Mr. President, we want equity, empathy, and humanity not Common Core Standards

Is the above our new image of segregation in the Twenty-First Century in America?

The 14th Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren concluded in our nation's 1954 landmark Brown Vs the Board of Education: "Segregation of white and colored children in public schools has a detrimental effect upon the colored children. The impact is greater when it has the sanction of the law, for the policy of separating the races is usually interpreted as denoting the inferiority of the Negro group...Any language in contrary to this finding is rejected. We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.  ”
61 years later, 22,462 days later I find our public schools more segregated than ever, not only by race, but by poverty. 22,462 days later I find 50 states and my nation compromising on equality at every step, and committed not to equality in our public schools, but to scams that harm our nation's children, their parents, their communities. Chief Justice Warren was clear: "We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of 'separate but equal' has no place." I view high-stake assessments and the Common Core State Standards as clear evidence that we as a nation are in violation of the law, and more importantly of our moral obligation to our nation's children. I see no evidence that thousands of new charter schools have done anything to desegregate our public schools. I would even argue that their creation has increased segregtion in our public schools.

Common Core Standards do not differentiate instruction for individual learners.

Common Core Standards do not valued our rich linguistic, racial and cultural diversity in America.

Common Core Standards cannot adjust for poverty.

Teacher licensure examinations cannot measure a teacher's ability, willingness, and competence to differentiate learning for all learners.

In reality any set of standards that limit themselves to benchmarks of performance without understanding that learners drive learning not bench marks become examples of intolerance.

Any set of standards that are intolerant to the natural diversity within our communities, schools, and classroom are:

1. Inherently bias against learners with special needs,

2. Inherently bias against multilingual learners,

3. Inherently bias against learners living in poverty, and

4. Inherently bias against immigrants and children of color.

Any teacher licensure examination cannot measure a teacher's ability, willingness, and competence to differentiate learning for all learners is not work the paper it is written on!

Any set of standards that promise to save our public schools without requiring equity in our public schools are not worth the papers they are written on!

No education reform without equity for all is not worth researching.

No education reform that fails to affirm our nation's rich tapestry of diversity is rooted in bias against the very nature of who we are as a nation.

We will know genuine education reform by the only standard that really matters EQUALITY in our public schools.

We will know genuine education reform that affirms children, parents, and teachers by the standard ensuring we lift every voice.

We will know genuine education reform that affirms children with special needs by its empathy, its humanity, and its love for all children.

We will know genuine education reform that affirms all learners by its efforts to provide wrap around services not for some schools, but for all schools.

We don't want your Common Core Standards.

We want equity, empathy and humanity.

If your education reform can't begin with these, than you cannot claim to value all children.
Silence and apathy are not acceptable,

Dr. Jesse Patrick Turner

If you like to know what song I was listening to on my walk this morning, it's Sweet Honey and the Rock's "eye on the prize". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_tcZAqQUAg

The first ripples have already gone out!

Salutations students, parents, and teachers,
A teacher from Nevada said she feels the need to stand up and fight back against this culture of test and punishment destroying public education.  She said like you I feel this is a moral call to fight back, but I sometimes feel alone in this battle. Sometimes I wonder if one moral person makes a difference against the powerful, the connected, and the greedy. Trust me sister one person always makes a difference.

First, I am an academic that knows the research. Research has always indicated an over emphasis on testing leads to more behavior problems, more special needs identifications, and higher drop out rates. Our politicians and policy makers were told this by academic after academic from the start. I know because I have told them from day of No Child Left Behind.  Margaret Mead said” "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."  Trust me research and telling the truth matters!
 
Second as an academic I have followed their data on closing the achievement gap, and the evidence has consistently shown their policies are failing, and at this point even growing the achievement gap. Trust me data matters!
 
Third, yes this is a moral battle. It goes deeper than test scores, privatization, and greed. This is a battle that will determine if we as a people are willing to define our nation’s children as gifts of love, or human capital. Are they data spots on some grand scheme to label every single child either above proficiency, at proficiency, or below proficiency? Or are they our truth tellers born to right our world. Will we as a nation treat them as capital to be manipulated, or loved and valued as truth tellers in our mist? Trust me how we see our nation’s children matters!

Fourth, no one armed with the truth is alone. While I may be an academic, I am also a man of faith. It is my faith that guides my activism. In Isaiah 41:10 I find encouragement, inspiration and my strength.
“Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with My righteous right hand.” Trust me faith matters!

Finally, one person armed with the truth can change the world. It may not happen all at once, but one narrative of truth grows to two, and two to three, and on and on until that truth becomes power. One way to fight this is to witness truth. Share it whenever and wherever you can.
If we find ourselves holding a sign alone that saying "Children Are More Than Test Scores" on a corner it matters.
If we share truth with one other it matters. If we join other truth tellers it matters.
If we stand-alone speaking truth to power it matters.
Every person standing alone speaking truth to power becomes a tidal wave of truth that no power on earth can stop.
You alone telling the truth matters.
You and I telling the truth together matters.
Every tidal wave can be traced back to that first ripple in the ocean.
Trust me one person speaking truth to power matters!
Call us the first ripples,
Jesse The Walking Turner

If you like to know what song this walking man was listening to on his walk this morning it's "Love Rescue Me" from Playing For Change....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lz6d60ysb-Y

A society that values readers does not close librairies and schools in it's poorest communities

There is no standardize test that makes a reader,
Reading makes a reader,
Choice makes a reader,
Time for reading makes a reader,
Teachers and students reading together make readers.

Teachers don't need a standardize test to tell them who is a reader.
Teachers can see it,
Teachers can hear it,
Teachers can feel it,
Teachers can create reading moments.
Forcing teachers to comply with test and punish mandates does not make readers.

Salvador Dali did not need a standardize test to tell him he could paint.
He could see it in the paint residual on his hands.
Michelangelo did not need a standardize test to tell him he could paint.
He could feel it in the drops of paint stinging his eyes falling from the Sistine Chapel Ceiling.
Painting makes good painters.

Reading makes good readers,
Choice makes good readers,
Time to read makes good readers,
Access to books makes readers.
A society that values readers open new libraries, and fills every school with books. 

A society that does not value reading closes libraries and schools.
A society that cuts funding to libraries and schools does not value readers.
We don’t need any standardized test to tell us our politicians and policy makers don’t value readers.
We can see it in the budget cuts to local libraries.
We can see it in the billions spent for new sports stadiums.
We can see it in every tax break for billionaires. 
We can see it in the opening of every charter school that closes a local public school.
We can see it in the fact that 49 states spending more money on their wealthy schools than their poor schools.

It’s time to stop these policies of test and punish, and to begin an era of celebrating reading in our libraries and public schools.
It's time to read,
Jesse The Walking Man Turner

Everyone know hats make you a better reader, and pirates are good reading teachers.



If you really like to know what the Walking Man is listening today it's "Gotta Keep Reading"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psby0mI6ZLY