Before political correctness marginalized the link between racial disparity and low academic achievement, Dr. Carter G. Woodson wrote The Education of the Negro Prior to 1861— A History of the Education of the Colored People of the United States from the beginning of Slavery to the Civil War.

Six weeks before my son’s high school graduation, I drew up a list of longtime friends and relatives to invite to the commencement. For such a momentous occasion, I used a fountain pen to address the invitations old-school cursive style. Eschewing abbreviations, except for courtesy titles, each name and address was lovingly written and punctuated.

Knowledge is power —Sir Francis Bacon Instead of bemoaning the disappointing Maryland State Achievement scores and wringing our hands over school testing scandals, Baltimoreans should get serious about improving the public schools. Years of low academic achievement and high drop out rates threatens to compromise our City’s future. It is time to declare war on educational mediocrity.

I cannot recall my father ever missing a day of work. I do remember him rising before dawn and suiting up in steelworker’s armor, steel toe boots and several cotton shirts tucked inside wool bib overalls to protect himself from the blasting coal furnaces. On summer days he dressed lighter, carrying the extra clothes in a brown paper bag, the furnaces never shut down.