This Chicago Teachers Strike Is Not About Money, It's About What Right For Children

Last night I told 19 Connecticut teachers, to look to the Chicago teachers for leadership that matters in public education. I said I have no faith in our nation's policymakers, legislators, CEOs, presidents, governors, mayors, non-elected school broads, billionaires, commissioners and secretaries of education to save our public schools.

The endless flow of campaign contributions pushing failed high stakes testing education reform is a cabal of the greedy who have turned public schools into profit margins and testing factories.

I have walked for 40 days from Connecticut to DC twice to protest this cabal of profiteers that hijacked childhood and our profession. Like these Chicago teachers, I am a teacher who was forced to become an activist for justice in our public schools. I marched on Washington. I marched on my state's capital, I have joined two United States Department of Education Occupies with United Opt-Out, I have traveled multiple times to the Selma Jubilee Education Summit with BATS, UOOs, and SOSers to stand up for our children, their teachers, and our public schools. This July I met with some CTU leaders in Chicago. I claim brotherhood with these Chicago Teachers. Call me their number one fan!

This is not the time to hold our heads down. This is the time to lift them up, to move our profession to boldly stand up against these hijackers of childhood. We may not see it yet in our local unions, but it is building. Labor leadership either leads a bold stand to save our children, our fellow teachers, and our public schools, or it gets out of the way.

If this resistance is not led by teachers? Then who? Parents need and expect us to stand up for their children.

Teachers we are the heroes we have been waiting for. I see heroes rising in Chicago, teachers fighting for smaller class sizes, a living wage for Para-Professionals, and for nurses and social workers in every school. This is not about money, this is about doing right by their children.

I ended by saying teachers, start pushing union leadership to follow the lead of Chicago. If they refuse, then vote for new ones. Chicago is less about a strike it is a teacher revolution to save our public schools.
Call me another revolutionary marching save our children, their teachers, and our public schools.
I stand with these Chicago Teacher Revolutionaries,
Dr. Jesse P. Turner
Connecticut Moral Monday Education Ambassador

July 2019 lunch in Chicago with CTU's Michelle Strater Gunderson & CSU-AAUP 

Call me CTU's Number One Fan!

If you are wondering what song inspire my morning walk in the rain...its What's Going On cover by Play For Change https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEp7QrOBxyQ

Don't You Know, Talking about a Teacher Revolution

CSU-AAUP and CTU Lunch July 2019

It began in Chicago

In Chicago, the Teacher's union is on strike,
In Chicago, the Teacher's union is standing up for their rights,
In Chicago, those beautiful glorious union thugs are fighting for,
School Nurses,
A Living Wage for Paras,
For Wrap Around Services For Children,
For Smaller Class Sizes,
Better schools for children.

Put in it writing,
The Rank and File are saying Mayor put it in writing,
In Chicago, those Union Thugs are at it again,
They got their sights on equity,
They got their sights on healthy schools,
They got their sights on respect,
They got their sights on better schools,
They got their sights on temples of hope in their schools.

Solidarity,
Shout it out your windows,
Whisper it in your hallways,
Call it out on every street corner,
Tell it on every mountain top,
Tell them, teachers everywhere stand with these beautiful Chicago Teachers.

Chicago teachers are talking about a public school revolution,
Teachers everywhere talking about a better schools revolution,
Tell America,
Tell every mayor,
Tell every policymaker,
Tell every governor,
Tell every non-elected school board member,
Tell those Commissioners of education,
Tell that DC Sec of Education,
Tell those Wall Street Profiteers,
Tell them in the White House.

We hear these Rank and File Sisters and Brothers in Chicago,
It begins in Chicago,
Ends everywhere,
Teacher unions shall lead this fight for better schools,
Union Strong shall lead the way.

I stand with Chicago's Rank and File,
Jesse The Walking Man Turner

If you are wondering what song inspired my morning walk today its Tracy Chapman "Talking About A Revolution https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xv8FBjo1Y8I

It's Poverty Stupid

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71O0ChPFzAI This is a link to a quick interview I did in 2012 discussing poverty and our public schools. Please consider watching, and will help you understand  my blog today a little better.

Friends our Connecticut SBAC scores were released this week. Test scores are being released all across the nation this week. Some six months after they were given. Imagine your doctor saying look this test is really important, it going to hurt, and in six months' time we get the results back.

What do these standardized test scores actually tell us?

In my professional opinion, they showed what they have always shown. That 49 states in America that spend more money on their wealthy schools than their poor schools.

Yes, our Connecticut State Department of Education is running around telling children, parents, and teachers how low they scored. Meanwhile Wall Street is singing the economy is booming. I'm not buying this CDSE sideshow. I'm not buying any of these your test scores are low sideshows. I'm holding these deniers of inequity accountable.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71O0ChPFzAI

America, the song remains the same. There is no booming economy in a nation where half our children attending our public schools live below or at the poverty level.

We cannot fix our schools, without fixing poverty. Half of our children and teachers are living with trauma. I don't want to hear Wall Street is singing, while our children are crying any longer. You cannot raise test scores without raising the hopes of parents living from paycheck to paycheck. Tax cuts for billionaires will not lift our schools. Let me call it what it is another Structural Racism sideshow playing the blame game once again.

Occupy poverty,

Dr. Jesse P. Turner

Moral Monday Connecticut Education Ambassador 

If you want to listen to the song that inspire my morning walk today its Barry Lane's "Jesse Turner is a Walking Man" https://barrylane.bandcamp.com/track/jesse-turner-the-walkin-man