Derek W. (flyddw) from Twitter, Pownce, and MIX revved up a few of my Cherry Blossom photos. It completely looks like a different day and the blossoms look much better than they actually do!

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Even though I’ve been in the DC area for more than 10 years, I have never gone down by the Tidal Basin to see the cherry blossoms. I’ve been to the Cherry Blossom Parade (in 1995) and I’ve also been stuck in traffic for hours on multiple occasions near the Tidal Basin due to the Cherry Blossom Festival and “seen” the cherry blossoms before but I’ve never gone down there specifically to see the cherry blossoms.

Yesterday we drove down to East Potomac Park because I heard that we could park at Hains Point and take a free shuttle to the Tidal Basin. No such luck. I ended up instead parking my car at work and we caught the metro. That was certainly an experience. When we got off at the Smithsonian station we were the midst of wall to wall people (seriously). There was nowhere you could go or be where you weren’t touching some stranger. It was similar to the time I got caught up in the aftermath of the immigration protests in 2006. We were only moving a few inches at a time to get off the platform and out of the station. (I got video but haven’t looked at it yet.)

When we finally got out of the station we caught some of the kite festival. It was kind of dreary and very chilly but the cherry blossoms were lovely. Most pictures I have seen of them don’t do them justice. Because they are so pale they tend to be washed out on photos. I was disturbed by the folks who were accosting the trees and breaking off flowers and pulling down branches to pose with them. I have never seen anything like that and now understand why there are signs at the botanical gardens saying not to touch the flowers.

The crowds were crazy too and I probably won’t be going to see the blossoms next year. I continue to be amazed at how inconsiderate some people are. This dude bumped into me and looked at me like it was my fault that he bumped into me. I was just standing there composing a shot. Also, while I was trying to compose my shot of the BF, three or four people walked into the shot behind him. The funny thing was he was standing pretty close to the edge of the water so if he had suddenly turned around certainly they would have taken an unexpected swim.

We stopped by the World War II Memorial as well. We had been meaning to go since it was completed. We didn’t spend as much time there as I would have liked and will have to go back when it’s less crowded.

The sun finally did show up and even though I had been annoyed earlier I was glad that we went.

See the photos on Flickr.

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I tutor and mentor at Shaw Junior High through the Coaching for College Program. The student that I am working with this year seems to always have homework that consists of photocopied worksheets of some sort. As a tutor, I try to be consistent in my teaching so that I am not confusing her or using terminology not consistent with what she is learning in school. The problem is that she never has her books. The first time I encountered this, I was helping her with her geography homework although the questions were more like humanities questions. She had some definitions that she had to fill in. The student starts asking me the definitions. Of course I know what they were but my simply telling her would not help her. Also, my definitions may not match what her teacher is looking for. When I asked where her textbook was she said that they are not allowed to bring them home; they stay in the classroom. Although I was skeptical, we went to her classroom and retrieved her book. With the textbook, she was able to successfully complete her homework.

It happened again today. Today’s assignment was ratios. The worksheets asked to figure out the height of a tree based on the height of a meter stick and the lengths of shadows of the meter stick and the tree. Again she had no book. When asked about the book she said the same thing that they are not allowed to take the books out of the classroom. My co-coach Josh and I had a grasp on how to figure the problems out but didn’t know how it was being taught. Were we using the correct terminology? Were we showing her the correct way to solve the problems? It’s all a mystery to me. One of the problems, I used trigonometry to figure out. That’s not going to help her at all because she’s not at that level yet.

Is this true that the students are not able to take their books home? If this is true, my obvious concern is how the children can learn if they are not able to take their books home. Furthermore, how are parents or tutors able to help the students without textbooks?

And if it is true, do other DC Public Schools limit use of textbooks to the classroom or is it just Shaw? I’m going to reserve comment until I do some research about this.

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I went to the candlelight vigil for DeAnthony Henson last night. I did not know DeAnthony; instead, I know one of his sisters from the Coaching for College Program. I learned a lot about DeAnthony, though, in that hour or so.

DeAnthony had been in trouble when he was young and had been sent to Oak Hill Youth Center. He became a focused young man while at the facility. He had goals on what he wanted his life to be. He mentored the younger kids and the staff members had nothing but good things to say about him, referring to him as a bright star. They knew he was going places in life.

At the time he was killed, he had been saving for a car and was preparing to move into a new apartment. According to his sister, he had already packed up his apartment for the move. He would also soon be starting a construction job full time. He was very much into family. He and his girlfriend of three years had plans for the future.

DeAnthony was involved with Earth Conservation Corporation (ECC) and Peaceoholics. Representatives of both organizations attended the vigil to speak DeAnthony’s praises. In addition to DeAnthony’s family, his long-time girlfriend, and representatives of ECC and Peaceoholics, representatives from the Mayor’s office also spoke about how good a kid DeAnthony was.

In this video shot less than one month before he was killed, DeAnthony is asked about why he was involved with Earth Conservation Corporation. I was impressed with his answer.

The neighbors in the Southwest community, in the shadows of the almost completed Washington Nationals stadium, where he was killed, spoke up to tell the police what happened which is rare in DC. According to witnesses, “friend” of his shot him. No one knows the reason as yet. The friend has been arrested. At the vigil the family thanked those that spoke to the police.

Violence in DC many times does not discriminate. There have been several cases this year where innocent people, many times children were killed just for being outside. I also found the another member of the Earth Conservation Corporation was gunned down earlier this year as he sat outside his house. This kid, too, had turned his life around, having become an important community journalist, activist, and youth advocate. Ironically just before his murder, that particular kid was producing a final video piece about putting an end to the gun violence endemic in his community.

It is sad that kids that have changed their lives for the better are being killed. Something has to be done.

Tags: senseless violence murder washington dc deanthony henson

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One of the many jobs I had while in college was helping my boyfriend (at the time) deliver the Washington Post early every morning. Our route was in the Shaw and Logan Circle neighborhoods between 9th and 13th Street. We started each day at 3 a.m. By 5:30, we would be on 11th Street where we would see a man in his probably in his 60s that lived on 11th Street near P Street. He would be taking out the trash but it appeared that he was going to work. He greeted us with a smile every morning. We called him Smiley.

On Saturday after the tutoring session at Shaw Junior High I was driving on 11th Street. I noticed that Smiley’s house and the one next to it are being replaced by a four-story building. As that was many years ago, I don’t know what ever happened to Smiley and his wife, who we would see occasionally. But I wonder. Were they not able to keep up with the property taxes due to increased property values? Did they pass on leaving their house to their kids who then sold it? Did their house get condemned by the District government? (I remember it wasn’t in the best shape back then.) Or did they simply realize that the value of their house had increased drastically, sell it and move to the suburbs?

At any rate this is merely one example of what is going on all over the District and other cities across the country. Some call it revitalization or urban renewal. Others call it gentrification. My thoughts are mixed on revitalization. As I have an affinity for old houses and buildings, I am glad to see old houses, buildings and neighborhoods preserved. And it seems that crime in those neighborhoods is reduced. But poor people who probably owned their houses outright as well as renters are displaced.

Truth be told at 11th and P Streets, NW, I saw change coming even back then in the early 90s. About six townhouses across the street from Smiley’s house were renovated back then. And several brand new townhouses went up at 12th and M Streets, NW. I guess the people who moved into those were the earlier comers. Although more drastic change would occur after the building of the new convention center on Mount Vernon Place, NW.

Shaw in the 90s was all hustle and bustle. There were people outside no matter what hour – drinking, shooting the breeze, going to the carryout, etc. There was an open air market for pretty much anything you can imagine. Even though there was the crime, I felt safer with all those people outside. Now no one is outside and even during the day it seems like a ghost town – well, not all of Shaw but definitely that one block of 9th Street between O and P Streets. To me that is scary.

Now there’s the new convention center on Mount Vernon Place between 7th and 9th Streets and a brand new building full of expensive condos at 9th and M Streets. The apartment building on 12th Street between O and P Streets that I refused to enter after the first time I went in there to deliver that one newpaper seems nice and serene. I see more greenery that I remember back then and many of the houses seem to be very well maintained. The rowhouse where I lived for a short time at 9th and O seems brand new even though, it was falling apart back then. At 10th and M Streets, NW, there are bikes and Vespas chained up even at night. I remember when a bike frame would be the only thing remaining chained up after being stripped of all loose parts.

I get emails on a weekly basis from various condos at various stages of construction in the city. Despite the higher cost of living, I love the urban environment and would love to move back to the city. I want to walk to work and walk to get groceries. I would be willing to get rid of my car as well. But if I move into these new/renovated digs, wouldn’t I be contributing to the mass displacement of poor people?

I continue to have conflicting views on revitalization but I hope it has worked out for Smiley and his wife.

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• March 20, 2008 -- Anti-War Protest 3-19-2008
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• May 4, 2007 -- Maryland and Virginia Drivers to Pay a Toll to Enter DC?