts/culture: Cara Ober Cara@urbanitebaltimore.com lit er a r y e d it o r Susan McCallum-Smith literaryeditor@urbanitebaltimore.com p r o ofr eader Robin T. Reid c o n t r ib uting w r it er s Michael Anft, Scott Carlson, Charles Cohen, Michael Corbin, Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson, Mat Edelson, Lionel Foster, Clinton Macsherry, Richard O’Mara, Andrew Reiner, Martha Thomas, Michael Yockel, Mary K. Zajac e d it o r ia l in t er ns Amelia Blevins, Simon Pollock d e s i g n /p r o d u c t i o n m a n a g e r Lisa Van Horn Lisa@urbanitebaltimore.com t r a f fi c p r o d u c t i o n c o o r d i n a t o r Belle Gossett Belle@urbanitebaltimore.com d e signer Kristian Bjørnard Kristian@urbanitebaltimore.com p r o d uc tio n in t e r ns Jenna Kaminsky, Karly Kolaja, Megan Pennington v i d e o g r a p h e r /w e b s i t e c o o r d i n a t o r Chris Rebbert website@urbanitebaltimore.com se nio r ac c o un t ex e c utiv e s Catherine Bowen Catherine@urbanitebaltimore.com Susan Econ Econsusan@urbanitebaltimore.com Susan R. Levy Susan@urbanitebaltimore.com a d v e r t i s i n g s a l e s /e v e n t s c o o r d i n a t o r Erin Albright Erin@urbanitebaltimore.com b o o k k e e p i n g /m a r k e t i n g a s s i s t a n t Iris Goldstein Iris@urbanitebaltimore.com m a r k eting in t er ns Madeline Miller, Megan Pennington, Maria Satyshur o nline a ssista n t Shantez Evans founder Laurel Harris Durenberger Advertising/Editorial/Business Ofﬁ ces 2002 Clipper Park Road, Fourth Floor, Baltimore, MD 21211 Phone: 410-243-2050; Fax: 410-243-2115 www.urbanitebaltimore.com Editorial inquiries: Send queries to editor@urbanitebaltimore.com (no phone calls, please). The magazine is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts or artwork. Urbanite does not necessarily support the opinions of its authors. To subscribe or obtain assistance with a current subscription, call 410-243-2050. Subscription price: $18 per year. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission by Urbanite is prohibited. Copyright 2010, Urbanite LLC. All rights reserved. Urbanite (ISSN 1556-8105) is a free publication distributed widely in the Baltimore metropolitan area. To suggest a drop location for the magazine, please contact us at 410-243-2050. Postmaster: Send address changes to Urbanite Subscriptions, 2002 Clipper Park Road, Fourth Floor, Baltimore, MD 21211. Urbanite is a certiﬁ ed Minority Business Enterprise.

urbanite september 10

photo by Karly Kolaja

photo by Jimmy Bigwood

photo by Karly Kolaja

contributor s Amelia Blevins , who is starting her junior year at Ithaca College in New York, split her summer between staffing a snowball stand in her hometown of Shrewsbury, Pennsylvania, and working as an editorial intern at Urbanite. Blevins got her start in journalism as editorin-chief of the Susquehanna Courier, her high school newspaper, and her editorial mark can be found in Buzzsaw, Ithaca College’s alt-monthly, where she is the online arts and entertainment editor. Her handiwork in this issue includes a good deal of the fall arts calendar and short pieces for “The Goods” and “Update.” A creative writing and English double major, she says next summer she wants to intern with a book publisher. Photography intern Karly Kolaja is a senior at Washington College on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, where she is double-majoring in English and photojournalism. At school, Kolaja spends her spare time working as the photography editor for Washington College’s yearbook, The Pegasus; as a photographer for the college’s Office of College Relations and Marketing; and as a reporter and photographer for the online newspaper The Chestertown Spy. While at Urbanite, Kolaja—originally from Baltimore—has taken photos for “The Goods” and the “Eat/Drink” sections of the magazine as well as several of the e-zines. Production and marketing intern Megan Pennington is a senior at Pennsylvania College of Technology, where she studies graphic design and serves as president of the campus’s events board. She was born and raised in Dundalk. While at Urbanite. Pennington has been helping out with advertising campaigns, advertisements, marketing, and design. She’s also been interning at B. Creative Group, based here in Baltimore, this summer. In her free time, Pennington enjoys running, exploring local parks, and photography.

editor’s note

My 2-year-old can fire up my iPhone and find the pictures of herself in my digital

photo album. When she and her grandmother are talking on the phone, she looks at the screen, confused, and wonders why she can’t see Marymom like she does when we Skype. (Give me time, kid, I’ll upgrade eventually.) She often swishes her fingers across the screen of my laptop, leaving greasy little comet trails as she tries to make the thing work like the touch screen on the phone. Her big sister, meanwhile, figured out how to download Sesame Street videos on her mother’s phone with no help whatsoever from mom. She’s 5. (She recently gaped in wonderment at a telephone that was—get this—plugged into a wall.) There’s an old rule in the computer business called Moore’s Law that says the storage capacity of a computer chip will double approximately every two years. It’s held true for more than four decades. It’s no coincidence that digital technology itself seems to be lurching forward at least as quickly, causing some researchers to surmise that we’re creating a series of “mini-generation gaps.” “People two, three or four years apart are having completely different experiences with technology,” Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life project, told the New York Times earlier this year. “College students scratch their heads at what their high school siblings are doing, and they scratch their heads at their younger siblings.” By that measure, my own children are three or four generations ahead of me. I’m feeling like an old man, way before my time. (Please, I’m still safely in my late-mid-30s.) Could someone slow this thing down? I’m apparently not the only one who is feeling a little dizzy. A whole shelf of recent books promises to help us understand the young people that we, and our technological gizmos, have spawned. There’s Grown Up Digital: How the Net Generation is Changing Your World; there’s The Young and the Digital: What the Migration to Social Network Sites, Games, and Anytime, Anywhere Media Means for Our Future; and my favorite, The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupeﬁes Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future (Or, Don’t Trust Anyone Under 30). (Take that, whippersnappers! Now, back to reading iBrain: Surviving the Technological Alteration of the Modern Mind.) Our Keynoter this month, Harvard professor John Palfrey, has coauthored one of these books: Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives. A father of young children himself, he offers up some words of wisdom for those of us who remember the days before, as he puts it, “digital technology mediated our every relationship” (“The Decoder,” p. 36). Palfrey opens Urbanite’s annual issue on education. Elsewhere, I explore the ongoing makeover of the Baltimore City Public Schools (“Onward and Upward,” p. 40) and find that while we still have a long way to go, there is a palpable sense of purpose and momentum in many local learning institutions. Longtime science writer Deborah Rudacille tells us about neuroscientists who are documenting how creative expression lights up our brains and could be a powerful tool in the classroom (“This is Your Brain on Art,” p. 52). And frequent Urbanite contributor Rebecca Messner spends some time in a New York City school that has opted out of high stakes tests, instead using more holistic tools to gauge student progress (“Test Cancelled,” p. 46). All of these stories were inspired by one simple question: What kind of kids do we want our schools to produce? Standardized tests are a reality that we’ll be living with for the foreseeable future, but teaching kids only to do well on tests does not give them the tools that they’ll need to succeed in college, much less navigate the real world. What that world will look like when my kids graduate from high school is no doubt beyond my wildest imaginings. But as this issue shows, there are plenty of things I can give them that will help them on their way. —Greg Hanscom

HOW MUCH DO YOU WANT FOR THAT? Coming Next Month: You really can get something for nothing.

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SSONS URFING LE CHOOL · S BARBER S

· EXTREME

e no. 74 010 issu august 2

summer dr e am s

Wh at hap pen s

Wh en fan tas y

me ets rea lit y?

from the web in defense of chincoteague Re. “The Great Escape” (Aug): As a Baltimore resident with a home in Chincoteague, I think you missed the mark! There are many more things to do in Chincoteague, and Pony Penning Week is the most hectic, tourist-laden time to come to the island. The beauty of unspoiled Assateague Island is unsurpassed, and there are many local restaurants and local art [galleries] to explore. Water activities abound, including boating, fishing, crabbing, jetskiing, and parasailing. I’d reserve my judgment that there is “not much more to see there” until you visit another time. —Treva Stack, Baltimore City good over evil Re. “Inside the Garden Walls” (Aug): Articles like this make me smile to know that even in the midst of evil, good outshines ... I’m proud of you, Isaac. —Inga Smith, Anne Arundel County want a master’s with that? Re. “Meet Me At the Fair” (Aug): Great story, great photos! Master’s degree in economics from MICA?!! Hilarious! —J. Kelly Lane, South Baltimore

what you’re saying

DIY

the revolution goes on The article “Hard to Swallow” (July) about Tony Geraci was, in fact, a little hard to swallow. It got some key facts wrong: Tony is continuing as city schools food and nutrition director, not leaving, as the article states. Lunch participation is up by 26 percent over the past year, not flat as the article states. More importantly, the story did not give an accurate sense of the pace, energy, and direction of the transformation of school food. The article described some of the extraordinary work that has occurred—menu innovations like Meatless Mondays, the rapid expansion of locally sourced fresh fruits and vegetables, the rebirth of Great Kids Farm, and the dramatic growth in breakfast participation. But it skipped over some significant structural changes as if they are unimportant—essential, unsexy things that take time, like the negotiation of a new contract for this school year that will provide vastly better food and totally eliminate the traditional shrink-wrapped “pre-plate” meals, all for $1 million less than the old contract. This work has more commitment than ever from city schools. The planned expansion of the supper program, which was approved this spring, will make it possible, for the fi rst time ever, to offer kids in Baltimore City good, nutritious, free or reduced-price meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This fall, Great Kids Farm will become a formal educational site where students will gain career credentials in environmental science, agriculture, and nutrition. And the central kitchen has moved from being an abstract dream to a concrete need that dozens of people are working hard to make happen. Fundamental change in a large food system is hard, painstaking, and complicated work, like climbing a mountain. Unfortunately, in this article Urbanite sounded a little like the plaintive voice from the back of the pack, saying, “Aren’t we there yet?” —Michael Sarbanes is executive director of the Baltimore City Public Schools Ofﬁce of Partnerships, Communications, and Community Engagement. From the eds.: After announcing in June that Tony Geraci would be leaving his position July 1, the schools reversed course, stating that he would keep his title. According to Mr. Sarbanes, however, Geraci will be working only part-time for the city schools, doing work elsewhere, and spending time with his family, as we reported. Geraci himself told our reporter that school lunch participation had been ﬂat during his tenure.

in for the long haul We were thrilled to read the comprehensive history of Druid Hill Park in the June issue (“Breaking the Silence”). Our congregation, Beth Am Synagogue on Eutaw Place in Reservoir Hill, is just south of the park. Beth Am was established at a time when other congregations were following their congregants from the city out to the suburbs. A founding principle of Beth Am is remaining in the city and being a vital and stabilizing force in Reservoir Hill. Our members have helped the Reservoir Hill Improvement Council (RHIC) offer entrepreneurship training, obtain grant support for a community organizer, and beautify the neighborhood. We organize Interfaith Seders that draw on Jewish and African American culture, history, and music, and explore the neighborhood’s 20th-century history with former and current Reservoir Hill residents. Several of the people mentioned in your article, including RHIC’s Rick Gwynallen and Druid Hill Park: Jewish Baltimore’s Green Oasis author Barry Kessler, are affi liated with Beth Am. Beth Am Synagogue looks forward to its future in the city as a neighbor of Druid Hill Park and joins the rest of Baltimore in celebrating our neighborhood’s rich history. —Julian Lapides is president of the board of trustees of Beth Am Synagogue. credit where it wasn’t due The article “State of the Arts” (May) states that former Load of Fun theater (LOF/t) employee Ric Royer “installed a black box performance space in the [Load of Fun] building, which became a nexus for Baltimore’s experimental theater community.” Conception for the LOF/t began as far back as 2007. Physical construction began in July 2008, long before Mr. Royer was involved. The LOF/t was constructed and wholly financed by Load of Fun and is the result of the efforts of many people. —Sherwin Mark is the owner of Load of Fun.

We want to hear what you’re saying. E-mail us at mail@urbanitebaltimore.com or send your letter to Mail, Urbanite, 2002 Clipper Park Road, Fourth Floor, Baltimore, MD 21211. Please include your name, address, and daytime phone number. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

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what you’re writing

it is august, and I am shadowing a nurse practitioner

who visits the camps of migrant workers on Maryland’s eastern shore. We drive down dusty side roads between the fields, medical supplies rattling in the backseat. When we stop, timing our visits for the fieldworkers’ short breaks and hastily taken meals, they line up before our makeshift card-table clinic to be seen. These workers, many brought here on H2B visas, reveal their ailments: a twisted shoulder, pesticide rashes, feet swollen from long hours standing in water. I do my best to translate their words, my tongue twisting on the rural accents of countries far from here. They talk about their families as we wrap the blood pressure cuff around their tired arms. At night we spin down blood samples and pack up prescriptions for the next day, organizing the paper bags by camp, crop, field. It is another world, these tucked-away communities, hidden by long rows of watermelon and summer squash. They have no cars, no contacts outside of this group, no one taking them into town for a cup of coffee or an ice cream. They name the fruits of their labors in their own tongues: fresas, sandía, Melon dlo, Pèch. One day we pull into the space between ramshackle cabins and see a police car. The camp, an easy target because the workers I often are paid in cash, has been robbed, one of the wondered if I had workers shot and killed. “I didn’t even know pissed God off when I was at these guys were out here,” the sheriff says. Mass daydreaming. As we leave town, I see signs announcAfter a few months of soul-searching, ing a harvest festival next weekend. But the my harvest began. It was in the form of an men and women who know the fruits most Egyptian man with a beautiful accent trying intimately will not be invited. No one knows to sell me cowboy boots in 95-degree weather. they are there. I made a choice that day that had nothing to do with the boots. I chose and choose to be—Margaret Adams is a nursing student at lieve that goodness is deserved and required. Johns Hopkins University. A writer and columNow we are happily married, the nist, her work has appeared most recently in Egyptian and I, and I often think about all The Delmarva Review. that fertilizer that helped my garden to grow. carnarsie, new york. The walls were Without all those seeds of disappointment, depressingly bare, and so was I. I had been my harvest of the fruits of knowledge and beaten, but the emotional despair was more understanding never would have come. than I could stand. I had let him back into my life and had finally taken the last blow —Virginia resident McKenya Dilworthto my self-esteem. I was alone in this ugly, Abdalla loves to write and spend quality nondescript room that was not nearly worth time with her husband, Ramadan. the $500 a month that I had been paying. in the 1950s, Americans ate food from The other roomers conveniently did not hear jars and cans. The Jolly Green Giant debuted bodies being thrashed about and obscenities on television in 1953; Chef Boyardee was a being exchanged like currencies. All was quiet after he left; all had left, regular on The Adventures of Ozzie and Hareven my desire to rebuild. I started to examine riet. A typical dinner in our Harford Road exactly how I got to this low point in my life. I home left behind empty glass cylinders and came up with this: All the relationships that I cans with brightly painted labels. had been in had been a kind of seed I’d uninYet within sight of the kitchen wintentionally planted and watered with my tears, dow, my grandfather tended a garden that and all of the shit that I had both given and stretched from the house’s foundation to the taken was the more-than-adequate fertilizer yard’s distant frontiers. The bounty included to keep this imaginary garden growing. vegetables from my mother’s native Texas: I went back to Indiana with my selfokra, yellow corn (never white), black-eyed esteem still on hiatus. I was also unemployed. peas. But not until my adulthood, long after

Pop’s last crop, did I equate harvest with fresh vegetables. Mom was enslaved to her pressure canner, as though some culinary maxim said that if food hadn’t arrived at the house in a can you had to put it in one first, or at least in a Mason jar. Before we could eat July’s pole beans, we usually had to finish last year’s limp, pale green survivors. We ate fresh tomatoes, often fried, but only after the best ones were cooked to a chunky red pulp and imprisoned beneath brass lids. The Bagley Avenue Homemakers’ Club met weekly, and Mom never failed to return with a recipe for a Jell-O mold (featuring fruit from cans) or a dessert of canned bread, leather-brown and sweet, topped with—you guessed it—canned whipped cream. We thought the food was good, but the ’50s were an American culinary Dark Age. I think of those days, not fondly, with every visit to the Waverly farmers’ market. I’ll take my squash fresh, thank you, or not at all.

T S E V HAR

—Ron Pilling divides his time between the lower Eastern Shore and Charles Village. When he isn’t writing, he’s restoring wooden canoes from a shop on the Pocomoke River.

i was grateful for the offer to go jellyfishing. I needed to feel normal again. The pier happened to not be far from the hospital. Finally, I could escape to see and smell the ocean after all of the writing and waiting I had done in that small room where my mother lay. The cancer surgery had been successful, but a chance infection had taken hold, so she was being kept at the ICU in a medically comatose state to hasten her healing.

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Several scientists and students were assembled, eager for the chance to catch a good harvest. Nicknamed “comb,” the jellyfish designated as Ctenophora are unearthly in appearance, pulsating with small comb-shaped tendrils. Ever-so-faintly translucent, they are hard to see as the tides pull them, floating like gelatinous comets through liquid space. The current was picking up, and with the light fading, the venture became more difficult. But my hours peering through microscope lenses gave me a unique advantage. I could adjust my vision so that the invertebrates’ edges were illuminated against the depths and came into sharp focus. My delight rose with each new discovery, the jellies becoming my own living, 3-D picture book. Time and again, I would point, and another person would scoop with a mesh net. The group amassed almost three dozen, more than was anticipated. My efforts gave the researchers enough material to unravel the genetic codes of these creatures, to begin to understand their uniqueness and place in the sea of life. Since my special sight was such a boon, the group treated me to dinner. We talked and laughed until my sisters found me and pulled me away. It was my turn to sit by my mother, to watch the medications dripping in, to take notes on the monitors, and feel useless again. ■ —Kate Gillespie is pursuing an additional graduate degree in marine environmental biotechnology at the University of Maryland. She delights in writing poetry and short stories, gardening, and the art of Japanese animation.

“What You’re Writing” is the place

for creative nonfiction from our readers. Each month we pick a topic. Use the topic as a springboard into your own life and send us a true story inspired by that month’s theme. Only previously unpublished, nonfiction submissions that include contact information can be considered. We reserve the right to edit heavily for space and clarity, but we will give you the opportunity to review the edits. You may submit under “name withheld” to keep your essay anonymous, but you do need to let us know how to contact you. If you’ve already changed the names of the people involved, please let us know. Only one submission per topic, please. Send your essay to Urbanite, 2002 Clipper Park Road, Fourth Floor, Baltimore, MD 21211, or e-mail it to WhatYoureWriting@urbanite baltimore.com. Submissions should be shorter than four hundred words. Because of the number of essays we receive, we cannot respond individually to each writer. Please do not send originals; submissions cannot be returned.

Topic Sibling Rivalry The Dinner Table Out with the Old

Deadline Sept 6, 2010 Oct 4, 2010 Nov 8, 2010

Publication Nov 2010 Dec 2010 Jan 2011

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urbanite september 10

corkboard

Pennsylvania Avenue Homecoming Festival September 3–5 This Labor Day Weekend, celebrate West Baltimore’s historic Pennsylvania Avenue and the official unveiling of the Pennsylvania Avenue Heritage Trail, a 3-mile route that runs past landmark cultural and historical sites (www.pennsylvaniaavenuebaltimore.com). Live street entertainment is featured Friday and Saturday evenings, complemented by a Cadillac parade on Saturday, walking tours of the new trail, an outdoor gospel event on Sunday afternoon, and much more.

Free 443-280-2702 http://royaltchc.com/events.aspx

Defenders’ Day Celebration

September 10–12

Mark the battle that birthed the Star-Spangled Banner with live military reenactments, a ship-to-shore “battle,” fireworks, and other family-oriented programming. The action starts Friday night with a ceremonial procession of War of 1812 reenactors from the StarSpangled Banner Museum (844 E. Pratt Street) to Fort McHenry (2400 E. Fort Ave.).

410-962-4290 www.nps.gov/fomc

Bug Festival

September 11

A whole day of insect appreciation creeps and crawls its way to the Carrie Murray Nature Center. The kids will love the cockroach races, the crunchy cricket hors d’oeuvres, a host of bugged-out exhibitors and vendors, and the fully stocked zoo of native and exotic insects.

10 a.m.–4 p.m. Carrie Murray Nature Center 1901 Ridgetop Rd. $5, children younger than 3 free 410-396-0808 www.carriemurraynature center.org

Marriage as a Civil Right

September 19

To mark Constitution Day—an annual event marking the ratification of the U.S. Constitution—the Maryland Institute College of Art and the ACLU of Maryland team up to host a free symposium called Marriage as a Civil Right. A panel discussion focuses on the future of marriage equality; panelists include Columbia law professor Dr. Kendall Thomas and sex and relationship columnist Dan Savage (pictured).

3 p.m.–5 p.m. Maryland Institute College of Art, Falvey Hall 1301 W. Mt. Royal Ave. 410-225-2300 www.mica.edu

Repairing the Hubble Telescope

September 25

Astronomer Dr. John Grunsfeld, deputy director of the Space Telescope Science Institute, shares tales about being an astronaut and repairing the Hubble Space Telescope, which has been peering into space for twenty years. The talk is part of the Saturday Morning Science Series of Towson University’s Hackerman Academy of Mathematics and Science.

Two sessions: 10 a.m. and noon Towson University Free 410-704-3659 www.towson.edu/hackerman academy/Calendar_of_Events/ index.asp

Ignite Baltimore #6

September 30

Sparks fly at the Walters Museum of Art during the sixth installment of Ignite Baltimore, when sixteen inspiring personalities give fiveminute presentations on topics sure to fire up audience members’ own brains. Past speakers have covered the need for socialism in America, life lessons from a professional wrestler, and why kids aren’t interested in outer space. Reserve your free ticket early! Urbanite is a sponsor of this event.

6 p.m. Walters Art Museum 600 N. Charles St. Free http://ignitebaltimore.com/

Photo credits from top to bottom: courtesy of www.pennsylvaniaavenuebaltimore.com; photo by Jim Roger; courtesy of Carrie Murray Nature Center; courtesy of MICA; courtesy of NASA, ESA, The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA), and A. Riess (STScI); courtesy of Wild Blue Bug

w w w. u r b a n i t e b a l t i m o re . c o m s e p t e m b e r 1 0

“We’re thrilled to be bringing our unique brand of Hollywood entertainment to Perryville, Maryland. As the state’s ﬁrst casino to open, we’re proud to be creating hundreds of new good paying jobs and to be generating signiﬁcant new revenues for our local community and the state.” — Peter Carlino, chairman of the board and CEO of Penn National Gaming. Penn National Gaming owns and operates gaming and racing facilities with a focus on slot machine entertainment. The Company presently operates twenty-two facilities in sixteen states.

The Maryland Games SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

It’s not just fun and games: The new casino in Perryville means new jobs in the region and will contribute a portion of its revenues to Maryland schools

On September 30, the Hollywood Casino, Maryland’s ﬁrst casino, will open in Perryville. And while the facility has been in the planning process since Maryland voters approved slots in 2008, it is opening a full month ahead of schedule – and nearly a year before early projections. “The community, county and town of Perryville have worked closely with us to move the project along,” says Marc DeLeo, director of marketing for the Perryville site. “An early opening is a sign that everything has gone extremely well.” The casino will turn over 67 percent of its revenues to support educational programs and loans for minority- and women-owned businesses. The art deco design of the 100,000 square foot facility, says DeLeo, “creates an exciting and accessible environment for our customers. We’re expecting those who love to play the slots – as well as those who have never tried it – to come out and have a great time.”

Q&A:

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Himbert Sinopoli, GM of Hollywood Casino, Perryville

Q: How is the casino going to be good for the state of Maryland? A: The Hollywood Casino will help the state in a number of ways. One is the revenue: 67 percent will go to the state. Next will be jobs. We’ve already employed more than 900 people in construction, and we anticipate creating about 350 full time equivalent positions. Another positive result of our opening is the impact on local businesses. We’ll be buying food for our concessions, office supplies, and other products to operate the facilities. So those businesses will be able to hire more people. It’s not just what you see within our facility; it’s how our business reaches out to the community and the state as well. Q: Are there any designated recipients for these funds? A: Education is the biggest benefactor of the fund. Money will also go into an account to provide loans to minority- and women-owned businesses. Q: How are you using minority contractors and local goods & services? A: We are making an effort in everything we do to include local and minority businesses, and also union contractors. In construction, we’re at 27 percent for minority spend. Equally important, we’re trying to hire as many locals as possible. As of now, more than 60 percent of our new hires have come from Cecil or Harford counties and we expect that to grow. Q: Why have slots been so controversial? A: I think that a lot of people for whatever reason have a negative perception – mostly based on movies they’ve seen. The reality is that this is a legitimate business. You can look at any jurisdiction where Penn National Gaming operates, and you’ll see

that we make significant contributions to local economies, we create jobs, and we contribute to tax revenue. We’re also highly regulated. All of our employees, particularly those in senior management, go through extensive background checks. Nobody is going to work for us who has issues in their background.

A: First off, it’ll be the first casino in the state, so people will naturally want to come and check it out. It’s one of our Hollywood theme properties, so people familiar with our product will be excited. It’s an art deco style casino, and is really impressive. The entire facility is about 100,000 square feet, and the gaming floor is about 34,000 square feet.

Q: What about accountability on the gaming ﬂoor?

Q: Will most people drive to the casino?

A: The state regulates the “hold percentage” – or the payout to customers. People who walk through the door know they’re going to get a fair deal. Q: Tell us about what people will experience when they walk through those doors. A: Our goal was to create a casino experience, right in Baltimore’s backyard, that is the most fun possible. When we open our doors September 30, the general public will have a chance to play 1,500 of the newest, hottest slot machines available. Q: What kinds of games will you have? A: We partnered with the Maryland Lottery and the slot gaming manufacturers to offer the most exciting mix of classic favorites and new generations games. The new generation games include a number of electronic table games, including blackjack, roulette, and three-card poker. Q: I understand that you’ll also have new Cash Spin games from Bally Technologies? A: Yes. We will have over 22 of these games. They use a special, sensitive “U-Spin” touchenabled screen that creates a new level of control and interaction. Using the touch screen, players spin a “virtual wheel,” and interactive reels allow the game to be played either as a video or a reel spinner. Q: Do you expect non-traditional players to visit the site just to see what all the fuss is about?

A: Yes. We have 1,600 spaces for self-parking as well as valet parking. We’ve had interest from bus operators and group leaders and we will be reserving buses to visit the casino. Q: What other facilities are on site? A: We have two food outlets at the facility, one is our 150-seat Epic buffet, and Extras Grill. We’ll also have a video poker bar, so people can have a drink while they play. Q: How about smoking? A: There will be no smoking permitted inside the facility, though we will have heated smoking shelters for customers adjacent to the building.

For more information, visit: http://hollywoodcasinoperryville.com Conveniently located off I-95-Exit 93 (Perryville) Maryland’s ﬁrst slot machines installed on Aug. 6, 2010.

Looks Good, Good M

usic and good style go hand in hand,

and there’s plenty of both in Baltimore. In this month’s edition of “The Goods,” we highlight a handful of the city’s many excellent fashion boutiques and designers— and showcase their wares on four of the city’s most stylish musicians, whose musical tastes range from experimental to hip hop. For more local musicians and local fashion, go to www.urbanitebaltimore.com.

Ami Dang Ami Dang combines traditional sitar and Indian vocals with subtle repetitive electronics to give her music an ambient, meditative feel. A graduate of Oberlin College and Conservatory of Music, Dang has found a home in the local avantgarde music scene. www.myspace.com/amritakd Diane von Furstenberg feather-print dress: $465 at Form Boutique Metal bracelet: model’s own

Photography:Joe Giordano Styling: Devin Morris Makeup:Jessie Klein Photo assistant: Rachel Verhaaren Research assistance: Amelia Blevins, Jaime Kauffman, and Simon Pollock

d Brandon Arinoldo of Sri Aurobindo Named after an Indian spiritual leader, Sri Aurobindo specializes in heavy psychedelic/ garage rock. The quartet—Brandon Arinoldo, Danny Chenault, Mike Furniere, and Mike Romano—just released their debut LP, Cave Painting, on local label Friends Records. www.myspace.com/sriaurobindo Natty Paint tank: $20 at www.NattyPaint.com Farah gray denim pants: $78.95 at the 16 Ton pop-up shop at Doubledutch Boutique Necklace and glasses: model’s own

Buy Local advertising section

1. Twenty20 Cycling Co. Twenty20 Cycling Company’s knowledgeable and friendly staff offers over 25 years of experience with a customer centered philosophy. Featuring new bikes for all budgets, expert mechanics for all repairs, and professional bike fitting by certified bike fitters. All are invited to go for a ride at BALTIMORE’S NEWEST BIKE SHOP. 2. Waterstone Bar & Grille Introducing Mt. Vernon and Seton Hills newest wine bar & grille with an eclectic menu. Large variety of premium wines, liquor, and beer. Chef specials offered daily with wine parings. Walking distance from The Hippodrome, Lyric, Meyerhoff and Mt Vernons Historic Monument. eat. drink. lounge. waterstone. 3. Zia’s Zia’s is a café, juicebar and caterer. They offer healthy, delicious, quick nourishment for breakfast, lunch or dinner, using organic, free-range & local ingredients. From meat-eaters to vegans, vegetarians to raw foodists, they believe everyone deserves fresh, cleanly produced food. Zia’s invites you to discover how delicious healthy eating can be! 4. Greetings & Readings A full service book and Hallmark store, the selection at Greetings & Readings in the Hunt Valley Towne Centre has been refined over the years to include notable brands like Vera Bradley, Brighton, Swarovski, Waterford, Godiva and so much more. Plus, a café with free Wi-Fi, great coffee and desserts.

Seton Hill & Mt. Vernon’s newest wine bar & lounge Mediterranean Cuisine

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Happy Hour 3-7 in bar area $3 brews | $4 tinis | $5 tapas

Bikes Accessories Service

Friday Dinner $5 wine glasses Saturday Dinner $15 wine bottles

Twenty 20 Cycling Co. 725 West 36th Street Baltimore, MD 21211

Large selection of regional wines available for take out

443.759.5620 Hours: Mon-Fri 11am - 7 pm Sat 10 am - 6 pm Sun 11 am - 4 pm

311 W. Madison Street Baltimore, MD 21201 410.225.7475 www.waterstonebarandgrille.com

twenty20cycling.com

eat. drink. lounge. waterstone.

Fresh, locally roasted coffee, loose leaf teas and brewing accessories.

5. Zeke’s Coffee Founded in 2005, Zeke’s Coffee is a family owned and operated company. Fresh-roasting each pound with a small fluid bed roaster, and using only the finest available beans, Zeke’s boasts high quality, locally roasted coffee. Retail Shop Open Monday - Saturday, 8am - 6pm Sunday, 8am - 4pm

To advertise in our monthly Buy Local, please contact Erin Albright at advertising@urbanitebaltimore.com

4607 Harford Road Baltimore, MD 21214 410-254-0122 www.zekescoffee.com

Jenn Tydings of the Motorettes The Motorettes is a six-piece cover band, fronted by singer Jenn Tydings, that performs ’50s and ’60s Motown and soul tunes. The band boasts a fortyplus-song repertoire that pays homage to such greats such as Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, and the Supremes. www.themotorettesbaltimore.com Shulami pink dress: $82.95 at Doubledutch Boutique Vintage Banana Republic boots: $10 at the Boulevard Boutique at DeBois Textiles Glasses and earrings: model’s own

Voted Baltimore’s Best Mens’ Clothing Store for 2 Consecutive Years by Baltimore Magazine.

HAITI Most Haitians have always considered it important to maintain the memory of their ancestry from Africa. In the popular Voodoo religion this is reflected in the rituals with constant allusions to “Guinen,” the country of origin – in fact the coast of West Africa from where the slave boats took them to Haiti. In Haitian art, paintings or sculptures several of the preferred animals are from the jungles or plains of the African continent. Lions, antelopes, zebras and giraffes are very commonly depicted by artists as part of the Lost Paradise. Paper mache, made with used cement bags and discarded book pages, is a specialty of Jacmel, a town in the south of the country. Skilled artisans there even make one of a kind pieces that are displayed in art expositions all over the world. By recycling used materials that would otherwise asphyxiate sea corals and fish, to make those trophies, we do our best to help our country in particular and the Caribbean region in general to please you, the end customer… These 'pets' don't need food or extra care. Just love!

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517 North Charles Street | Baltimore, MD | 410.347.7974 Mon - Sat. 10-6 pm | www.gianmarco.org

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1414 Key Highway | Baltimore | 410-433-1616 www.homeontheharbor.com BEST MODERN FURNITURE 2010 Baltimore Magazine

urbanite september 10

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Breast cancer affects the lives of thousands of Marylanders every day. By ParticiPating in the susan g. KoMen Maryland race for the cure,® you May Be helPing soMeone in your own neighBorhood. that’s Because More than 75% of revenue devoted to our Mission suPPorts local PrograMs. so join us at the race, and suPPort your local Breasts!

Mz Streamz Rapper Mz Streamz (known in real life as Indya Streams) is a fierce MC, the winner of a 2009 freestyling contest on the local hip-hop radio station 92Q—and she’s young: 20. She’s signed to Milkcrate Records, which released her thirty-track “mixtape” (actually a CD), It’s Alive, this year and is putting out her first full-length album, Life’s a Bitch, this month. www.myspace.com/mzstreamz Jack blue v-neck dress: $58.95 at Doubledutch Boutique Maple XO skate deck necklace (used as bracelet): $32.95 at Doubledutch Boutique By Boe wire earrings: $24.95 at Doubledutch Boutique Deda and Young Body Chain: $85 (send inquiries to dedaandyoung@gmail.com)

On September 25, Urbanite a n d Fo rm B ou tiqu e w ill c o -h o st “In G o o d Fa sh ion ,” a c h a rity fa sh io n even t c eleb ra tin g Fo rm ’s n ew c lo th in g lin e a n d b en e fi tin g th e H ou se o f R u th . Fo r m o re in fo rm a tio n , c a ll 410 -8 89 -3116 o r e -m a il a im e e @ fo rm th eb ou tiqu e .c om .

Looking for more local fashion? C h e c k ou t Jo e G io rd a n o’s P o p F la sh b lo g a t w w w.u rb a n iteb a ltim o re .c om .

think of it as

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bionic B y R o b i n T. R e i d

P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y D A V ID R E H O R

A few hours after George Nilson

Local developer Peter Bosworth decided not to let difficulty hearing get in the way. Instead, he purchased very high-tech aids that not only keep him on top of his work but, he says, “I can literally hear a pin drop.”

put on his new hearing aids, he got into his car and shut the door. He then heard a strange beeping. After a few moments of confusion—and a twinge of doubt about the new devices behind his ears—he realized that the noise was the car’s alert to fasten his seat belt. He had never heard the sound in that car before. All doubts about the hearing aids vanished. “I realized that, unless I was looking right at someone, I was hearing only about 65 percent of what people were saying,” said Nilson, the Baltimore City Solicitor. “I thought that the people of Baltimore had a right to expect much more from me… Now I hear about 95 percent of what’s being said. I feel good about that. It was the responsible thing to do.” Nilson got the hearing aids at the Hearing and Speech Agency (HASA). They are very small, behindthe-ear hearing aids that deliver sound through a slim tube to the ear canal. “I challenge people to find them,” he added. “They’re almost impossible to see.” The lawyer is one of the 34.5 million people in the United States who are deaf or hard of hearing, according to statistics from HASA. He’s also part of a much more exclusive statistic; only 25 percent of those who need hearing aids actually buy them. And that means the other 75 percent are not hearing what they could and should. Dr. Sun Young Lee is HASA’s director of audiology. The Chicago native and Northwestern University grad said that while most people don’t want to wear a hearing aid, it is the best way to communicate if you’re hard of hearing. “People who have hearing loss often don’t realize how difficult it is for other people to communicate with them and why they stop trying. You don’t want that to happen.” Lee discussed these issues and the major technological advances in hearing aids in her office at HASA.

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Q: Are there any indications that people today may be

losing their hearing when they are younger than before?

A: There is more early exposure to excessively loud noise

now. It’s more recreational—music or even hunting. It’s just noisier in general today because cities are noisier and most people live in or near cities. We’re seeing more baby boomers coming in for hearing aids. But that’s a good thing. They’re usually doing it to stay effective at work.

Q: Is any type of hearing loss more common, meaning it affects a certain part of the ear?

A: Most people who have age-related hearing loss have

trouble hearing higher frequencies. With this, you’re losing consonant sounds, so you may hear people talking but you can’t understand what they’re saying. People with this loss have trouble hearing women’s and children’s voices because their voices tend to be higher pitched. Most permanent hearing loss is in the cochlea of the inner ear, which is a spiral-shaped organ with sensory cells arranged from high pitches at the base to lower pitches at the apex. The first turn in the cochlea is more susceptible to noise-induced damage, and exposure to loud sounds has the potential to cause long-term loss over time. Loud impulse sounds like an explosion, as well as inner ear infections can cause sudden hearing loss. It often has a genetic component as well.

Q: Are there any public health concerns around hearing loss?

A: There are certainly for children. Middle ear infections are

the most common cause of temporary hearing loss in young children, and some suspect that frequent infections can affect their auditory processing abilities. Studies have shown that even minimal degrees of hearing loss can affect academic performance. And then there are problems with products we use. There are no regulations for how loud toys can be. Nor are there any for how loud sounds in cars can be or how loud listening devices can be.

Listen Up!

These celebrities use hearing aids too. Huey Lewis Bill Clinton Heather Whitestone (Miss America 1995) Leslie Nielsen Richard Thomas Mike Singletary, Chicago Bears linebacker Al and Bobby Unser, race car drivers SOURCES :

Herkimer Hearing Aid Center and Better Hearing Institute

For older adults, studies show that untreated hearing loss can affect overall health and well-being. There are also the obvious dangers related to driving.

Q: What types of hearing aids do people get these days? A: Hearing aids have gotten much smaller, and there are

many more styles to choose from. Some new hearing aids sit very deeply in the ear canal, making them practically invisible. Hearing aids that sit behind the ear now have the option of using a very slim, clear tube that is very discreet and cosmetically appealing. All hearing aids are digitally programmed now, so they have chips inside that can process signals much faster and in a more sophisticated manner. All hearing aid manufacturers include some type of noise management capabilities for better speech understanding and comfort.

Q: What might surprise people to know about hearing aids?

There is a whole range of technology to choose from. They can be Bluetooth compatible. You can hear the TV or cell phone right through the hearing aid. And they can now “talk” to each other. If you’re wearing two, you can touch the button on one, for example, to make an adjustment to both hearing aids without having to touch the other one. There is also something called spatial sound that hearing aid manufacturers are using. The shape of our ears tends to emphasize high-pitched sounds, which helps with localization. With hearing aids, sometimes you lose the ability to tell where sounds are coming from. But now sound-processing technology tries to restore that. You can also try out hearing aids and return them after a trial period, which makes buying them much less risky.

Q: How long does it take to get an aid? A: It can take between a few days and two weeks. Then

there is a period of time for adjustments and getting used to them. But most people find that the aids make a major difference in their lives and—especially—in the lives of the people who interact with them every day. The Hearing and Speech Agency 5900 Metro Drive, Baltimore, Maryland, 21215 410-318-6780 | www.hasa.org Established in 1926, the Hearing and Speech Agency (HASA) is a private, nonprofit organization providing hearing and speech services, special education, sign language, and oral interpretation in Maryland for clinical services. services

Your Smile Matters Trust Your Smile to an Orthodontic Specialist Elizabeth B. Spannhake, DDS, MS, MPH, Brittney A. Franklin, DMD, MS

Specialists in Orthodontics for children, teens, & adults Invisalign and Teen Invisalign Ceramic and Lingual Braces In-Office Tooth Whitening Certified Provider of Under Armour Performance Mouthwear TM

Where Science and Art Unite Dr. Spannhake and Dr. Franklin are dedicated to providing their patients with Unforgettable Smiles to last a lifetime. Through state of the art technology as well as great doctor-patient communication, their practice goal is to provide patients with consistently exceptional results.

www.spannhake-orthodontics.com Call for a complimentary consultation. Most Insurance Plans Accepted 7801 York Rd., Suite 315, Towson, MD 21204

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urbanite september 10

baltimore observed

VILLAIN -or- Victim? Can a dog bred and trained for fighting be saved, or have we created a monster? By melissa Wyse PHotoGraPHy By mitro HooD

efore the fight, Piglet’s owner ties her legs together and tapes her mouth shut so that she cannot defend herself. She’s near starvation, so malnourished she’s lost all her fur. The knobs of her spine protrude beneath her pink skin. Piglet, a young pit bull, was born completely deaf. She can’t be used as a fighting dog, and selling her won’t generate much profit. In the world of dogfighting and backyard breeding, Piglet is what’s referred to as “bait.” The adult dogs will warm up for the official fight by attacking and killing her. Arranging a dogfight or owning or training dogs for the purpose of fighting is a felony in Maryland. Attending a dogfight can result in a year in prison and a $2,500 fine. But critics say the penalties are not tough enough, particularly given the high stakes gambling often associated with dogfighting. And the reality is that most people involved in dogfighting in Baltimore never face prosecution. It’s difficult to investigate and apprehend dogfighters, who operate out of backyards and basements. The problem is compounded by the fact that street dogfighters often fight their dogs on a whim on playgrounds and street corners. By the time the police get there the fight is often over, the participants and witnesses dispersed. But on this day they arrive on time: Piglet is lucky—at least for now. One of the officers sends Piglet to an animal shelter in Howard County, which identifies her as

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WarmWelcome Glorious Music TiffanyWindowsHistoricmt.Vernon Sunday School Book Group interesting speakers Christmas Tower Recitals Wine & cHeese Opera Vivente Pancakes classes Duchess of Windsor Iron Crow Theatre soaring spaces Community Grants Insightful, ThoughtProvoking Preaching moVie group Beautiful Weddings Good Coffee annual “Blessing of the Backpacks” - sunday 9/12, 10:30 choral morning prayer service - all are Welcome!

Emmanuel Episcopal Church

at “Emmanuel Corner” since 1854 — Cathedral & Read Sts., Mt. Vernon Worship & EvEnt schEdulE: www.emmanueldowntown.org / 410.685.1130

urbanite september 10

    

   1145 Concordia Drive owon D 1  415 www.baltimorelutheran.org 

On the Air: Pit bull pros and cons on The Marc Steiner Show, WEAA 88.9 FM, on September 28.

baltimore observed U P d at e

amount of chicken broth, and she was so malnourished even this made her sick. It was six weeks before she could keep down a few bites of dog food. Meanwhile, the Morabitos bathed her in a lime-sulfur dip and rubbed ointments over her bare skin. Eventually she started to sprout a pale stubble of fur. Even as she recuperated physically, Piglet had psychological issues to deal with. When the Morabitos left home, she suffered from separation anxiety. “She used to go absolutely nuts because she didn’t know when we were coming back, and she was so attached to us,” Lisa says. “She used to have to be [locked in a crate] for her own safety. She ate a light bulb one time. She ate the wood around our door. She busted out of her crate, and it was just disastrous.” Piglet also exhibited food aggressive behavior—shaking uncontrollably and growling at other dogs while she was eating—another common challenge faced by pit bulls with a history of starvation. “She really was the hardest dog to train and socialize,” Lisa says. Until recently, rehabilitating fighting dogs was virtually unheard of. Even bait dogs were often indiscriminately destroyed by law enforcement and animal shelters. Liability concerns prohibited government officials from turning these animals over to rescue organizations. Most were simply destroyed. Then, a year after Piglet’s rescue, everything changed. The debate about whether to save fighting dogs ignited in 2007 when animal advocates decided to try to rehabilitate NFL quarterback Michael Vick’s pit bulls. (For his part in running a dogfighting ring, Vick spent twenty-one months in prison.) Ultimately, forty-eight of the forty-nine dogs were saved. Baltimore-based rescue organization Recycled Love received and adopted out three of them. And some dogs do make it. Now 4 years old, Piglet weighs in at a slightly chunky 80 pounds. She doesn’t look like the stereotypical pit bull. She has short, bristly white fur. When she sits, her hind legs sprawl out to either side. She leans against whoever happens to be sitting next to her. “She’s very much a person dog,” Lisa Morabito says. “She wants to be in your lap, touching you.” Lisa, at least, believes that there’s hope for a dog that many have written off. She takes Piglet with her everywhere she can in hopes that meeting Piglet will help change people’s minds about the breed. “People think dogs that were involved in fighting [are] nasty and mean and you can’t adopt them out,” she says. “Even if they were a fighting dog or a bait dog, that doesn’t automatically mean that they can’t be a family dog.” ■

photo by Llja Mašík | Dreamstime.com

a possible candidate for adoption because of her friendly disposition. But no one wants her. She needs significant medical attention, and rehabilitating her promises to be a long, painstaking process. And it’s more than that: Pit bulls continue to be the nation’s most vilified dog breed, and although recently a series of high-profi le pit bull abuse cases in Maryland has prompted a wave of public sympathy, people continue to mistrust them. That mistrust, while often steeped in urban myth, is not without basis in reality. Even within the animal rescue community there are questions about whether dogs used in fighting can or should be rehabilitated. Initially used as “butcher dogs” to assist with livestock slaughter, pit bulls became mainstays in the 17th-century blood sport of bull baiting—in which dogs attacked a tethered bull—and dog-on-dog fighting. But even as breeders looked for fighting instincts, they bred pit bulls to be friendly toward humans. The dogs’ high intelligence and desire to please made them easy to train. During World War I, the soldiers of the 102nd Infantry out of Connecticut adopted a pit bull named Stubby and took him to the French trenches. After sustaining a leg injury from an exploding grenade, Stubby was hailed as a symbol of American patriotism. Pit bulls were long known as “nanny dogs” because of their affinity for children. Both nature and nurture changed for pit bulls in the 1980s, when a surge of interest in street dogfighting led to indiscriminate backyard breeding and a population of new—and inexperienced—dogfighters. This was when highly publicized stories of pit bulls biting humans started appearing in the media. Myths developed about pit bulls, including the rumor that when they bite, their jaws lock. And there was no denying that there were problems with pit bulls that had been mistreated and badly bred—problems that have created a conundrum for animal rescue advocates: Although many pit bulls rescued from dogfighting can be rehabilitated, the costs can be prohibitive. “The money it might take to rehabilitate one pit bull could possibly get a hundred dogs out of a shelter,” says Bruce Wagman, a lawyer with the Animal Legal Defense Fund. In many cases the dogs are euthanized. Still, animal rescue organizations such as Mid Atlantic Bully Buddies and Adopt a Homeless Animal focus on pit bulls because they are so often the victims of animal cruelty. Organizations like these have placed hundreds of pit bulls in new homes, but for abused dogs, even in a good home, the struggle continues. When Lisa and Nick Morabito adopted Piglet, she weighed only 28 pounds, less than half what she should have. She could eat nothing but rice mixed with a small

tilting at windmills: After eight years of planning, the turbines of Maryland’s first commercial wind project took root in July atop Backbone Mountain in Garrett County. (See “Baltimore Unplugged,” Sept ’08 Urbanite.) When finished in 2011, the $140 million Constellation Energy venture is expected to generate enough electricity to power 140,000 homes. But construction did not begin without hitting one last speed bump. Environmental activists threatened to sue Constellation, the parent company of Baltimore Gas and Electric, claiming that spinning windmill blades could kill endangered bats. Constellation has applied for an “incidental take” permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that would allow it to kill bats. “We’re [obtaining the permit] because it’s the right thing to do,” says Kevin Thornton, Constellation Energy spokesperson. “It’s a good environmental project, and we want to make sure it’s good all the way down the line.”

—Amelia Blevins magic bus: A fleet of free, eco-friendly buses rolled onto the streets of downtown Baltimore this summer: the Charm City Circulator, which runs east-west from Harbor East to Hollins Market and north-south from Penn Station to Federal Hill. The city owns the twenty-one new EcoSaver IV hybrid electric buses but pays Veolia Transportation, owner of Yellow Cab Baltimore, an hourly fee to operate the routes. “The buses have been surprisingly crowded,” says transportation department project manager Sarah Housain. When the service was being tested back in January, it was busiest during traditional rush hours, she says. This summer, the buses were popular with tourists at all hours of the day. The service has been so popular that people have repeatedly asked for expansions to Canton and Charles Village. Coming soon: the Green Route, with service from Fells Point to Johns Hopkins University via City Hall. —Simon Pollock

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The Decoder Harvard professor John Palfrey on understanding our wired kids, and what the future will look like when “digital natives” rule interview by greg hanscom | photo by jeff page Harvard Law professor John Palfrey says his book Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives was born out of a friendly disagreement with his wife. A specialist in early childhood education, she had concerns about the couple’s two young children spending a lot of time staring at screens. Palfrey, 37, who says he has always been an “early adopter” of technology (“My mom got us a TRS-80 in about 1981”), wanted to introduce his kids to it in healthy ways. Writing the book, he says, was “my homework.” As teachers, Palfrey and his co-author, Urs Gasser, also wanted to better understand the students sitting in their classrooms, wired to their smartphones: “digital natives,” born after 1980, who are already reshaping the world in dramatic ways. For those outside the tribe—mere digital “settlers”—it pays to get to know them.

Born Digital is a sort of guidebook for older generations. Does it strike you as at all odd that we need a book written by a Harvard professor to decode our kids for us?

[Laughs] The idea of the book was to gear it toward parents and teachers. It’s for those who are puzzled by the phenomena that we see around us every day: The young people walking around with the ear buds in all the time, who at all times seem to be doing more than one thing; the students that appear to be distracted in the classroom; the kids who do homework differently; the kids who, despite being teenagers, never pick up the phone and call each other, and instead depend on text messages. We wanted to explain it in a context that says that there’s good and bad here. It’s important for parents and teachers to find ways, on a micro level, to amplify the good parts and fight against the bad parts. And it’s important that we do so on a macro level, a policy level, as well—find ways to bring out the great parts of this in kids, in terms of creativity, innovation, entrepreneurship, activism, and also address concerns about privacy and safety and information quality and so forth.

Q A

Judging from the articles and videos I’ve found online, you spend a fair amount of time soothing parents’ fears about the Dangers of the Digital Age.

That’s very true. The first thing we hear consistently is concerns about safety— the fear that kids will get online and meet somebody in the online environment who will lure them into the real world and try to do them harm. There is a kernel of truth to these fears. But if you look over a twenty-year period, from 1990 to 2010, there hasn’t been an increase in the chances that this will happen to your child. There has likely been a decrease. So the fear that someone might get from watching a show like To Catch a Predator—that’s not what the facts tell us.

As a father, I worry that a lot of these technologies—video games in particular—take kids away from reality when we really need kids to be engaged with the world.

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Virtually all kids engage in gaming, regardless of social class and gender, so it’s a crucial thing to understand. The notion of pulling them away from reality doesn’t bother me enormously. Literature is a creative escape. Film is a creative escape. Television is a creative escape. And I think that some of it is very good. Some of the gaming that involves identity play and new types of socializing can be positive. The part of gaming that I worry about is the impact of, for example, a first-person shooter game on a young and malleable mind. There’s not a lot of data on this, but I do not want my 8-year-old playing a game where he tries to kill as many people as he can with a knife or a gun. That doesn’t seem to me to be healthy. There’s real power of these games in education if we learn how to harness it. On the other hand, it’s a machine that can backfire if we don’t watch it.

The Christian Science Monitor just ran a quote from Nora Volkow, the director of National Institute on Drug Abuse. She said, “ The technology is rewiring our brains.”

This is a wildly transformative change. There are fundamental differences in the way that human beings relate to information, to one another, and to institutions that are being wrought through this lens. But it’s a neutral set of technologies. We can control it. And we should simply be more explicit about the choices that we are making. One of the choices clearly is around privacy. Do we want to live lives that are so transparent to each other that we know vastly more about the person sitting across from us simply by opening a browser on our mobile phone and looking them up? Do we want to live this way over a ninety- or hundred-year lifespan, where every act that we don’t protect is essentially shared with the rest of the world? Those are the fundamental questions that I think we need to be answering relatively soon, or I do think we will find unintended consequences.

You write that a person’s “ digital dossier” starts before birth and that there is now this incredibly intimate, detailed, digital record of our lives. It’s the stuff we don’t think about that is potentially scary.

Right. There are lots of decisions that we make as individuals and as a society that we can get in front of, but I’m not convinced that the knowledge level is where it needs to be in order to do that. I do think that the awareness of information privacy has grown, especially among young people who have been online for a longer period of time. The backlash against Facebook with its changes in its privacy policy and the new Google product, Buzz—I think these are signs that there is some heightened awareness. I don’t think it’s where it needs to be for the public interest yet, but there are green shoots of awareness.

In the business world, technology has tremendous disruptive power: BitTorrent [a file-sharing site that has enabled a massive illegal trade in pirated music and video], YouTube, and Google are making old business models obsolete. But you write that eventually this “creative destruction will ... look more constructive than it does today.”

The innovative and entrepreneurial quality that we see in young people starting businesses today is a very good sign for American competitiveness. I know from working in venture capital that a young founder is a very attractive founder. There’s a company here in Boston,

started by a young man named Seth Priebatsch, called Scvngr— “scavenger” with no vowels. He has a very interesting mobile platform for scavenger hunts, for making your way around, for example, the Smithsonian Institution. Priebatsch is an early-20-something CEO who is one of the hotter business leaders in the area. He has a powerful ability to attract people and create businesses and create jobs. From Facebook and YouTube down to Scvngr on the bleeding edge, these are companies that are not just serving young people online, but they are started by young people. There’s a powerful feedback loop between the young people who are using it and the innovators, and it’s creating a very powerful business ecosystem. And it’s a very open business ecosystem. These young people are interested in creating a broad environment in which people can create and innovate.

Q A

Given how quickly technology is changing, how do we, as parents of “ digital natives,” prepare our kids for the future?

There is a limit to what we will be able to do for them in this and every other realm. But I think we can help them get skills that they need to navigate these environments. You have to get engaged in the world that they’re living in to some extent to be able to give them good guidance. That doesn’t mean that you have to be their friend on Facebook and track their every move. But if they know that you are there for them, and they know you have good advice when they need it, the benefits will be greater than most parents expect. I think it’s very possible that our kids will find new ways of creativity that we haven’t even thought of. We need to create environments in which the wonder and excitement of this world can emerge for and through young people. It’s important that schools encourage kids to create things in a digital environment. Maybe it’s videos, maybe it’s computer codes, maybe it’s a new digital application. If you’re wondering about kids’ ability to pay attention for a long period of time, just look at kids who are involved in gaming or when they are engaged in one of these creative projects. This is not a panacea for education, but there’s an enormous amount of promise in it. There are growing pockets of interest in how to engage kids in this kind of creativity, but it’s not going to happen on its own.

This brings up an issue. What about the kids—and I’m thinking of a lot of the kids who grow up in inner-city Baltimore—who haven’t grown up with this technology?

I’m very worried about the growing divide between the digital haves and the digital have-nots. You’re more likely to have good digital skills if your parents have a high degree of education, which is a proxy for income. I worry about a student in a poor area of a city where they have access to the technology through a mobile device or a library or a school, but they don’t have a constructive environment in which to highlight the great parts and mitigate the bad parts. We as a rich society have this to fear as a growing gap between the rich and poor.

Q A

Do you have any examples of places that are working to close this gap?

I wish I could say I did. There are precious few success stories. It’s still a case you have to make to educators. I think there’s still a view that every kid with a smartphone is smart about it. That’s just not the case. Ensuring access alone is not sufficient. We have to ensure that kids have all the skills to do the positive stuff. ■ w w w. u r b a n i t e b a l t i m o re . c o m s e p t e m b e r 1 0

Baltimore City Schools CEO Andres Alonso has managed a major overhaul of the public schools. The next challenge falls to principals and teachersâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and will be harder still.

Onward and Upward By Greg Hanscom

i l l u s t r a t i o n s b y r o bb i b e h r

urbanite september 10

It’s easy to imagine that a kid growing up in this neighborhood would feel like she’s not worth much. A block to the north, the glittering Johns Hopkins medical campus rises over the city’s east side. To the south are the gentrifying neighborhoods around Patterson Park. But this is a place that’s been left behind. The streets are lined with derelict rowhouses. The last thing kids see before they walk into the neighborhood elementary/middle school, Commodore John Rodgers, is a weed-choked vacant lot and, above it, scrawled in spray paint across a brick wall, “Please No Dumping.” Until recently, the school itself was no brighter. Kids passed their days amid drab walls, graffiti-riddled bathrooms, and an

auditorium lined with broken seats. Academically, the place is the pits. Commodore John Rodgers has been on the state’s “school improvement” roster—known by those in the business simply as “the failing schools list”—since 1997. But change is coming. On a steamy afternoon in July, the school’s new principal, Marc Martin, a fast-talking 35-year-old, pushes through a plastic curtain, dodges workers and extension cords, and ducks into a cramped, makeshift office he shares with several of his staff members. Martin and his team have been brought in through the new Turnaround Schools initiative and given license to make dramatic changes. Armed with $1.2 million from the federal stimulus bill, they’ve slapped up coats of fresh paint, laid new tile, and, in the auditorium, installed a new stage and theater seats. In the coming month, they’ll hang digital “smart boards” in every classroom and flat screen TVs and display cases in the halls. “I prioritized image,” Martin says. “It’s important that parents and students see fresh change.” When kids walk in the door this fall, they’ll be forgiven for thinking that they might be worth something after all. The force behind Turnaround Schools and many of the other changes under way in Baltimore’s public schools is the system’s CEO, Andres Alonso. Since arriving in Baltimore in 2007, Alonso has cut one-third of the staff at the schools’ central office, replaced eighty principals, and closed twelve underachieving schools. He has filled w w w. u r b a n i t e b a l t i m o re . c o m s e p t e m b e r 1 0

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top positions with national-level talent and pushed more power and responsibility out to principals. He has made schools more accountable to the communities they serve, while supporting specialty and charter schools and allowing parents to choose where they send their kids. He has partnered with businesses and nonprofits and has convinced Baltimore’s philanthropic community that city schools are worthwhile investments again. By traditional measures, Alonso’s results have been modest. Test scores have inched upward, but several cheating scandals have cast a shadow over this progress, and Baltimore students still rank among the worst in the state; more than half of the city’s elementary and middle schools sit on the failing schools list. The graduation rate is the highest since the state started tracking it in 1996, but more than a third of the city’s schoolkids still bail out before graduation day. “Like every process of change,” Alonso says, “there are things that have worked remarkably, and then there are elements that have to be constantly rethought.” Still, with his tireless campaigning for kids and insistence on high-quality work, Alonso has brought a degree of consistency to a system that had seen five different CEOs in just ten years. He has created an atmosphere of innovation, public involvement, and motion. And, perhaps most remarkably, he has drawn parents and community members back into a school system that many had given up for dead. Laurie Latuda, program officer for the Goldseker Foundation, points to fresh signs of life around the city: One school has built a curriculum around civic engagement; a second is expanding its science programming through a partnership with a community gardening program; a third is specializing in science, technology, engineering, and math. “These different things are growing organically out of their communities,” Latuda says. “This is a moment in time where strong leaders in schools have the autonomy to make schools whatever they want to be.” Goldseker is funding “neighborhood-school partnerships” between schools and community groups in an effort to boost development in up-and-coming neighborhoods. (See “Magnet Schools,” June ’10 Urbanite.) But enticing middle-class parents to put their kids back into neighborhood schools—which some experts say is a key ingredient to long-term success—is a challenge even where test scores and parent satisfaction are relatively high. In that light, reviving schools in the city’s most beaten-down neighborhoods seems an impossible task. But not everyone thinks so. Marc Martin arrived in the Baltimore City schools via Teach for America in 1998. He taught at several city schools before earning a schools administration and supervision certificate from Johns Hopkins. His first principal’s assignment was at the Crossroads School, a charter middle school run by the nonprofit Living Classrooms Foundation in Harbor East. There, Martin was able to bring test scores up substantially—not, he says, by making any dramatic changes to the curriculum, but simply by raising expectations. “I let the staff know that no matter what the measure was, our kids should be able to demonstrate success,” Martin says. “The difference was cultural: building a culture of achievement.” Still, people looked at Crossroads as a special case because it is a charter school. So when Alonso invited

Living Classrooms to try its approach at Commodore John Rodgers, Martin jumped. Because Commodore John Rodgers is one of twelve Turnaround Schools, the staff was “zero-based,” meaning that all teachers and administrators had to reapply for their jobs. Out of forty teachers, Martin hired only three back. More than two hundred applied for the remaining spots, drawn from all over the city by the chance to effect change. With his new staff in place, Martin set about building ties to the community. Throughout the summer, the school has used phone calls and flyers to draw people to barbecues and ice cream socials and to spread the word about the changes under way. Martin and Assistant Principal Jamila Sams have held orientation sessions with two hundred incoming students and their parents, asking them to sign agreements promising that they will attend school every day, wear the required uniforms, perform all their schoolwork, and abide by school rules. Martin expects the school to take off. “Based on where this school is, you should see results tomorrow,” he says. He’s confident enough that he says he and his wife plan to enroll their own young children in the school when they are old enough. At Commodore John Rodgers, at least, Alonso’s push to put more power in the hands of principals and individual schools is generating a great deal of energy and excitement. Still, the approach is not without its risks, says Matthew Joseph, executive director of the nonprofit Advocates for Children and Youth. Many of the city’s new principals are inexperienced, and Alonso has at times been slow to give them the support that they need to handle their new responsibilities, Joseph says. Alonso has also embraced new national English and math standards that have received high praise from teachers, but Joseph worries that the national standards will be more difficult than the state ones they will replace and that city test scores could tumble.

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And while dynamic and innovative new schools in up-andcoming neighborhoods are drawing interest, questions remain about their long-term success. “There are a lot of new schools, a lot more choice,” Joseph says. “But there’s not a lot of research that says that you get tremendous leaps in achievement when you build your curriculum around engineering or something like that.” Still, Joseph, who has been an educational watchdog for two decades, says he is optimistic. Before Alonso arrived, Joseph says, “I would go up to [schools headquarters on] North Ave. all the time. There was no sense that, as we spoke, eighty or ninety thousand kids were not getting an education and that people should be freaking out about it.” Now, there is at least a clear sense of urgency, an understanding that kids are the bottom line—and a steady presence at the helm. And for the people working to turn Baltimore’s troubled schools around, that makes a huge difference. When Matthew Carpenter arrived at Arundel Elementary and Middle School in the threadbare South Baltimore neighborhood of Cherry Hill in the summer of 2008, he was the fourth principal the school had seen in five years. “I came into this office, and there were three filing cabinets filled with the records of other principals,” he says, sitting behind his desk on a sweltering summer morning. Arundel had been on the state’s failing schools list since 1996. Parents who could manage it were abandoning the school in droves: In the previous eight years, Arundel’s student population had dropped from around 400 to 248.

Using the autonomy provided by Alonso, Carpenter surrounded himself with talented administrators while trimming office staff in order to put more teachers in the classrooms. In 2009, Arundel students scored high enough on state tests to meet adequate yearly progress. A repeat performance this year finally sprang the school from the failing schools list. Carpenter, elated, says he expects that the school will gain students this fall for the second year in a row. Still, Carpenter is realistic when he talks about his hopes for his kids. Staff at the city’s top public schools, and many area private schools, talk about creating “lifelong learners” and instilling in their children “21st-century skills” such as collaboration and technological savvy. “That’s where I’d love to be,” he says. But for now, his goal is just to get more of his students into citywide high schools, where they will have a better chance of going on to college. And he realizes that a lot of that challenge falls to him. “The autonomy goes a long way toward allowing me to build a team,” he says. “But Dr. Alonso has also raised expectations and accountability. He’ll say, ‘I’m putting the power in your hands. Why aren’t things improving?’” ■ —Greg Hanscom is Urbanite’s editor-in-chief. On the Air: The state of Baltimore’s schools on The Marc Steiner Show, WEAA 88.9 FM, on September 1. Web extra: Looking for the right school for your child? Resources at www.urbanitebaltimore.com

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s e a s o n

Step through the front door

of Urban Academy High School in New York City, and it is immediately apparent that this is not your average public school. Occupying one floor of a four-story, six-school building on the Upper East Side, Urban Academy’s 149 students seem to have etched their marks into every inch of wall space. Art projects cover the walls, along with 8-by-10 portraits of graduating seniors and their families. Mismatched and worn couches litter the common area, along with a couple of upright pianos. A pair of students sits at a coffee table, talking and flipping through the day’s New York Times. Although it is, indeed, a certified public school that receives the same per-pupil funding from the city as any other public school, the class schedule here reads more like a college course catalogue: Indefatigable Volubility. Microbiology. Modern South Africa. Political Philosophy. And like college, many classes are held as open discussions, with a mix of freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors. During a visit in early June, students are hard at work in a toy-making workshop and an anatomy class. Ann Cook, the school’s cofounder, describes an economics course that two social studies teachers created when the recession hit. “Kids were hearing things all the time,” she says. “We needed them to really understand, what are credit default swaps? What are derivatives? What are subprime mortgages?” Perhaps the most pronounced difference, however, between Urban Academy and the other 1,600 public schools in New York City is the matter of state-mandated standardized tests. Students at Urban Academy are exempt from taking four out of five Regents Exams, the tests—nearly all multiple choice—that every public school student in New York state must pass in order to graduate. This is a rare exception in a public education system that has nationally become increasingly infatuated with standardized tests. (See “Testing in Progress,” Sept. ’09 Urbanite.) Tests tell us whether to move a student from one grade to the next, whether a teacher is good at his or her job, whether a principal is an effective leader, and whether a school should remain open. Ann Cook and others like her envision an education system that breaks through this strict pedagogy—one that relies on teacher-student relationships and classes driven by open-ended, thought-provoking questions. In the process, they say, we can create kids who are curious, creative, and civically engaged—not just good at taking multiple-choice tests. It’s an inspiring notion. But tests, for all their faults, have a purpose: to hold schools and teachers accountable and to keep the

bar high for taxpayer-funded public education. The question, then, is whether the success of a more holistic approach to education can be measured. And if not with tests, then what? Urban Academy offers a few possible answers.

The experiment now under way at Urban Acad-

emy was born in the early 1990s, when Tom Sobol, then New York State Commissioner of Education, noticed a group of high schools that were especially innovative in their education practices. These schools had developed a stimulating curriculum, including extensive professional development, and an accountability system that was based on a series of long-term assignments that students had to complete before graduation. Sobol designated them “Compact for Learning” schools and granted them a waiver from taking the state Regents Exams (the equivalent of the Maryland School Assessments, or MSAs), which have been around in one form or another since 1875. He told the New York State Department of Education to review the schools’ performance by evaluating student work at the end of each year. He believed that, with their complete and well-rounded system of assessment, the schools would do just fine. The schools were not saying “no” to testing per se, says Deborah Meier, founder of the Central Park East Secondary School, who was involved in getting the original waiver. They were simply rejecting the idea that testing should be the only basis for assessing students’ progress. Students in these schools still took one Regents Exam in English each year and could opt to take the SATs to improve their chances of getting into college. But by 1995, with Sobol no longer at the helm, state higher-ups were increasing the pressure on these schools to conform to state standards. In 1998, the Regents Exams became mandatory for high school graduation. In response, the group of like-minded schools created the New York Performance Standards Consortium, which now counts twenty-eight school members, all still exempt from most tests. Ann Cook is the consortium’s executive director. On the surface, the two approaches don’t look all that different. Both the Regents Exams and the consortium schools assess students in English (“literature” in consortium terms), mathematics, science, and social studies. But the similarities end there. The five Regents Exams are spread out over the course of the first three years of high school. Most tests are three hours long, except the English exam, which is six hours split into two three-hour parts. Each test is a combination of multiple choice and written response w w w. u r b a n i t e b a l t i m o re . c o m s e p t e m b e r 1 0

Discovering their best. Challenging Goals l Nurturing Potential l Building Character

Open House

■

October 17, 2010

■

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McDonogh School in Owings Mills offers a challenging curriculum and the support of the entire McDonogh family—innovative teachers, caring advisors, involved parents, and truly remarkable peers.

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For information about our K-12 college preparatory program or to register for an open house, please call us at 410-581-4719 or visit us online at www.mcdonogh.org. Open House Dates: Grades K-4 9:00 a.m. Thursday, October 14 Tuesday, November 9 Wednesday, December 1

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Grades 5-8 1:00 p.m. Sunday, October 17 Grades 9-12 3:30 p.m. Sunday, October 17

7/28/10 11:56 AM

questions. At Urban Academy, in contrast, earning “proficiencies” requires lengthy analytical essays, detailed science experiments, or multifaceted class presentations. Wahidah Fowler, an academy graduate who recently finished her freshman year at the City University of New York, recalls her most challenging proficiency, in literature. Her paper “was, like, sixteen, seventeen pages,” she says. “And I had to revise it. A lot.” After students complete their literature proficiency, Cook says, they’re given a list of novels and asked to read one. “It can’t be a book they’ve ever studied in class before,” Cook says. “And when they feel like they’ve read it, and they’re ready to talk about it, we set them up with an external assessor—somebody they’ve never met. It could be a writer or a college faculty member. We have a whole Rolodex full of people we use. And they meet in a coffee shop, and they have a totally unscripted conversation about the book. And then the assessor calls here, and we ask them how it went.” And the consortium schools are not just interested in academics. Students are required to spend half a day each week doing community service. They work at senior citizen centers and animal shelters. They tutor younger kids in other schools and help out at nonprofit organizations such as Recycle a Bicycle, which refurbishes bikes and sends them to developing countries. “You learn more,” Cook says. “You learn how to be a good citizen—a wellrounded individual, aside from just a test-taker. Then, when you get into the real world, or into college, you’re able to progress also. It doesn’t limit you.”

The road to college, for many who enter

this school, is long. Urban Academy is a “transfer school.” Students come from all over the city and are generally in dire academic straights when they arrive. They are almost all in danger of failing or dropping out. They come here either at the direction of a concerned guidance counselor or parent or because they are self-motivated enough to know that the change would be in their best interest. And once they are here, they generally stay here: The dropout rate at the consortium schools is roughly 8 percent; the citywide rate is 13.5 percent. They do fairly well on the one state test that they do take: The average score of an Urban Academy student on the English Regents Exam is 85. Urban Academy students who choose to take the national SATs score all over the map, Cook says, but she points to research that has shown little correlation between SAT scores and how well kids do in college. More than eight hundred colleges now do not require SATs. Her ultimate proof that testing doesn’t make the critical difference: Citywide, roughly two-thirds of high school graduates are accepted into college. More than 90 percent of consortium school grads get in. But the consortium schools are small islands in the public schools ocean. With its 149 students, Urban Academy is a fraction of the size of the average New York public school, which has 688 students. It’s smaller, even, than the average consortium school, which has roughly 440 students. “There’s no question that this

✖

The schools were not saying “no” to testing per se, says education expert Deborah Meier. They were simply rejecting the idea that testing should be the only basis for assessing students’ progress.

model lends itself to smallness,” Meier says. “Because it is in the company of the faculty in which students are educated—reading the same books, talking about the same issues. And it’s easier to do that in a small school where the faculty know all the students and the students know all the faculty.” And, bottom line, there’s a reason that standardized tests exist. Even the staunchest critics of high stakes testing acknowledge that it has brought to light deep disparities in the quality of education for poor and minority students. And using the consortium-style testing on a larger scale would be difficult, skeptics say. “The consortium has grown, and along with any group, there is good growth and there is growth that is not as good,” says Merryl Tisch, chancellor of the New York Board of Regents. “We are interested in working with those schools that are models of excellence, but I think that performance-based assessment is a very hard thing to norm across a state with 3.2 million youngsters.” But Cook insists that the model could be replicated—and in fact is not all that unusual when you factor in private schools, which are exempt from state assessment exams. “Look at Sidwell Friends [in Washington, D.C.], where the president sends his kids, or the University of Chicago Lab School where he and [U.S. Education Secretary] Arne Duncan [used to] send their kids,” she says. “Those schools don’t talk at all about testing. They talk about creativity; they talk about getting kids to be critical thinkers. Why aren’t we talking about this? Why don’t we have a curriculum that reflects this? “If it’s good for them,” Cook asks, “why isn’t it good for everybody?” ■ —Frequent Urbanite contributor Rebecca Messner has just completed her first film, The Olmsted Legacy: America’s Urban Parks, which will show at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture on September 26.

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urbanite september 10

THIS IS YOUR BRAIN ON ART Neuro-ed researchers say creativity can set kidsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; minds on fire. B Y

D E B O R A H

IL L UST RATION

B Y

R U D A C I L L E B R IA N

PAYN E

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PS-2010 Urbanite-Think PRINT.qxd

7/22/10

We teach kids how not what to think.

12:11 AM

Page 1

Education for life.

to think,

The Montessori School Preschool-Grade 6

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Offshore drilling is the safest way to extract oil from the earth.

Grades 7 & 8

Since the end of the Cold War, there have been no Soviet agents in the U.S. Phones are only for talking.

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SO DO WE.

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urbanite september 10

“When you read about the medical practices of one hundred years ago, you think it’s crazy what people used to do. And one day we may feel the same about how we used to teach children.” —Charles Limb, scientific director, Johns Hopkins School of Education Neuro-Education Initiative

“It’s gonna be a really tough project. You’re gonna have to use your head, your brain, and your mind too,” substitute teacher Ned Schneebly (a.k.a. slacker Dewey Finn) warns his students in the TBS classic School of Rock. Like just about every fi lm ever made about an inspirational teacher, the sweetly subversive Rock trades on the truism that emotional engagement fires the synapses, leading students to previously undreamed-of accomplishments. In many of those fi lms—Dead Poet’s Society, Mona Lisa Smile, Mr. Holland’s Opus—art is the core of the great teacher’s pedagogy, the liberator of minds and hearts. Mariale Hardiman and her colleagues at the Neuro-Education Initiative at the Johns Hopkins School of Education would like to test that hypothesis. An early advocate of developing a pedagogy based on cognitive neuroscience (“neuro-ed” for short), Hardiman developed an “arts-integrated” curriculum—using the arts as a teaching methodology—at Roland Park Elementary/Middle School while serving as the school’s principal from 1993 to 2006. Other educators and theorists have promoted the use of arts in the classroom, as in the Waldorf and Reggio Emilia schools, but Hardiman says that her “brain-targeted” teaching model provides an instructional model that can be used in any school. Like most educational experiments, however, arts integration has never been systematically tested. Based on her previous research and her experience at Roland Park, “I would guess that the kids who have done the work in an integrated way would have that knowledge more embedded in their memory,” Hardiman says. “But believe it or not, there are no controlled studies on that.” And that, she and her colleagues say, is the problem with almost the whole of educational theory. “When you read about the medical practices of one hundred years ago, you think it’s crazy what people used to do,” says Charles Limb, scientific director of the Neuro-Ed Initiative. “And one day we may feel the same about how we used to teach children.” An auditory researcher best known by the lay public for his “this is your brain on jazz” studies (see “The Creationist,” March ’10 Urbanite), Limb says the time is right for education to become more of an applied science like medicine. Not only are educators hungry for data on the effectiveness of teaching methodologies, but neuroscientists also now have the tools, and therefore the

motivation, to measure complex human behaviors that were once beyond the scope of science—like how learning to play a musical instrument or painting a landscape or writing a short story reshapes the brain and therefore the person. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging—which tracks blood flow in the brain while a subject is engaged in a task—Limb has charted which areas of the brain are most active when jazz musicians improvise. “I image their brains when they are generating music on the spot, really high-level sophisticated music,” he says. “And we are seeing patterns of brain activity during those creative behaviors that are unlike anything seen during a scripted memorized behavior.” The pre-frontal cortex—the central brain structure involved in creative thinking, and the part of the brain that is, Limb says, “most human”—really lights up when subjects are creatively engaged. It’s just that kind of creative lightning storm that that Hardiman and her colleague Susan Magsamen, founders of the NeuroEducation Initiative, would like to encourage in schoolchildren by pairing the arts with more traditional teaching methods to facilitate learning across the curriculum.

At Roland Park, Hardiman created an approach in which students were enrolled in music, theater, visual arts, and dance programs—and encouraged to incorporate those arts into their core classes to reinforce the learning of key concepts. Faculty involve the arts in their lessons as well. Fractions might be taught using rhythm and beat to illustrate the concept of 3/4 time, the rotation of the planets around the sun via dance. While studying the novel Hatchet, students at Roland Park created a tableau to depict through their bodies what it would be like to be stranded alone in the wilderness, the theme of the book. It may sound a little hippy-dippy, but arts evoke emotion, Hardiman points out, and the role that emotions play in laying down long-term memory (and thus learning) is well-established. Our brains take in enormous amounts of information each day and prioritize data to be stored in both short- and long-term memory. First priority is information related to survival, such as perceived threats. Second priority is emotionally-tinged data. Most new

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urbanite september 10

“Traditionally our culture teaches us that the intellectual side, our cognitive system, is totally separate from our emotional system. Teachers are certainly not taught to take into account a child’s emotional presence in the classroom. Just the opposite. It’s ‘Sit down and do your work.’” — Mariale Hardiman, cofounder of the Johns Hopkins School of Education Neuro-Education Initiative

information is lost within twenty-four hours—unless the brain has a strong motive for converting it to long-term memory and rehearses or repeats the data to effect an actual change in the physical structure of neurons, a process called long-term potentiation. Arts integration, with its emphasis on repetition of information through both cognitive and emotional brain circuitry, theoretically helps facilitate that process. Trained as a learning disabilities specialist, Hardiman has been mapping the connections between neuroscience and education for more than thirty years. “The very first definitions of learning disability came right out of neurology,” she points out. “It was really the neuroscientists studying brain injury that led to psychologists picking it up and then educators. And now, years later, it has been proven that yes, there are differences in how children with learning disabilities process information.” Meanwhile, as a teacher and later as an administrator, she saw various “flavor of the month” educational initiatives come and go and was bothered by the field’s lack of scientific rigor. “It’s always a new initiative: Throw out the old and start something new. It’s why education never really changes, because we don’t have a model that incorporates all the best practices and is informed by research.” So while still at Roland Park, she published a book, Connecting Brain Research with Effective Teaching: The Brain-Targeted Teaching Model, that drew together the emerging themes of her own research. The first, and perhaps most controversial in terms of conventional educational practice, is the vital role that emotions play in learning. “Traditionally our culture teaches us that the intellectual side, our cognitive system, is totally separate from our emotional system,” she says. “Teachers are certainly not taught to take into account a child’s emotional presence in the classroom. Just the opposite. It’s ‘Sit down and do your work.’” Another factor in the model is the need to present big concepts rather than just discrete facts. “The analogy is that if we look at a puzzle but never see the big picture, just the little pieces, then the little pieces don’t make sense,” she says. The brain, Hardiman points out, “really does like to look at big pictures. It’s always trying to make sense of information.”

All of this has profound implications for educational policy, Hardiman says. If one takes it as a given that the purpose of education is not merely the regurgitation of facts, but also the acquisition of higher-level skills like problem-solving and innovation, then we as a nation are on the wrong track with the current “teach to the test” approach. “Kids are getting better and better at being test-takers,” she says. But they are not necessarily getting better at learning the content or exhibiting application of knowledge. “So we believe that neuro-education and learning about how children think and learn can really change what happens in classrooms and change the policies that focus on such a narrow view of what education is.”

Both Hardiman and Limb are quick to say that they are not advocating a wholesale abandonment of traditional teaching methods. Worksheets are not going to disappear anytime soon. At Roland Park, for example, “we were always very focused on our test scores because we had to be,” Hardiman says, with scores on standardized tests tied to school funding. But within that traditional model, there is still room for innovation, she says. Teachers themselves agree, up to a point. “If it’s done right, arts integration helps,” says Amy Begg-Marino, a seventh-grade art teacher at Mt. Royal Elementary/Middle School, one of six Baltimore City schools now experimenting with the model, “because it gives students more avenues to explore a subject and different ways to produce something proving they understand the concept being taught.” Not only does arts integration help students grasp concepts, but it can also be a tremendous aid in classroom management. “Generally some of the kids who are the worst kids in other classes are angels in mine because they like doing something they are good at,” Begg-Marino says. “You have sixth-graders who read on a fourth-grade level, and if you give them sixth-grade work they are automatically going to act out because they get frustrated. But you don’t have to draw the perfect picture for it to look fabulous.” But practical considerations limit the method’s effectiveness. “There is not really enough planning time built into the schedule to continued on page 93

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urbanite september 10

Exploring new shores: Four hundred years ago, Captain John Smith laid the groundwork for English settlement of the Chesapeake Bay region. This map shows the routes of Smith’s first (blue), second (red), and subsequent (green) voyages, which are being developed as a 1,700mile historic water trail.

ESCAPE

A Trip Through Time The 1,700-mile John Smith historic water trail offers a glimpse of days gone by—and could usher in a new era of ecotourism on the Chesapeake. by tom horton

graphic by Jenna Kaminsky. Map from Google Maps and the National Park Service

“M

ost people don’t appreciate a salt marsh, but this is where the Indian made his living,” says Mike Hinman, tribal historian of the Accohannock Indians on Maryland’s lower Eastern Shore. There’s a contemplative, timeless quality to these vast marshes, stretching prairie-like through lower Somerset County to the Pocomoke Sound. Black ducks burst from tidal ponds; a fish, likely a striped bass, swirls near the creek bank; and a big jimmy crab fins by, cradling beneath him a female, soon to shed her shell and mate. The scene would look familiar still to the English explorer Captain John Smith, who passed where we now canoe on June 6, 1608, his crew rowing their 30foot sailing barge on a voyage that literally put the Chesapeake Bay on the map and changed the English-speaking world. Smith was headed up the Chesapeake, bound for what is now Baltimore. During that remarkable summer, from his little open craft, he would chart the bay from its Atlantic mouth to above Havre de Grace, also traveling most of the estuary’s significant rivers. His map and writings, along with those he later made of New England, were the blueprints for English settlement of North America, the main guidebook for more than a century. Alongside a modern satellite view of the bay, Smith’s effort still impresses—this despite using only crude tools like compass, hourglass, and sextant, and lacking any knowledge of how to calculate longitude. Many places on Smith’s route, which Congress recently authorized as a 1,700-mile national historic water trail, have changed a bit in four centuries—like Baltimore’s Inner Harbor and Middle Branch, where Smith reported no sign of human habitation after three days exploring the Patapsco nearly to Elkridge. But a surprising number of “John Smith” views

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Success is born from

high expectations. At Calvert School, we ask a lot of our students. They, in turn, ask a lot of themselves. Our time-tested curriculum stresses mastery of the fundamentals in a positive, nurturing environment.

Come visit us during one of our “Considering Calvert” days. Tuesday, October 19th Wednesday, November 17th Tuesday, December 7th

9:00 A.M. – 11:00 A.M. 9:00 A.M. – 11:00 A.M. 9:00 A.M. – 11:00 A.M.

RSVP: 410-243-6054 x148 An independent Pre-K through Eighth Grade school for boys and girls. 105 Tuscany Road, Baltimore, MD 21210 · www.calvertschoolmd.org

Bryn Mawr’s Fall Visiting Days Little School Coed Infants to Age 5 Oct. 17

K-Grade 1 Grades 2-5 Oct. 5 Nov. 9

Nov. 16

Grades 6-8

Grades 9-12

Oct. 12 Nov. 10

Oct. 20 Dec. 2

Information and registration: www.brynmawrschool.org or 410-323-8800 x1232

urbanite september 10

Old meets new: The Accohannock Indians are building a native village at Bending Water, near Crisfield, where they teach visitors about tribal history and offer kayak and canoe tours.

ESCAPE

photo by David Harp

remain along his route: the Cliffs of Fone along the Rappahannock; the swamps and rice marshes of Virginia’s Chickahominy and the Eastern Shore’s Nanticoke; miles of forests, lousy with eagles, along the Potomac in southern Maryland; and rockstudded Garrett Island in the Susquehanna’s mouth near Havre de Grace. Smith made it upstream there to near Lapidum in Cecil County before figuring out that the Chesapeake held no fabled northwest passage. The 1,700-mile John Smith water trail, the first national park of its kind, was signed into law by President George W. Bush in late 2006 and is still in the planning and development stages at the National Park Service. The trail has impressive potential to eventually knit together hundreds of cities and towns and a bevy of smaller water trails and historical sites throughout the Chesapeake region. And you needn’t wait to go. A Park Service website, www.smith trail.net, offers a host of explorations along the Captain’s route, including interesting

photo by David Harp

Hidden riches: The salt marshes along Maryland’s lower Eastern Shore are “where the Indian made his living,” says Accohannock tribal historian Mike Hinman.

waterfront towns like Solomons and Havre de Grace, both with maritime history museums. Also check out Smith’s deepest penetration into the Delmarva Peninsula, some 40 miles up the Nanticoke River, where the sleepy villages of Vienna and Sharptown offer B&Bs and superb jumping-off spots for paddlers, bicyclists, and birdwatchers. The website lists scenic places along the Smith trail compiled by photographer Ian Plant, favorite fishing holes by naturalist John Page Williams, and highlights of a 2007 trip recreating Smith’s voyage in a reproduction of his original boat, written by crew member Andy Bystrom. Another good exploration tool is Edward Wright Haile’s book John Smith in the Chesapeake. Haile has retraced Smith’s travels day by day, combining excerpts from the old sea dog’s journals with his own expert interpretations. Communities around the bay hope the trail will stimulate ecotourism, but it could do far more than that. The man who dreamt it up was Patrick Noonan, a Maryland native who arguably has preserved more of America’s natural landscapes than any other private individual. Noonan was an early force in the Nature Conservancy and later founded the Conservation Fund, each of which have protected millions of acres, including large tracts throughout the Chesapeake region. Noonan worked tirelessly and mostly behind the scenes for years to organize garden clubs, environmental groups, and governments at every level around authorizing the John Smith trail, capitalizing on the quadracentennial of Smith’s explorations a couple of years ago. From the beginning, his aim was to use the trail as a vehicle to preserve natural landscapes throughout the bay watershed, ensuring “viewsheds” that approximate what Smith saw, allowing public access to the waterfront, and bolstering water quality by protecting open spaces. Noonan talks eloquently of the “power of trails” as windows into the larger land (or water) scape, catalysts to spark protective land use far beyond their narrow confines. One model he cites is the Appalachian Trail; conceived in 1921 as a regional footpath, it is

now a linear national park, a nearly 2,200mile corridor of green averaging a thousand feet wide, stretching from Georgia to Maine, cutting across the western and northern edges of the bay’s watershed. It would seem a vision worth replicating along the Chesapeake. John Smith’s voyage was sparked by exploration and exploitation. Four hundred years later it’s possible the John Smith trail can help lead to an era of restoration and preservation. Tribes like the Accohannock are also hoping for a better shake this time around. In the Pocomoke marshes, where Mike Hinman and his tribe offer paddling opportunities out of their 33-acre property near Crisfield, there’s not a house or a road in sight during hours of exploring. Hinman recounts how Smith—although his bankrollers in England hoped to find treasure, land for the British, and a passage to the Orient—was most desperate for freshwater when he came by here. He found it, muddy though it was, writing later that he would have “refused two barricoes [6- to 8-gallon kegs] of gold for one of that puddle water.” Hinman, 70, is a lifelong voyager in these great tide marshes. He traces his ancestry to both Indians and whites. For generations, his forebears “told and retold the old stories of our Indian side, but people just thought you were crazy.” Now that is changing. In recent decades the Accohannocks, a subgroup of the Powhatan nation, have reorganized. They are constructing a native village at Bending Water, with a trading post selling crafts, to educate visitors about Native American history in the region. And they offer a superb launchpad for exploring one of Maryland’s least-peopled landscapes. ■ —Longtime environment reporter and avid kayaker Tom Horton is author of several books on the Chesapeake. Web extra: For more information on the John Smith trail, visit www.urbanitebaltimore.com.

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open house Lower School ⋅ Boys in Grades Kindergarten to Five

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Light bright: A sleek glass-and-walnut stairway, designed by architect Douglas Bothner and fabricated by Gutierrez Studios, leads from the entryway down to the living room, an expansive space that’s bathed in light from windows on either side of the house. Colorful pieces of contemporary art fill the house, such as the six tablets bearing the word “THANKS,” by artist Allan McCollum, arranged on the dining room table.

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winding residential road in Pikesville passes through an enclave of mid-century modern: split-levels built in the 1950s and 1960s by developer Gordon Sugar. In many of the houses here, the kitchen, living room, and dining room are on the same level as the front door, with the bedrooms downstairs. But there’s one house on this street that’s turned the split-level concept upsidedown—literally. When architect Douglas Bothner, of local fi rm Ziger/Snead, began working on the project, he asked the owner (who doesn’t wish to be identified), “Can you live upside down?” The answer was yes. As a result, the living room, dining room, and kitchen are on the bottom floor, a full story below the entryway. From the street, the house seems to have just one level, with a garage appended to the west side. But the 6,200-square-foot structure is built into the side of a hill—in fact, half of the house is embedded in the earth. So one enters the house on the second floor—and immediately gets a stunning view of the living room from a mezzanine. The living room is an expansive space with 18-foot-tall windows that encompass most of the south side of the house and provide a great view of the lush backyard, which is on grade level of the bottom floor— just a step away from the living room.

Parts of the whole: The main body of the house—containing the kitchen, dining, and living rooms—is wrapped in zinc, chosen because it is low-maintenance and “gorgeous,” Bothner says. “It looks like gray velvet.” The ground-floor master suite, topped by a deck, juts out into the yard at a right angle.

Bothner served as project architect, working directly with the homeowner and drawing up the plans, while Jamie Snead served as principal architect, managing the project from the office. Completed in 2008, the house earned Ziger/Snead two awards from the Baltimore chapter of the American Institute of Architects and one from the Maryland chapter. Bothner says he’s particularly proud of the way the homeowner brought the team together to achieve her vision—Bothner and Snead, plus landscape architect Carol Macht of Hord Coplan Macht, interior designer Jay Jenkins of Jenkins Behr, builder Hank Trone of JHT Contracting, and lighting designer Glenn Shrum. “I could not

urbanite september 10

be more proud of that house and how it all worked out,” he says. The place is certainly high-end, but it’s no stuffy showpiece. There’s Italian ceramic tile on the living room floor, but it’s dotted with paw prints, tracked in by the homeowner’s beloved dog. Mid-century modern furniture and an impressive contemporary art collection are mixed in with such colorful kitschy artifacts as the pastel-toned typewriters from the ’30s and antique cameras filling a bookcase in the living room. There’s even whimsy in the backyard, where rusty truck springs and bowling balls serve as decoration. The stepped lawn boasts two bluestone-paver patios—one adjoining

the master suite, one accessible from the living room that includes several shallow water features that, in early August, were filled with tadpoles. Baby foxes and deer have been known to romp by the ravine that runs behind the house. It as if the house is in the woods, rather than just off I-695. “One of the more important parts of the site strategy was to capitalize on the views of the property that wasn’t the owner’s,” Bothner says. Partially submerging the house in the side of the hill makes the structure energy efficient—as Bothner says, the earth stays at a constant temperature, so putting half of the house right up against it keeps the structure at about 65 degrees Fahrenheit year-

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The great outdoors: The master bedroom opens into the backyard, giving the homeowner a frontrow seat for the animal antics in the backyard. Foxes and deer have been spotted out here.

round. All of the windows in the house are 1-inch-thick insulated glass fi lled with argon gas, with a low-E coating that minimizes the transmittal of solar heat. The top row of the windows in the living room, which face south, have an integral ceramic frit, which also reduces solar heat gain by 50 percent. The project was a true labor of love for Bothner, who still has photos of the finished product on his iPhone. “I wish I could live there,” he says. ■ —Marianne Amoss is Urbanite’s managing editor.

Unretouched: The natural beauty of the building materials shines in this house. The cedar that covers part of the structure on the outside, for instance, continues on the inside. And no detail was left unattended: The ceramic tiles in the living room are aligned with the bluestone pavers in the patio out back.

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eat/dr ink

reviews

wine & spirits

the feed

Sam’s Kid and Clarence’s Taste of New Orleans

Sipping containers

This month in eating

Lunch bell: The folks at the Rotunda know when the Kooper’s Chowhound Burger Wagon, currently manned by Corey Hall, is out back: It’s hard to ignore the scent of frying meat punctuated with a good whiff of onions.

One for the Road

Lunch trucks take burgers and burritos to the masses.

By mary K. ZaJac P H oto G ra P Hy By l a Kaye mBaH

t would be hard to mistake the back parking lot of the Rotunda shopping center in Hampden for a picnic spot. Grass is relegated to a straggling strip, shade from the scattered mimosas is dicey at best, and the view of cars and shopping carts parked on the blacktop can hardly be considered bucolic. But on the Friday before July 4, the lot is peppered with folks sitting on benches and concrete ledges, eagerly waiting to hear Jack Taylor, a ruddy-faced former radio personality with ginger blonde hair and a megawatt smile, call their names from the van painted to look like Kooper’s. They approach a window on the side and receive a brown lunch bag, thanks, and a grin from Taylor. “There you are, my dear,” he beams to a woman leaning on a cane. “Have a great day, baby,” she responds. This is Kooper’s Chowhound Burger Wagon, one of several lunch trucks operating in the greater Baltimore area. “Our primary goal is to bring our burgers to businesses and offices in Baltimore,” says Willy Dely, marketing manager for Kooper’s Tavern, the

Fells Point bar/restaurant that launched the burger wagon in August 2009. “We saw that the trucks were popular in other cities and thought, ‘Why not in Baltimore?’” Why not indeed? In the world of lunch trucks, Baltimore is late to the party. The four trucks (two cupcake, the burger wagon, and a burrito truck) and smaller lunch carts that roam the city’s streets and parking lots are small beans compared with the established truck scenes in Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, and even smaller cities like Madison, Wisconsin, and Washington, D.C., that offer everything from falafel to Korean barbecue. Some trucks, like L.A.’s Kogi Roja, have become a scene in themselves, with the long waits in line often supplemented by a DJ and dancing—all for a $2 taco. Kooper’s Chowhound hasn’t established that kind of following (the only music comes from the iPod Taylor has rigged in the van), but the truck has been warmly embraced, and business is booming. It’s bison for the Hopkins student on his way home from school, beef for Allstate agent Don White, and veggie

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Vino Rosina, A new wine bar featuring an eclectic menu focusing on local ingredients; artisan cheeses, specialty infused cocktails, 50+ wines by the glass. Open 7 days and M-F for lunch at Harbor East For reservations, call 410 528 8600 or visit www.vinorosina.com

THE MARYLAND WINE FESTIVAL

September 18-19, 2010 Saturday, 10 am-6pm Sunday, Noon-6 pm

Adults: $25 for 21 and older with I.D. $22 in advance * $20/designated drivers, $5/ages 7-20; 6 & under free with paying adult.

Adult admission price includes: wine glass, samples of Maryland wines, attendance at the wine-tasting seminar, Museum tours and on-stage entertainment. Food and crafts for sale. Free handicapped accessible shuttle service available at Carroll Community College and the Carroll County Office Building, No Pets allowed on Museum grounds

www.carrollcountyfarmmuseum.org www.marylandwinefestival.org Carroll County Farm Museum 500 South Center Street, Westminster, MD 410-386-3880 or 1-800-654-4645

Advertising funding provided in part by the Carroll County Commissioners, Carroll County Department of Economic Development, and Carroll County Office of Tourism.

Proud Sponsors: Cooperative marketing sponsorship is provided by the Carroll County Times, WZBA 100.7 The Bay, Maryland Life Magazine, Carroll County Bureau of Economic Development/Office of Tourism, and the Maryland Office of Tourism Development, Renewal by Anderson, Access Carroll, BB&T, Cabot Creameries, Sleep Number Beds, with support from the Maryland Wineries Association, Maryland Grape Growers Association, American Wine Society, and the Caroll County Department of Recreation & Parks

urbanite september 10

style for ponytailed Michael Kirby, his order larded with pepper jack and jalapeños. “The guy in the comic book shop says he always looks forward to Friday,” says a man wearing a black Hair Cuttery apron, eating a turkey burger with two colleagues under the shade of a picnic table umbrella. As if on cue, Ben Armitage, an employee of Amazing Spiral, places his order in rapid staccato: “Bison with provolone, red pepper, olives, black bean salsa, Baja slaw, sauce of the month”— which turns out to be Tidewater, a combination of mayonnaise, horseradish, and Old Bay seasoning. “I always get a bison,” he says as he waits. “You can get a beef burger anywhere, and [the bison is] the same price.” On a good day, Taylor says he sells between 100 and 150 burgers that have been prepped in the restaurant’s kitchen that morning before being loaded onto the truck, where they are grilled to order on location by one or two line cooks. It’s a snug fit inside the van, shiny with quilted metal paneling and a stainless steel freezer and fryer (“kind of like

the truck in the morning, and is on the road until late afternoon. The work is more satisfying than she expected. “I’ve always loved to bake,” she says, “but I didn’t really know if I would like driving and vending from the truck. But I actually love it. I love interacting with the customers.” And if there are no customers, she says, “I can get up and move.” That mobility is part of the appeal of lunch trucks for entrepreneurs. The other is that start-up costs are less than those of opening a restaurant. Although retrofitting a truck and getting licensed is no small investment, folks seem eager to take the plunge, according to Brian Sacks, who with his wife, Sherri, started www.mobilefoodprofits.com, which offers consultation to prospective lunch truck operators about marketing and operations. Sacks should know. He also holds the license for Juana Burrito, a truck that briefly shared a schedule with the burger wagon this spring before Sacks, a former marketing consultant and mortgage banker, sold

Ben Armitage, an employee of Amazing Spiral, places his order in rapid staccato: “Bison with provolone, red pepper, olives, black bean salsa, Baja slaw, sauce of the month”— which turns out to be Tidewater, a combination of mayonnaise, horseradish, and Old Bay seasoning. being in a submarine,” Taylor jokes). Like trucks here and in other cities, Kooper’s burger wagon uses online networking sites in lieu of conventional advertising; Dely posts weekly schedules on the truck’s Facebook page and follows up with Foursquare and Twitter updates about the truck’s stops, which include Tide Point and various spots in Mount Vernon and Hunt Valley, where the burger wagon often “double dates” with the Iced Gems cupcake truck. “We met [Jack] on our second day out,” reports Iced Gems owner Christine Richardson. “And he said, ‘Hey, hook up with us any time. We’re lunch, and you’re dessert.’” Unlike Kooper’s Chowhound, the cupcake truck is a one-woman operation. Richardson initially bought the refrigerated vehicle as a moving advertisement and delivery truck for her fledgling wedding cake business. “But then I thought, ‘What do I do with this the rest of the time?’” she says. Everyone else is doing cupcakes, her daughter advised her, and Iced Gems was born. Without a brick and mortar shop, Richardson must rent space to make her gourmet cupcakes in flavors like English Rose (vanilla with rose-flavored buttercream icing) and Rocky Road. She bakes at night, loads up

the truck and the license to an eager New York vendor in late June. “Our plans were to continue in Baltimore and grow the business with multiple units,” Sacks says. “It happened backwards for us.” While the expansion of Juana Burrito to another market came much earlier than Sacks expected, the truck’s absence from Baltimore has raised interest in his consulting company. Three days after Sacks tweeted that Juana Burrito was leaving Baltimore, he posted that he had “[b]een getting many requests from people who want to start their own truck—so we are putting together a course … [and] offering a license to Juana as well as consulting.” But prior to Juana’s closure in late June, another burrito truck, Curbside Café, had already begun serving burritos in Hampden and other locations. Dely of Kooper’s Tavern, for one, was delighted to hear of another truck on the road. “The best way to improve your product is if you have competition,” he says. “We need more voices to spread the word that you can have great food on the street.” ■ —Freelance writer Mary K. Zajac never says no to a burger, especially one with blue cheese. She rarely passes on fries, either.

eat / drink

El Diablo

Kooper’s Spicy Turkey Burger with Coleslaw Topping Coleslaw: 2 cups shredded cabbage 1 cup loosely packed arugula, watercress, or just another cup of shredded cabbage 10 basil leaves, thinly sliced ½ cup mayonnaise 1 tbs apple cider vinegar 1 tsp sugar 2 tsp Dijon mustard ½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Turkey burgers: 1½ lbs ground turkey (white meat, dark meat, or a mixture) ½ cup fresh breadcrumbs 3 tbs mayonnaise 2 tbs chopped fresh chives 1 tbs Worcestershire sauce 1½ to 3 tsp hot chile sauce (depending on desired spiciness) 2 green onions, minced, white and green parts 4 fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced 1 tsp sea salt or to taste ½ tsp freshly ground pepper or to taste 4 hamburger buns, lightly toasted Sweet pickle slices 1 tomato, cored and sliced First, assemble the coleslaw: Whisk the mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard, sugar, and red pepper flakes together in a small bowl. Add to the cabbage, arugula, and basil in a larger bowl right before serving. Next, the burgers: Gently combine the turkey meat, breadcrumbs, chives, basil, green onions, mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, chili sauce, salt, and pepper. Work the mixture with your hands until it is just mixed. Don’t overmix, or the burgers will end up tough. Form four patties, about 1 inch thick. Sprinkle the patties with salt and pepper. Grill them for 5 to 7 minutes on each side, until the internal temperature reaches 170 degrees Fahrenheit on a meat thermometer. (Turkey burgers should be cooked through.) When they’re ready, remove the burgers from the grill to a platter, cover, and let rest for 5 minutes. Put the buns on the grill to toast for about a minute. Place each burger on a bottom bun and stack a tomato slice, pickles, and coleslaw on top, then top with the top bun. —Adapted by Kooper’s from House Beautiful magazine

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photo by Karly Kolaja

Sam’s Kid

Home cookin’: Sam’s Kid serves up Indonesian comfort food, like the sesame-peanut dan dan noodles, served here with a summery watermlon martini.

The “kid” in the name Sam’s Kid refers to chef and owner Andrea Rani; the dishes center on comfort food from Indonesia—where Sam’s kid herself was born—and its Asian neighbors. Even those who grew up on mac ’n’ cheese and Sunday pot roast will recognize the universal warmth of the dan dan noodles, thick, slithery, and coated in sesame-peanut sauce. While reminiscent of the ubiquitous sesame noodles at Chinese carryouts, here they’re tangled around crumbles of spicy pork with crisp leaves of bok choy (for a dollar, the dish can be turned into soup). Or the sinus-clearing, Penang-style red coconut chili sauce, laden with shrimp and crispy vegetables that have been seared in the wok for a subtle charred flavor, the bite of the curry softened by aromatic rice. It’s the kind of dish you can eat and eat. The welcoming place—rattan armchairs around wood tables, a silk-cushioned banquette along one wall, comfy lounge chairs in the bar—looks out on the boulevard of South Broadway, just as the street stops abruptly at the harbor. Dinner theater is provided by the foot traffic out on the cobblestones, viewed through the large front windows that are thrown open on warm nights.

Sam’s Kid specializes in small plates, offering lightly battered tempura vegetables and shrimp, wok-fried tofu, and vegetable dumplings. The ocean spring rolls are crispy shells packed with shrimp, scallops, and Portobello mushrooms drizzled with sweet Thai chili sauce. The soft wrappers used for the pork shumai are infused with wasabi, delivering a swift kick with or without the sweet ponzu sauce. Even the cocktail list delivers a nostalgic thrill: a Singapore Sling, with sloe gin and sour mix, a Tsunami made with amaretto and Southern Comfort, and the classic Mai Tai with Meyer’s rum, almond liqueur, and pineapple juice, as sharply sweet as the memory of pu pu platters and drinks served with paper parasols. Desserts are something of an afterthought; recently a banana tempura with chocolate sauce was the only thing offered. But a short stroll down the street will take you to any number of Fells Point ice cream shops, if the sweet cocktails don’t satisfy your cravings. (Lunch and dinner daily. 811 S. Broadway; 410-522-3663.)

reviewed

eat / drink

—Martha Thomas

From an architectural standpoint, Clarence’s Taste of New Orleans, a nondescript brick building plopped down beside the Edgewood MARC train station, isn’t likely to transport potential diners to a French Quarter state of mind. But as anyone who loves it knows, real New Orleans cuisine—whether it’s five-star haute Creole or a cheap po’ boy at a gritty lunch counter—is characterized by exuberance and passion. And by this estimation, Clarence’s is as New Orleans as it gets. Chef-owner Clarence Hill has both the cred and the chops to cook up authentic Creole and Cajun dishes: The New Orleans native rose from dishwasher to chef at the French Quarter institution Coop’s Place. Apart from a few minor stumbles—slightly underseasoned red beans and rice, overly sauced, albeit piquant, Cajun coleslaw—his eponymous restaurant admirably conveys the bold flavors of his beleaguered city’s iconic cuisine. Take the barbequed shrimp. In these parts, that usually means sauce slathered on a grilled crustacean, but this is not how the dish is done in New Orleans. Rather, the shrimp are doused in a soupy, glorious liquid that begs to be sopped up with hunk after hunk of crusty French bread. Clarence’s is superb: It’s thick and tangy, with subtle notes of brown sugar and molasses, finished with

a strong, lingering kick of black pepper. The only shame is that the shrimp are not served shell- and head-on, as is customary. Another iconic New Orleans dish, the shrimp remoulade, has an understated bite thanks to the spicy Creole mustard in the sauce. The jambalaya delivers a slow-building heat that’s balanced by the sweet tomatoes, tender chicken, and not-too-spicy andouille sausage. The shrimp Creole—which, in the wrong hands, can taste of nothing so much as bland canned tomato—happily hints at the cayenne, paprika, and garlic from Clarence’s own house-made spice blend. And the gumbo ya-ya is an object lesson in roux done right. The broth is thick, but not too, and there’s no telltale hint of raw flour. It’s the perfect canvas on which to build the flavors of chicken, sausage, and spice; even the green peppers are allowed to strike a memorable note. There are also classic New Orleans desserts here—bread pudding with whiskey sauce, beignets buried in powdered sugar— but if you’ve managed to finish the generous portions, you might not have much room left for sweets. (Lunch and dinner Mon–Sat. 2131 Old Edgewood Rd.; 410-612-0700; www. clarencestasteofneworleans.com)

photo by Karly Kolaja

Clarence’s Taste of New Orleans

Straight from the Big Easy: Shrimp Creole at Clarence’s

—Tracey Middlekauff w w w. u r b a n i t e b a l t i m o re . c o m s e p t e m b e r 1 0

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eat / drink Forget the bottle: Today’s wines come in cans, boxes, and more.

photo by Karly Kolaja

By Clinton Macsherry

ometimes, but not often enough, an acquaintance will say to me, “You look really good.” They’re sincere, I think, and usually gracious enough to leave “… for your age” trailing in the elliptical ether. You may take this as further evidence of the triumph of packaging over content. It calls to my mind the phrase “old wine in new bottles,” which I first heard during a Baltimore City Council debate. In that context, it referred to an old, discredited legislative proposal that had resurfaced in a shiny new ordinance. For contemporary winedom, new bottles (and boxes, cans, and cartons) have literal dimensions that just might reshape the ways wine gets packed, shipped, stored, and ultimately consumed. Wine has been with us for 8,000 years or so, and the glass bottle is a comparatively new container form. The ancients transported and stored wine in large clay amphorae and other earthenware pots. Amphorae eventually gave way to wooden barrels, which remained the most common containers through the Middle Ages. Although glassblowing dates back at least to the Romans, early glass was too fragile and expensive for shipping and storage. Technical advances led to the commercial development of bottles and corks in the 1600s, which made long-term aging (and, arguably, connoisseurship) possible. Standard bottle capacity, said to reflect a glass-blower’s lungful of air, has stayed fairly consistent since then, although regional variations in bottle shape, color, molding, and ornamentation have proliferated. That range has narrowed, but distinct shapes survive. (Compare the high shoulders of Bordeaux bottles to Burgundy’s, for example.) Glass’s upsides—it’s chemically inert and, under proper seal, airtight—are partly countered by its weight and vulnerability, which have created opportunities for

packaging entrepreneurs. Bottle alternatives have existed for decades, but their visibility has grown dramatically as marketeers have targeted “millennials,” with their ecosensibilities, burgeoning interest in wine, and putative enthusiasm for innovation. In recent years, both the wine press and mainstream media have trumpeted new format releases—cans, kegs, plastic bottles, and tetrapaks (more commonly used for liquids like fruit juice). Green meanies have debated claims about sustainable production methods, carbon footprint reductions, and recyclability. Occasionally someone gets around to tasting the wine. Introduced in the 1970s, boxed wine— more precisely, bag-in-a-box, or “BIB”— may be the oldest new form of packaging. BIB’s chief advantage is an inner bag that collapses around the wine as individual servings are tapped, forestalling oxidation for up to four weeks after opening. (Exposure to oxygen in an opened bottle turns wine’s flavors tinny or sherry-like within a few days.) But even proponents acknowledge that BIB is best for wines intended for short-term consumption, since untapped bags have a shelf life of a year or less. In the United States, BIBs have typically held modest wines with much to be modest about. Over the past decade, however, a new breed of premium BIBs has gained media attention and market share. Even with higher quality wine, BIB producers can keep prices relatively low, since the packaging saves 75 percent or more over traditional bottles. Still a new phenomenon, premium BIB accounts for only a single-digit percentage of U.S. wine sales. But according to the trade journal Wine Business Monthy, it is the fastest growing segment of the industry. The Black Box brand of domestic and imported wines leads the market. Pale green-gold, the Pinot Grigio 2008 ($17 for 3 liters, equivalent to four standard bottles at $4.25), from Italy’s Delle Venezia zone, offers a faint nose of grapefruit, peach, and rainwater. It’s light-bodied but rounds out nicely, with soft acidity framing flavors of green apple, musk melon, and a wisp of chalk. More than adequate, if less than inspiring, it delivers value at a sweet price in a sleek black package. Did I mention it looks good? ■

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we are a nonprofit neighborhood lending library, learning center, computer lab, and community garden in charles village.

photo by Karly Koloja

tHe Feed

eat / drink

This Month in Eating Compiled by Amelia Blevins and Simon Pollock

ART TO DINE FOR

SEPT 11– DEC 14

Creative Alliance’s annual Art to Dine For series serves up great food and art in a variety of settings around Baltimore. To kick things off, on September 11 sixteen guests sit down to a farm-to-table dinner at Martha Clark’s Howard County farm, surrounded by fairytale relics from the defunct Enchanted Forest amusement park ($85 per person). Proceeds benefit Creative Alliance’s free educational programming. A full listing of this fall’s thirty-three dinners is online.

410-276-1651 www.creativealliance.org/events/ eventIndex.asp?ID=4

MASON DIXON MASTER CHEF TOURNAMENT

SEPT 13

This summer, Baltimore-area chefs have competed in a single-elimination tournament for the title of Mason Dixon Master Chef. Now it’s down to the fi nal round. Cooking for three expert judges and a few audience-member guest judges, the fi nal two chefs whip up an appetizer, entrée, and dessert in an hour. $65 (includes a four-course meal prepared by Truffles Catering); $85 “Judging Experience” for a spot in the judges’ circle.

6 p.m. The Belvedere Hotel 1 E. Chase St. www.masondixonmasterchef.com

PASSPORTS TO THE RESTAUR ANTS OF BALTIMORE

SEPT 18

As part of its continuing education program, the Community College of Baltimore County-Essex offers “Cooking Passports to the Great Restaurants of Baltimore,” providing a behindthe-scenes look at a county eatery. This semester, students will visit Fiesta Mexicana in Rosedale, where they’ll tour the kitchen, sample some dishes—and maybe even help prepare a meal. $65. 9 a.m.–noon.

443-840-4700 www.ccbcmd.edu

SOUP ’N’ WALK

SEPT 23

Take a naturalist-led walking tour through Cylburn Arboretum’s historic grounds and gardens, and then feast on a seasonal soup and salad, fresh bread, and dessert, provided by Atwater’s Ploughboy Soup Kitchen. 11 a.m.–1:30 p.m. $20; $18 Cylburn members.

Cylburn Arboretum 4915 Greenspring Ave. 410-367-6617 www.cylburnassociation.org/ calendar.html

MARYL AND MICROBREWERY FESTIVAL

SEPT 25

Clipper City, Flying Dog, and ten other Free State breweries open their taps this month at the fi fth annual Maryland Microbrewery Festival. Attendees also have their pick of all sorts of beer-friendly fare, from burgers and crab cakes to fried pickles and hot pretzels. 11 a.m.–7 p.m. $18; $5 nondrinkers; children younger than 12 free.

The Union Mills Homestead 3311 Littlestown Pike, Westminster 410-848-2288 www.marylandmicrobrewery festival.com

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2.5x10 AD2 Fall 10 Form Fashion Show :2.5x10 AD2 Fall 10 Form Fashion Show

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Page 1

In Good Fashion

2010 Form/Urbanite Charity Fashion Event Saturday, September 25, 2010 2 pm to 4:30 pm Please bring one item of clothing in good condition to donate to Ruth’s Closet.

Clipper Mill Pool 2031 Clipper Mill Road, Baltimore MD 21211 Rain date: Sunday, September 26, 2010

boutique Located in the Clipper Mill Complex in Baltimore, Form is a contemporary clothing boutique as well as a fashion and jewelry design studio. Form has emerged as a favorite shopping destination carrying lines such as DVF, Milly, JBrand, Shoshanna and more. We are pleased to announce the new

Form clothing line to debut in the runway show at the

In Good Fashion Charity Fashion Event presented by Form and Urbanite September 25, 2010 benefiting House of Ruth For more shop information including store hours, directions, and to view photos, please go to

www.formtheboutique.com 2002 Clipper Park Rd. Poole & Hunt Bldg., No. 110-C Baltimore, MD 21211 410-889-3116

Rebecca Myers Rebecca Myers is one of the leading studio jewelers in the country. She specializes in transforming natural forms into elegant, wearable designs. She was educated at Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia.

2010 Clipper Park Road, Suite 109, Baltimore, MD 21211 • 800-575-4569 • rebeccamyersdesign.com

eye candy opticianry, inc. eye candy opticianry, inc. carries architecturally inspired artistically executed prescription eyewear and fashion sunglasses from Europe, Japan and the United States. We offer the latest technology in lenses available in the marketplace to suit each customer’s specific needs.

900 W. 36th Street, Baltimore MD 21211 410-889-0607 • eyecandyop.com

Light Fare - Zia’s • Cocktails - Woodberry Kitchen Pre-show offerings: Silent Auction Swag Basket, Shops by Eye Candy Opticianry, No Worries Cosmetics, Rebecca Myers Jewelry and more... Runway Show Featuring the launch of the Form Clothing Label by Aimee Bracken & Julie Bent, and highlighting fall fashion from Form Boutique. Makeup by No Worries Cosmetics and hair by Studio 1612. Benefiting the House of Ruth

Amanda Austin Interiors The philosophies of my firm are simple. We become an extension of who you are, and we know this time is a privilege. You are taken care of. You are catered to. You are understood. Together we shall create beauty and splendor. We are changing lives one home at a time. I look forward to meeting you…

1020 South Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21230 443-759-6177 • amanda@amandaaustininteriors.com

It’s kind of like borrowing from a rich girlfriend only you get to keep it. Ruth’s Closet is a different kind of resale boutique. Not only does it offer labels like Chanel, Diane von Furstenberg, Tod’s and Prada, but every purchase you make helps battered women

Zia’s Zia’s is a café, juice bar and caterer. They offer healthy, delicious, cleanly produced food for breakfast, lunch & dinner using unprocessed, organic & local ingredients. Zia’s invites you to discover how delicious health and earth conscious eating can be!

13 Allegheny Avenue, Towson, MD 21204 410-296-0799 • ziascafe.com

and children rebuild their lives free of fear. A new venture of the House Of Ruth Maryland, Ruth’s Closet is scheduled to open in the fall of 2010 for women who want to make a difference and look good doing

Admittance: $80 for VIP per person (front row seating for runway show and VIP gift bag)

it. To find out more or to join the mailing list, visit hruth.org.

$55 per person Space is limited. Tickets must be purchased by September 19th. For ticket purchasing information, please contact Aimee Bracken, aimee@formtheboutique.com or 410-889-3116.

hruth.org

Become a member and see it free! · thewalters.org

Baltimore, MD · 600 N. Charles St. · open Wed.–Sun., 10 a.m.–5 p.m.

WHAT WILL YOU DISCOVER?

HAT I SEE? boo

I SPY books & creator of the C AN YOU SEE W Co-creator of the

E S, G

GAM

2010–Jan uary 2, 2011 September 19,

The exhibition at the Walters Art Museum is made possible through the generosity of The Wieler Family Foundation. Additional support is provided by The Women’s Committee of the Walters Art Museum, the CANUSA Corporation Charitable Fund, The David and Barbara B. Hirschhorn Foundation, The Nancy Patz Reading Fund, The Van Dyke Family Foundation, The Linehan Family Foundation/The Ivy Bookstore, Meredith and Adam Borden/The London Foundation, Lynn and Philip Rauch, Mr. and Mrs. Austin George, The Susan Katzenberg Fund and Kate and David Powell. Walter Wick: Games, Gizmos and Toys in the Attic is organized by the New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, Connecticut.

IZMOS & TOYS I

IC T T A N T HE

WI R

LT E

art / culture

Urbanite’s

FALL ARTS GUIDE September marks the beginning of the fall cultural season—and there’s so much to see, hear, and do that we couldn’t fit it all in the magazine. Go to www.urbanite baltimore.com for more events. Compiled by Marianne Amoss and Amelia Blevins

THEATER

2208; www.everymantheatre.org)

Theatre Project opens the fall season in a rain of bullets with Yury Klavdiev’s I Am A Machine Gunner, Sept 2–12. The world premiere of Zippy the Pinhead: The Musical, an adaptation of Bill Griffith’s zany comic strip, runs Nov 12–21. (45 W. Preston St.; 410-752-8558; www.theatreproject.org)

Kicking off its third season, Single Carrot Theatre spins a tale of apocalypse and Navajo myth with Eric Coble’s Natural Selection, Sept 29–Oct 31. (120 W. North Ave.; 443-844-9253; www.singlecarrot.com) Ease on down to Center Stage with The Wiz, the Motown and ’70s music-inspired rendition of the classic tale of Dorothy and company’s adventures in Oz, Sept 29–Nov 7. Next up is ReEntry, an honest tale of war and sacrifice as told by American veterans and their families, Nov 10–Dec 19. (700 N. Calvert St.; 410-332-0033; www.center stage.org)

The Vagabond Players’ season starts with Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, sometimes called the first feminist play, Sept 3–26. Then get your straight razor ready for Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Oct 8–Nov 7. (806 S. Broadway; 410-563-9135; www.vagabondplayers.org) Hang out at the Kit Kat Klub with Spotlighter Theatre’s production of Cabaret (Sept 10–Oct 10).Then it’s Twelfth Night, Shakespeare’s tale of cross-dressing and unrequited love, Oct 22–Nov 14. (817 St. Paul St.; 410-752-1225; www. spotlighters.org)

All the world’s a stage when the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company puts on Titus Andronicus, during which actors and audience members alike move through the haunted stone ruins of the Patapsco Female Institute. Oct 7–31. (3691 Sarah’s Lane, Ellicott City; 866-811-4111; www. chesapeakeshakespeare.com)

At Fells Point Corner Theatre Sept 17–Oct 17 is Sam Shepard’s Fool for Love, the tale of on-again off-again paramores Eddie and May. (251 S. Ann St.; 410-276-7837; www. fpct.org)

On Oct 18, folks tell seven-minute stories in the Stoop Storytelling Series show Haunted: Stories of Ghosts, Regrets, and Things From the Past That Won’t Stay in the Past at Center Stage. (700 N. Calvert St.; 410332-0033; www.stoopstorytelling.com)

Everyman Theatre begins its last season in its Charles Street home (the company is slated to move to a new space on the west side this spring) with Shipwrecked!, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Donald Margulies’ tale of adventure and heroism at sea, Sept 22–Oct 24. (1727 N. Charles St.; 410-752-

OPERA

The historic Garrett-Jacobs Mansion is transformed into an opera house for the

THEATER

Romantic Comedy

With its “tender duets” and “stories of passion and marriage,” A Prairie Home Companion’s Summer Love Tour might seem like an unusual programming choice for Pier Six, whose summer lineup includes REO Speedwagon and Blondie, but the September 10 show is expected to sell out. In fact, says Sarah Sample, Pier Six marketing director, the whole Prairie Home thing might be well suited to Baltimore—a city that, like the old-timey radio variety show, “pools a lot of creative experiences from the old school and makes it their own.” The one-night stop in Baltimore is part of a twenty-five-show tour and will not be broadcast on the radio, Sample says. But it will follow a similar format to the beloved weekly radio show A Prairie Home Companion, with storytelling, music, and Garrison Keillor himself, as well as some local talent. (731 Eastern Ave.; 410-783-4189; http://tickets. piersixpavilion.com) —Martha Thomas

photo by Dana Nye

A Prairie Home Companion’s Summer Love Tour at Pier Six Concert Pavilion, Sept 10

Baltimore Concert Opera’s productions of the comic Il Barbiere di Siviglia (or The Barber of Seville) on Sept 24 and 26 and Puccini’s tragic La Bohéme on Dec 3 and 5. (11 W. Mt. Vernon Place; 443-844-3496; www.baltimoreconcertopera.com) Towson University hosts a fully staged production of Die Dreigroschenoper (The Threepenny Opera), Bertholt Brecht and Kurt Weill’s pop opera set in Victorian London that highlights the darker sides of human nature. Sept 30–Oct 2. (8000 York Rd.; 410-704-3288; www.towson.edu/ artscalendar/music.asp) Puccini is also on the bill at the Hippodrome: Baltimore Opera Theatre (http:// baltimoreoperatheatre.net) presents Madame Butterfly, the tale of an enchanting geisha’s relationship with her American military husband, on Oct 23. (12 N. Eutaw St.; 410-837-7400; www.france-merrick pac.com) CLASSICAL MUSIC

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra throws a Hispanic-themed gala concert on Sept 11 at the Meyerhoff. Oct 14–16 marks the subscription series debut of 17-year-old conductor Ilyich Rivas (see Urbanite, Nov. ’09), who’ll lead the orchestra in performances of Beethoven and Shostakovich. As part of the year-long celebration of Gustav Mahler, on Nov 5 and 6 the BSO hosts a special Off the Cuff program called Analyze This: Mahler and Freud, in which the

The Bach Concert Series is all about cantatas. First up is Cantata 70 (Wachet! betet! betet wachet!) on Oct 3, with Cantata 84 (Ich bin vergnügt mit meinem Glücke) on Nov 7. Most concerts are free, and all are preceded by a lecture on Bach’s “musical language.” (701 S. Charles St.; 410-7527179; www.bachinbaltimore.org) The Shriver Hall Concert Series’ fall season opens with nine-time Grammywinning Emerson String Quartet performing Mozart, Shostakovich, and Schubert at Johns Hopkins University on Oct 17. (3400 N. Charles St.; 410-516-7164; www.shriver concerts.org) On Oct 30, the College of Notre Dame of Maryland hosts An Enchanted Evening, featuring violinist and St. Mary’s College of Maryland artist in residence José Cueto and acclaimed pianist Nancy Roldán, whose playing the New York Times describes as “gorgeously lyrical.” (4701 N. Charles St.; 410-532-5386; www.ndm.edu) Baltimore Choral Arts’ forty-fifth anniversary season includes Rachmaninoff’s famous All Night Vigil on Oct 30. A Choral Conversation with conductor Tom Hall precedes the concert at Goucher College (1021 Dulaney Valley Rd.). (410-523-7070; www.baltimorechoralarts.org) The acclaimed Claremont Piano Trio, founded at Julliard in 1999, performs works by Shostakovich, Ravel, and others at Johns Hopkins University’s Evergreen Museum & Library on Nov 20. A reception with the musicians follows. (4545 N. Charles St.; 410-516-0341; www.museums.jhu.edu) CONTEMPORARY MUSIC

At Sonar: Actor Jared Leto’s band 30 Seconds to Mars—who bill themselves as an “arena-crushing rock band”—perform Sept 1 as a part of their Into the Wild tour. The politically charged hip-hop group Dead Prez feature on Sept 18; and Gwar brings the fake bloodbath back on Oct 2. (407 E. Saratoga St.; 410-783-7888; www.sonar baltimore.com) Texas instrumental rock band Explosions in the Sky perform their “cathartic minisymphonies” at 2640 on Sept 2. (2640 St. Paul St.; www.redemmas.org/2640) Pat Benatar will hit you with her best shot at Pier Six Pavillion on Sept 4, with REO

art/culture

Speedwagon. Crosby, Stills & Nash hit the stage on Sept 15. And in their fifth annual concert at Pier Six, cover band Several Species: The Pink Floyd Experience plays Dark Side of the Moon in its entirety on Sept 18. (731 Eastern Ave.; 410-783-4189; www.piersixpavilion.com) The Ottobar’s downstairs stage is crammed with musical acts. Among them: Tobacco, frontman to the experimental/psychedelic Black Moth Super Rainbow, on Sept 11; and, on Oct 18, alternative rock group the Ataris, whose long-awaited sixth album, The Graveyard of the Atlantic, is still unreleased. (2549 N. Howard St.; 410-6620069; www.theottobar.com) Merriweather Post Pavilion hosts indie fourpiece Vampire Weekend on Sept 11. Dig out your old flannel shirt for the HFStival on Sept 18, the new incarnation of the muchlamented music festival organized by WHFS 99.1 FM; the lineup includes Third Eye Blind and Billy Idol. The free tickets are gone (but $125 pavilion seats were still available at press time) for the Virgin Mobile FreeFest on Sept 25—not surprising, considering the lineup: M.I.A., Ludacris, Joan Jett, Matt & Kim, Pavement, and more. (10475 Little Patuxent Pkwy., Columbia; 877-435-9849; www.merriweathermusic.com)

photo by Michael Benabib

1910 meeting between Gustav Mahler and Sigmund Freud is re-enacted, interposed with performances of the composer’s work. (410-783-8000; www.bsomusic.org)

MUSIC

Classic Beauty Ana Vidovic at An die Musik, Sept 19 When this guitar hero takes the stage this month at An Die Musik, prepare to be lured into a world of calm and beauty. Ana Vidovic, turning a young 30 this year, is acclaimed for her prowess with the classical guitar; she was dubbed “a bright young talent of formidable gifts” by the Kennedy Center. A graduate of the Peabody Institute, she’s recorded six albums and given more than a thousand public recitals, including an electrifying one at last year’s TEDx conference. (409 N. Charles St., second floor; 410-385-6238; www.andiemusiklive.com) —Simon Pollock

The Contemporary Museum’s Mobtown Modern series brings classical new music to town. In tribute to Hungarian conceptual musican György Ligeti, Mobtown Modern partners with the University of Baltimore’s Spotlight UB Performing Arts Series to host LigetiFest on Sept 14. On Oct 6 is a performance of Corey Dargel’s award-winning tale of wannabe amputees, Removable Parts. Performances take place at the Windup Space (12 W. North Ave.; www.mobtownmodern.com)

COMEDY

At Rams Head Live, there’s singer/songwriter Brandi Carlile on Oct 4, indie rockers Wolf Parade on Nov 5, and electro-pop duo La Roux (likely performing their summer hit, “Bulletproof”) on Nov 7. (20 Market Place; 410-244-1131; www.ramsheadlive.com)

CULTURAL FESTIVAL JAZZ

On Sept 17, indie/folk band Sea Wolf plays an acoustic show at Metro Gallery with singer/songwriters Sera Cahoone and Patrick Park. (1700 N. Charles St.; www. themetrogallery.net) Folk’s the thing at the Chesapeake Arts Center in Brooklyn Park, which hosts world musicians Big Blow and the Bushwackers on Sept 18 and folksinging duo Rick and Margaret LaRocca on Oct 16. (194 Hammonds Lane, Brooklyn Park; 410-636-6597; www.chesapeakearts.org) The High Zero Festival of Improvised Experimental Music is bringing musicians and sound artists together for the twelfth time, Sept 23–26 at Theatre Project. (www. highzero.org)

Comedian, writer, and actor Demetri Martin performs his unique brand of stand-up at the Hippodrome on Sept 10. (12 North Eutaw St.; 410-837-7400; www.francemerrickpac.com/home.html)

Cabaret ensemble Anne Watts and Boister perform on the front lawn of the Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts as part of the Sachs Memorial Jazz Series on Sept 15. (801 Chase St., Annapolis; 410-280-5640; www.marylandhall.org) Baker Artist Award-winning saxophonist Carl Gordon Grubbs performs at An die Musik in the annual Tribute to John Coltrane on Sept 25. (409 N. Charles St.; 410385-2638; www.andiemusiklive.com) On Sept 25, Jazzway 6004 (see Urbanite, Sept ’09) presents up-and-coming jazz singer Rachel Price, accompanied by Warren Wolf on piano. (6004 Hollins Ave.; 410-952-4528; www.jazzway 6004.org)

Towson University celebrates Asian culture on Sept 12 with the Many Moons Festival. Included among the festivities are six stages and public spaces for music, dance, arts and crafts, storytelling, anime, martial arts, and a variety of international food and tea. (8000 York Rd.; 410-704-2807; www. towson.edu/asianarts) FREE

Free Fall Baltimore takes the thirty-one days of October, Arts & Humanities Month, to showcase the city’s expansive cultural scene. Events include workshops, performances, film screenings, and tours. For more information, call 410-752-8632 or go to www.freefallbaltimore.com. FILM

Cinema Sundays at the Charles Theatre in-

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FARE DEALS The Travel Agency for the Educated Savvy Traveler

presents

Monograms by Globus Peru Highlights

GET YOUR GREEN ON THIS FALL!

8 day tour including Lima, Cuzco, Machu Picchu

All programs are free or low cost and open to the public.

Let a professional experienced travel agent arrange your travel.

Call 410-581-8787 or 800-347-7006 Or visit www.faRedeaLs.COM Subscribe online for our free travel emails and newsletters.

Buy your tickets today or consider donating. (All proceeds support BGW programming)

GROWorkshops

liberal arts

Rates start at $2,099.00 plus airfare to Lima.

First Annual Art Auction 10/27: Church of the Redeemer, 5603 N. Charles Street, 6-9pm

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The Master of Liberal Arts (MLA) Program at Johns Hopkins University thrives on the curiosity, passion, and diversity of its students and faculty. Students can explore mythology, art, literature, politics, sustainability, film, music, and much more.

urbanite september 10

10/11: Metropolitan Coffee House & Wine Bar, 5:30-8pm Agroforestry, how to plant vegetables with your fruit & nut trees, an integrated approach to increasing our urban food source. 11/08: Woody’s Rum Bar & Grill, 5:30-8pm Building a better community with better communication.

Sustainable Speaker Series

Our program offers a flexible, part-time format with courses in the evenings and on Saturdays. e

Attend an upcoming open hous Thursday, September 23, 2010 6:30 –7:30 pm Homewood Campus 3400 N. Charles Street Baltimore, MD 21218

10/23: Baltimore Museum of Industry, 9:30-2pm Exploring the human effects on food & water. Keynote and Delaware’s Secretary of Agriculture, Ed Key, talks about the history of food processing in the Chesapeake Bay region Break-out with local leaders to discuss: Living SOLEfully,sustainable seafood & farming, and more!

Projects in the Park 10/10: Location TBA, 9-1pm Get your hands dirty and let’s clean up our city parks! 10/26: Park Heights, Time TBA Park service and tree planting project.

Learn more and RSVP online today

mla.jhu.edu

CLA1107_UrbaniteAd-MLA_0728.indd 1

09/13: Puffs & Pastries, 5:30-8pm How you can help to manage storm water run-off.

www.baltimoregreenworks.com/events P.O. Box 1536, Baltimore, MD 21203 bgw@baltimoregreenworks.com or 410.952.0334

7/28/10 12:43 PM

art/culture

cludes coffee and bagels, a pre-screening introduction to the film by a guest speaker, and a post-viewing discussion. Go to www. cinemasundays.com for the fall lineup. (1711 N. Charles St.; 410-727-FILM)

FILM

Trip Diary Walt & El Grupo at Maryland Institute College of Art, Sept 23 When Walt Disney and some of his top animators visited Latin America in 1941, the ten-week trip was meant as a goodwill tour, a mission endorsed by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to bring levity to an area beset by fascist and socialist influences. Footage from the trip, along with present-day interviews and artwork, has been woven into a documentary, released in 2007, titled Walt & El Grupo. While the New York Times called it “a relentlessly upbeat vanity project,” it’s nevertheless an interesting look at animation’s paterfamilias spreading the Mickey message as the world teeters on the brink of war. Producer Kuniko Okubo, along with director Ted Thomas (son of Disney animator Frank Thomas, who was on the trip), will attend the screening at Maryland Institute College of Art. And if you miss the September 23 show, the DVD is scheduled for release November 30. (1301 W. Mt. Royal Ave.; 410-6699200; http://fyi.mica.edu/event/WaltandElGrupo)

DANCE

At the Creative Alliance on Sept 17, master flamenco artist Edwin Aparicio and his company perform the dramatic dance to live accompaniment from a group of musicians from the United States and Spain. (3134 Eastern Ave.; 410-276-1651; www. creativealliance.org) At Towson University on Oct 10, Full Circle Dance Company marks their tenth anniversary with 10/10/10, featuring excerpts from their top ten shows from the past decade. Alumni and special guests will also perform an excerpt from choreographer Travis Gatling’s “rousing, floor-shaking” Sin Shakers and Shouters. (8000 York Rd.; www.fullcircledance.webs.com) LECTURES

The focus of the tenth annual Baltimore’s Great Architecture series is the iconic American porch. Speakers include Historical American Building Survey architect Mark Schara on Oct 11 and Wendy Cooper,

courtesy of Disney

On Sept 29, whet your cinematic appetite with After Hours in the Cerebral Kitchen: Experimental Filmmaking in the 21st Century. In television cooking show style, UMBC assistant professor Fred Worden shares techniques, tips, and recipes for creating experimental films. (1000 Hilltop Circle; 410-455-1000; http://art.umbc.edu)

—M.T.

Winterthur Museum’s senior furniture curator, on Oct 18. (3400 N. Charles St.; 410.516.5589; www.museums.jhu.edu) This year’s Baltimore Speakers Series kicks off with Thomas Friedman, author of the best-selling book on globalization The World is Flat, on Oct 12, followed by New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert of Eat Pray Love fame on Nov 2. The series continues through April 2011 at the Meyerhoff. (1212 Cathedral St.; 410-7838000; www.baltimorespeakerseries.org) The Brown Lecture series at the central branch of the Pratt Library hosts Pulitzer Prize-winning author and Washington Post

columnist Eugene Robinson for a discussion of his new book, Disintegration: The Splintering of Black America on Oct 12. Then, on Oct 19, the president of the Miller Racing Group, Leonard T. Miller, gives a lecture on his book Racing While Black: How an African-American Stock Car Team Made Its Mark on NASCAR. (400 Cathedral St.; www.prattlibrary.org) VISUAL ART

To celebrate thirty years of ceramic art in the city, Baltimore Clayworks hosts Encore!, an exhibit of the works of longtime contributing artists, through Sept 25. (5707 Smith Ave.; 410-578-1919; www.baltimore clayworks.org)

Photographer Ben Gest brings his “psychologically-charged” portraits of everyday people in everyday actions to the Contemporary Museum Sept 11–Jan 23. (100 W. Centre St.; 410-783-5720; www. contemporary.org) The Walters Art Museum pays tribute to beloved children’s book author and artist Walter Wick with Games, Gizmos, and Toys in the Attic. The exhibit includes largeformat photographs and models and sculptures pulled from Wick’s books, including the Can You See What I See? and I Spy picture puzzle book series. Sept 19–Jan 2. (600 N. Charles St.; 410-547-9000; www. thewalters.org) The Stamp Gallery at the University of Maryland College Park presents the powerful, wearable sculpture of Swiss artist Clarina Bezzola in Structure, through Oct 8. Derick Melander also makes a statement about the culture of clothing in his architectural garment sculptures, Oct 25–Dec 11. (301-314-8492; thestamp. umd.edu)

DANCE

Story Corps Some Glad Morning at Theatre Project, Sept 17 and 18 Based in the upper Shenandoah Valley—which comprises parts of rural Virgina, West Virginia, and Maryland—the aerial dance troupe Updraft: A Conspiracy of Movement is devoted to raising social consciousness through aerial dance. The artists use low-flying aerial apparatus such as trapezes, hanging silk fabrics, and bungee harnesses to tell stories of rural communities, as in Some Glad Morning, coming to Theatre Project this month. In it, the aerial artists use movement to explore such topical issues as stereotyping, coal mining, consumerism, and the urban sprawl that endangers farmland. Divided into five sections, the piece concludes with “I’ll Fly Away,” featuring a capella singing from the dancers that explores our spiritual connection with the earth. (45 W. Preston St.; 410-7528558; www.theatreproject.org)

The American Visionary Art Museum’s fifteenth annual mega-exhibition is all smiles: What Makes Us Smile? features spirited artwork about humor and laughter, such as a welcome mat made out of seven thousand toothbrushes. The exhibit, running Oct 9–Sept 4, 2011, is co-curated by AVAM founder Rebecca Hoffberger, artist Gary Panter, and Simpsons creator Matt Groening. (800 Key Hwy.; 410-244-1900; www.avam.org)

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We’re seeking candidates for the folloWing ...

17th Annual Tour du Port! October 3, 2010

Canton Waterfront Park, rides begin at 7am Urbanite is seeking a part-time editorial assistant to help with website production, weekly e-zines, events calendars and social media. Must have strong writing and editing skills, attention to detail, and some experience with journalism and digital media/marketing. Urbanite is a customer-focused and forward-thinking company that rewards hard work, innovation, and teamwork. EOE.

A super cool bicycle event for a terrific cause! The Tour travels through over 12 historic neighborhoods, waterfront areas and scenic parks. Includes rest stops with food, interesting exhibits, sag support and a celebration featuring lunch and live music. 12 • 26 • 40 • 50 • 62 mile options All proceeds support One Less Car, a non-profit organization dedicated to walking, bicycling and mass transit alternatives.

R e g i s t e r a t o n e l e s s c a r. o r g Send cover letter, resume and work samples to:

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art/culture

VISUAL ART

Parts of a Whole

courtesy of Pia Fries and Goya Contemporary

Fusion at Goya Contemporary, Sept 16–Nov 4 with a reception Sept 16 Three international art stars, known for combining disparate materials and media in their artwork, come together for a show at Goya Contemporary that’s aptly called Fusion. American artist and composer Christian Marclay, currently exhibiting at the Whitney Museum of Art, manipulates phonograph turntables, like a DJ who “scratches” or mixes beats, into “sound collages” that explore the relationships among noise, performance, photography, and video. Pia Fries, a Swiss painter who studied under world-renowned German painter Gerhard Richter, combines elements of silkscreen and photography with smeared and caked oil paint, creating a unique painted surface. And German sculptor Wilhelm Mundt literally fuses throwaways into new objects. His “Trashstones” are brightly colored fiberglass “stones,” made from melded and discarded items. Resembling candy-colored river rocks, Mundt’s lumpy objects hint at their disparate parts but exist as a uniquely unified whole. (3000 Chestnut Ave., Studio 214; 410-366-2001; www.goyacontemporary.com)

along with a storybook parade, opportunities to buy and sell books, and a wide variety of literary activities. Make sure to stop by Urbanite’s tent for the Altered Books Competition, hosted by the Pratt Library, all weekend long. (600 block of N. Charles St.; 410-752-8632; www.baltimore bookfestival.com) Outcasts United: An American Town, a Refugee Team, and One Woman’s Quest to Make a Difference, by New York Times journalist Warren St. John, is the Maryland Humanities Council’s One Maryland One Book selection this year. St. John travels around the state for special events between Sept 26 and 29; for more information, call 410-685-0095 or go to www. onemarylandonebook.org.

—Cara Ober

Andy Warhol: The Last Decade stops at the Baltimore Museum of Art Oct 17 –Jan 9, featuring fifty-plus works created in the late 1970s and 1980s that demonstrate Warhol’s vitality and readiness to experiment. In conjunction with the exhibit is Front Room: Guyton/Walker, an installation by New York-based duo Wade Guyton and Kelley Walker that explores Warhol’s influence on a new generation of artists. Sept 22–Jan 16. (10 Art Museum Dr.; 443-5731700; www.artbma.org) For more than twenty years, School 33 Art Center’s Open Studio Tour has given the public a behind-the-scenes view of the city’s artist studios. This year’s event takes place Oct 23 and 24. (410-396-4641; www. school33.org)

Sept 13, creative nonfiction writer Eddy Harris on Oct 20, and fiction and nonfiction author Brian Bouldrey on Nov 30. (4501 N. Charles St.; 410-617-2000; www.loyola. edu/academics/writing/about/modern masters.html) “Lost in the Unknown: Family Secrets and Their Consequences” is a discussion of Annie’s Ghosts: A Journey Into a Family Secret with author Steve Luxenberg. The book tells the true story of Luxenberg’s aunt, who spent most of her life in mental

institutions and was never mentioned by his mother. Sept 15 at UMBC. (1000 Hilltop Circle; 410-455-6798; www.umbc.edu) The 510 Readings, Baltimore’s only dedicated fiction series, features Michael Kimball, Kim Calder, Kate Wyer, and Andy Devine on Sept 18 at Minas Gallery (815 W. 36th St.). (http://510readings.blogspot.com) Sept 24–26, the fifteenth annual Baltimore Book Festival brings more than 225 celebrity, national, and local authors to town,

Novelist Gary Shteyngart stops by Maryland Institute College of Art to read from his anticipated third novel, Super Sad True Love Story, on Sept 29. (1300 W. Mt. Royal Ave.; 410-669-9200; http://fyi.mica.edu/ event/gary_shteyngart) Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (see Urbanite, July ’09), author of the award-winning novel Half of a Yellow Sun, reads from the book on Nov 19 as part of the Towson Literary Reading Series. Towson University’s Cook Library hosts a discussion of Half of a Yellow Sun on Nov 18. (8000 York Rd.; 410-704-3288; www. towson.edu) ■

LITERATURE

Southern Living Kathryn Stockett at the College of Notre Dame, Sept 22

LITERATURE

The Pratt Library’s Writers Live! series of readings and book signings continues this month with Terry McMillan, David Rakoff, Urbanite contributor Deborah Rudacille, and Sheri Parks. A full listing of authors, dates, and branch locations can be found at www.prattlibrary.org. Area nonfiction authors read from their work in the New Mercury Readings, taking place at Jordan Faye Contemporary, 1401 Light St. Sept 11’s readers include Henry Hong, Stacey Patton, and Patricia Shultheis. (443-9551547; www.thenewmercuryreadings.com)

This month, novelist Kathryn Stockett stops by the College of Notre Dame for a meet-and-greet and lecture on women’s influence and power as seen through the lens of her New York Times bestseller, The Help. It’s the story of three women living in Mississippi in the early 1960s. Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan is a recent Ole Miss grad whose mother wants nothing more than a ring on her daughter’s finger; instead, Skeeter devotes herself to recording the experiences of the African American women workers around her, including Aibileen, a maid raising her seventeenth white child, and Minny, a cook with an attitude. The evening benefits the Caroline Center, which is celebrating its fifteenth year of assisting underand unemployed women in Baltimore. At press time, the meet-and-greet was sold out, but tickets to the lecture were still available. (4701 N. Charles St.; 410-563-1303 ext. 25; www.caroline-center.org) —A.B.

Loyola University’s Modern Masters Reading Series features poet Bob Hicok on

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This is Your Brain on Art continued from page 57 do good arts integration right now,” BeggMarino says. “I get one hour of planning for every five hours of teaching.” There is just no time in the schedule, she says, to help a math or science or English or social studies instructor plan a lesson that integrates arts concepts. “So practically it’s very hard.” She also recognizes downsides to the methodology. Say students are reading The Scarlet Letter, and multiple options are offered to assess their understanding of the book’s themes. Some students may choose to write a paper on the book; some may write an alternate chapter for the book; others may draw a new cover or illustrate a scene. But when it comes time for testing, she points out, the child who chose the art project may not be prepared for the kind of convergent thinking—coming up with the one right answer—required by tests. And with the Obama administration’s new Race to the Top initiative linking teachers’ professional advancement—salary and promotions—to their students’ test scores, many may resist using precious planning time to put together lessons that may enrich students’ understanding of the subject but don’t necessarily translate into higher scores.

The folks involved in the Neuro-Ed Initiative understand that reality but insist that by sharing information, neuroscientists and educators may, in the long run, help shape policy and classroom practice. “Neuroscientists study the brain, and educators want to train and educate the brain,” Limb says. “So in the end we are looking at the same organ from different sides. There really ought to be a dialogue.” Limb and his colleagues have already taken steps to create that conversation, sponsoring seminars like the 2009 “Learning, Arts, and the Brain” conference at the American Visionary Art Museum. Scientists presented their research, and teachers quizzed them on how the work might apply to classroom instruction. Begg-Marino attended the conference and liked what she heard. But, as she pointed out, “a study is one thing and to prove it would be great. But implementation is a whole other thing.” Limb acknowledges the challenges. “To me it seems a given that one day we’ll have a better working understanding of how the mind works, and that will be the main basis for how we try to instill new knowledge. But how to get there is like science fiction.

“We have to start somewhere,” he adds. “Being practical, we think the fi rst step is to measure whether an arts-integrated approach to teaching children is more effective.” Though Hardiman doesn’t yet have enough data to prove the effectiveness of her model, test scores did rise at Roland Park after her arts-integrated curriculum was launched. Still, she says, that wasn’t the main goal. “The test scores did continue to go up. However, the driving force for arts integration was to foster deeper thinking.” ■ —Deborah Rudacille attended Catholic schools for sixteen years, from elementary through college, and later taught writing for ﬁve years in the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth Distance Education program. An excerpt from her latest book, Roots of Steel: Boom and Bust in an American Mill Town, was published in the May Urbanite. On the Air: The minds behind the Neuro-Education Initiative on The Marc Steiner Show, WEAA 88.9 FM, on September 15

Explorethe Possibilities… at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing

Open House Saturday, October 2, 2010, 9:30 a.m. Featuring panel discussions on the Baccalaureate, Master’s, DNP, and PhD Programs Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing 525 North Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205 For more information and to register, visit www.nursing.jhu.edu/openhouse For disability access information, contact Mary O'Rourke at 410.955.7548 or e-mail jhuson@son.jhmi.edu.

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I recently asked Maren Hassinger, a Baltimore artist who is the director of the Rinehart School of Sculpture at the Maryland Institute College of Art, what work is currently absorbing her. She told me she is developing pieces for an October exhibition in New York. She calls them “sit upons”—objects of various sizes and shapes, crafted of twisted and woven newspaper, meant to be sat upon in the gallery. She first made pieces like this as a Camp Fire Girl in Los Angeles in the 1950s. The detail of the work shown here (which is not meant to be sat upon) is from a similarly fabricated work shown in 2008, titled Wrenching News. In an e-mail, she stated that the work hearkens back to early human origins on the African savanna and the universal need for “a place of safety where the approach of friends or enemies could be clearly seen.” The message, she wrote, is that “lives are like a field in the wind. Many stories, one field.” Looking at this object, we are reminded of a shared human memory and that our own identity is tied to that of those who came before us. To see her work in context, I recommend visiting her website. —Alex Castro

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Maren Hassinger Wrenching News 2008 size variable twisted newspaper www.marenhassinger.com

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