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Monday, February 23, 2015

I have a bell, I have a hammer, and two feet made for walking.

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Shout on every corner,

I am one man walking in the name of love to DC,

Shout it in every Church, Synagogue, Temple, and Masque,

Shout it in the halls of congress,

Shout it in the senate,

Shout it outside the White House,   

That silence and apathy have no hold on me,



Ring every bell,

Tell it on every mountaintop,

Unlike our nation's Hedge Fund managers, this walking man is not afraid our children won't be able to compete,

Tell every child, parent, and teacher,
I see a brighter day coming,

Tell them I am walking to help America understand that it is immoral for 49 states to spend more money on their wealthy schools than their poor schools.



Tell everyone I am walking 400 miles to break that deafening silence coming from our United States Department of Education's immoral policies hiding a public school system rooted in inequality,

Tell everyone I am walking for every child, teacher, and parent being blamed for the failures of our leadership to do the right thing,

Shout it loud and clear, this man is walking for our children and every teacher being labeled failure, 
This man is walking, because Washington DC lacks the moral will to give every child an equal start and equal finish.


Oh, shout it out brothers and sisters,

The Walking Man is coming,

Tell them that he has a bell,

Tell them he has a hammer,

Tell them he has a heart full of love,

A spirit full of hope,

Tell he can't be broken,

He can't be stopped,

He rides a just wave,

He fears no evil,

He walks inspired by that righteous shepherd who led his people from a Pharaoh’s bondage.



He rejects reducing our children, their teachers and our local schools to test scores,

He rejects a United States Secretary of Education Arne Duncan's policies of dog eat dog,
That our poor schools must complete against each other in his sick Race To The Top's lie,
He rejects competition without equity has any place in a nation who loves justice and fairness. 

Tell it from every mountaintop that he is not alone,


The people reject selling our local public schools to the highest bidders,

The people reject standards that hold not one politician accountable,

The people reject standards that hold not one policy maker accountable,
The people reject standards that hold not one governor accountable, 

The people reject that equity comes in spending more on your wealthy schools than your poor schools.



I am one man walking to DC in the name of love,

Jesse
Source: (Education Week's 2015 Quality Counts report only Alaska spends more on it's poor schools than it's wealthy schools)

If you want to know what the Walking Man was listening to on his walk today...it's If I had a hammer song by Trini Lopez

Thursday, February 19, 2015


Going back to Education Summit in Selma for the Voting Right 5oth Anniversary in 12 days. I will be joining my sisters Ruth Rodriquez and Ceresta Smith, Alabama BATs, SOSers, BTCs,and UOOs to tell it on every moutaintop that it is immoral for 49 governors to spend more money on their wealthy schools than their poor schools.
Sing that old song:
Ain't noboy gonna turn me around,
Ain't gonna let nobody turn me around
Turn me around, turn me around
Ain't gonna let nobody turn me around
Keep on a walking, keep on a talking
Gonna build a brand new world
Ain't gonna let the Secretary of Education Arne Duncan turn me around
Turn me around, turn me around
Ain't gonna let the administration turn me around
Keep on a walking, keep on a talking
Gonna build a brand new world
Ain't gonna let no education deformer turn me around
Turn me around, turn me around
Ain't gonna let no first strike policy turn me around
Keep on a walking, keep on a talking
Gonna build a brand new world
Ain't gonna let Indira no governors turn me around
Turn me around, turn me around
Ain't gonna let billionaires boys club turn me around
Keep on a walking, keep on a talking
Gonna build a brand new world.
Got my moral walking shoes on people,
And ain't nobody stopping this walking man,
Jesse

Just in case people are wondering what the walking will be listening to walking across the Edmond Pettus Bridge? It ain't nobody gonna turn me around by Sweet honey in the rock



Walking to DC opposing the immoral ground of school choice policies



My response to Connecticut Governor Malloy budget increases for charter schools would be the same response for any state increasing it's funding for charter schools. Their is no data to support them as education reform successes. 
It is obvious our politicians, policy makers, and their education reformer pals are not reading the research on choice schools and charters. The Civil Rights Project/Proyecto Derechos Civiles from UCLA 40 states review of school choice impacts 2010 reported that charter school actually increase racial isolation. See:
Frankenberg, E., Siegel-Hawley, G., Wang, J. (2010). Choice without Equity: Charter School Segregation and the Need for Civil Rights Standards. Los Angeles, CA: The Civil Rights Project/Proyecto Derechos Civiles at UCLA; www.civilrightsproject.ucla.edu. 

Perhaps the reading level is too high for these so-called education reformers to understand?
"Executive Summary
Seven years after the Civil Rights Project first documented extensive patterns of charter school segregation, the charter sector continues to stratify students by race, class and possibly language. This study is released at a time of mounting federal pressure to expand charter schools, despite on-going and accumulating evidence of charter school segregation."....
"Their analysis of the 40 states, the District of Columbia, and several dozen metropolitan areas with large enrollments of charter school students reveals that charter schools are more racially isolated than traditional public schools in virtually every state and large metropolitan area in the nation."

As for Connecticut Connecticut Voices For Children issued their 2014 report: 

Choice Watch: Diversity and Access in Connecticut's School Choice Programs Robert Cotto, Jr., Ed.M. & Kenneth Feder

http://www.ctvoices.org/publications/choice-watch-diversity-and-access-connecticuts-school-choice-programs

Let me make this simple, school choice provides cover for Connecticut being one of 49 states who spend more money on their wealthy schools than their poor schools." This is a moral struggle with immoral policy that fails to provide all our children with an equal start and finish in our public schools. Education reform should begin with providing children in all 50 states an equal start and finish not with gimmicks. Study after study reveals one simple finding Choice without equity is a failure, and that our political leaders either can't comprehend data, or they just don't care. If they don't care then everything they are doing is rooted in immorality.
One Man Walking To DC In The Name Of Love,
Jesse

If you you like to know what song inspired my walk today? It's Barry Lane's "More Than A Number" https://search.yahoo.com/search?p=Barry+lane+more+than+a+number+utbue\&ei=UTF-8&fr=moz35