Come right on up for the East Coast Spring Up Rising So the plan is a series of Resistance Salons this spring. Resistance 2.0: The Struggle Continues Building Striving communities, Schools, Families, and voice. Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, New York, and New Jersey are in.
Salon rules
1. Size or location does not matter, they might be at universities, community schools, people's homes, churches, union halls, or coffee houses. There might be 10 people, or 100, what really
matter is activists who care about schools and each other.
2. Panel guests must not only raise awareness, but have a wellness messages as well. (Why because this is a life time struggle, we must also ensure we are well enough to endure the long term.3. The audience must be engaged and active participants. In other words everyone is a star.
4. There should be some type of way to share the salon happenings. It might be via Facebook Live or Youtube blogs, or written blog reflections.
5. Salon should be made up of manly local voices, but include some voices from other states as well. (This keeps the focus local, but reminds us we are all suffering under the same abusive Education Reforms.
6. Salons issues should include issues in and outside our public schools, and be rooted in what Mark Naison calls "Positive Energy".
7. Six rules are enough!
Many education reform resistance fighters have come to me saying they are still determined, but tire and worried. When your struggle is long and difficult, you must also find ways to stay well enough to endure and stay the path. Our struggle is a moral one, and we are determined to see it through. Our foes are wealthy, powerful, and control much of the policy apparatus in education, and have the ability to wear resisters down. Thus, we convened a group of education reform resisters from Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, in an online Facebook discussion to consider the question of where we go next in the struggle to take back our schools and communities. We decided since this struggle is long term, we need to include ways to fight fatigue, weariness, and even depression. We are connecting to what Journey 4 Justice's We Choose Campaign have already begun with their town halls.
We came to the conclusion that our struggle needs to be both morally right and physically healthy for all of us. Thus, we will not only turn up for the resistance, but for each other’s physical and mental health. so every salon panel guest must feed not only the resistance, but help us support each other’s wellness at the same time. People get ready for ways to fight back, but improve your wellness at the same time. If the struggle is to continued, we must also find ways to keep each other healthy enough to end the fight as well. Mark Naison, provided the perfect words to drive our resistance to the high-stakes testing, the intentional demoralization of our public school teachers, and privatizing of our public schools "Positive Energy". It has been 16 years since NCLB, 16 year since testing became the hammer use to crush local public schools. Frederick Douglas knew progress took time and hard struggle.
Our Resistance 2.0 Salons are going to inform, educate, move people to action, but be driven by Positive Energy. We will move people to act, and include ways to stay and become healthy both physically and mentally. If the struggle takes time, then we must be healthy enough to live long enough to see it to it's end. So, for those asking what comes NEXT..it a Positive Energy rising! Trust me on this one thing, actions shall follow our salons, and our action shall bring down the houses of Education Reform Shame. For we are a mighty people!
People get ready for the train coming,
Jesse The Walking Man Turner
PS, if you are interested in joining us, please email me turnerj@ccsu.edu We need everyone to come on board. Hey, please don’t tell me you couldn’t guess which song inspired my morning walking today... Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions “People Get Ready”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdK...
