Students

Op-ed writer John Clayton Young suggests that school should be optional for some students ("Why force a kid to go to school?" March 12). He claims a child shouldn't have to attend school if he or she doesn't want to and that forcing people to be there is a violation of their freedom. I couldn't disagree more. There are certainly other ways a child can get an education, acquire knowledge and learn to find his or her way in the world. But a general education opens a child's mind.

At a recent Baltimore County Board of Education meeting, a change in the wording of certain documents has allowed the school system to remove school libraries and department heads in alignment with plans to increase funding for new technology. School Superintendent Dallas Dance has begun his crusade to fix one of the best school systems in the nation. I truly wish the best of luck to a school system that has given me a spectacular public education, but Mr. Dance's attempt to cut libraries and department heads to save money seems misguided.

The stage at Meyerhoff Symphony Hall stands under a four-story-high ceiling, commanding an auditorium that seats more than 2,400 — bigger than any hall most students in the Howard County Gifted and Talented Orchestra have ever played. Soon after they begin their rehearsal, the young musicians can hear, and feel, the difference. "You can feel how large the hall is when you play," said J.D. Fishman, 16, a trombonist and junior at Marriotts Ridge High School. "Everyone can feel that echo.

A Columbia restaurant will be donating all of its earnings Monday night to a Howard Community College program that provides financial and academic assistance to students who have struggled in high school but have demonstrated a desire and promise to do better in college. This is the 11th year that Hunan Manor restaurant has provided assistance to students through this event, which typically draws close to 500 people. An average of $26,000 is raised each year, with the money going into an endowment.

When Cardinal Gibbons High School junior Kanu Aja spotted a group of officials from the Archdiocese of Baltimore touring the campus this year, he assumed the worst. "They did the same thing at Towson Catholic last year," said Aja, 18, of Finksburg. "They walked through the whole school and talked and then shut down the school. "I had a gut feeling that something bad would happen here." Aja was one of four Towson Catholic underclassmen who wound up at Gibbons last fall.

Nine Maryland high school students gathered Saturday at the Enoch Pratt Free Library to compete for the state championship in the national Poetry Out Loud competition. The students recited memorized selections by Edgar Allan Poe, Robert Frost, Alfred, Lord Tennyson and other giants. They clenched their fists and clutched their hearts to accentuate dramatic passages. Competitors were judged on presence, articulation, understanding of the poem and the difficulty of their selections. The winner, Nora Sand- ler, a senior at Richard Montgomery High School in Rockville, received a $200 prize and advanced to the national finals in Washington at the end of April.

WESTMINSTER — The past school year may have just ended, but the nonprofit Shepherd's Staff in Westminster is already collecting for its back-to-school outreach program, and is seeking donations of school essentials for Carroll County students in need. School supplies, new backpacks, monetary donations to purchase new shoes, new and nearly new school clothing and new or used books are being accepted through Aug. 15. Donations can be dropped off at The Shepherd's Staff, 30 Carroll St., Westminster.

The University of Maryland Baltimore County became national college chess champions today after beating three teams in what is known as the final four of chess. Alan Sherman, director of the college's chess club and associate professor of computer science, said the final teams were some of the strongest UMBC has faced recently. UMBC has won the tournament six of the past 10 years. The weekend-long tournament was held at the University of Texas at Brownsville, and included that college as well as the University of Texas at Dallas, UMBC and Texas Tech University.

More than 70 Baltimore City schoolchildren went holiday shopping Saturday morning with school police officers during the annual "Shop with a Cop" event. City Schools Police Chief Marshall "Toby" Goodwin and 30 officers volunteered their time, picking the students up from their homes and taking them with lights and sirens activated to a Wal-Mart in Glen Burnie to shop for themselves and their families. Goodwin said police raised enough money for each child to have $100 to spend.

The Simulated Congressional Hearing has become a rite of passage for many area fifth-graders, including those at West Friendship Elementary School. Throughout the school year, the students learn about the Bill of Rights, the Constitution and other aspects of American government. Their social studies lessons culminate in the hearing, an authentic, interactive experience through which they demonstrate their understanding of constitutional principles. At West Friendship Elementary, every fifth-grade classroom chooses a patriotic team name (this year: justice, liberty and John F. Kennedy)