I choose to not get on your Ed Reform Merry Go Round

When education reformers, policymakers, and Wall Street say choice, read between the lines. For they have already made a choice. To place profits before our children. 

The Merry-Go-Round of school reform money tree shouts:

New tests, 
Charter Schools,
Magnet Schools,
State takeovers,
Google classrooms,
Chrome books,
Drive-by-teacher alternative programs,
New Rigorous Standards, 
New Fail Proof Curriculums.

Blame:
Parents,
Students,
Teachers,
Schools,
Blame everyone,
Except those making hundreds of billions of dollars running the Merry-Go-Round.

Look everywhere but at those making profits, giving campaign contributions, and sweet jobs to family and political allies,
They love the teacher blamers,
Children are falling because teachers didn’t teach them right,
Don’t worry parents for a few billion we can fix it. 

Time to Look behind that great OZ Curtain,
Where we discover rich white kids always get more,
Black, Brown, Poor, and Special children get less.
Much, much, much less,
23 Billion dollars every year.

Now these Ed Refromers want teachers to take sides in their reading wars.
I can hear that cash register of a status quo ringing,
A school-to-prison pipeline that profits from 5 until death.

How about we do something different?
Radical,
Fair,
Humane.
Children, Teachers, and Parents shout ENOUGH,
EQUITY now!

I have an idea, and it won't cost a penny more.
We can take that 23 Billion Dollars extra spent annually on Wealthy Predominately White Schools, and spend it on our children in our poor school districts. You know the children who America has given less to for over 170 years.

It's time to close their merry-go-round down.

If you like to listen to the tune that inspired my blog today its Adrea Day's "Rise Up" > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZnv6qLWPy4 <

Teaching is my calling, and so is my activism

 

As an academic, my articles and chapters are seldom read. As an activist, my blog reaches thousands every month. My activist message is simple, all I ever wanted to do is teach, but injustice got in my way. 

I find myself fighting inequity and injustice in our public schools has become my main focus. This is something I never imagined when I first entered into the profession. I naively thought research mattered more than my activism. 

Thankfully, I was an activist before I became a teacher. It is this endless activist well that enables me to teach these days. Words are not enough to win this battle, but they do help.

I am an Old School Teacher,

I teach,

I march,

I stand up,       

I speak up,

I put my body on the picket line,

I turn up,

I reject apathy and silence,

I stand up for the rights of all in and out of my classroom,

I am inspired by the thousands who read,

I am Dr. Jesse P. Turner the Walking Man

Uniting to Save Our Schools

Can't be silenced Badass Teacher

If you like to listen to the song that inspires my blog this morning at 5:am its John Legend's "Preach" > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0r1AJMK79g <

I know why they call it the school to prison pipeline

 I know why they call it the school-to-prison pipeline.

One of the hardest realities as Director of our Central Literacy Center is seeing the vast inequality of specialized services children receive. Children from affluent predominately white school districts have an abundance of specialized Tier 3, (one-to-one) support services. These children are easy to help, and often just need an extra push. In our center, every struggling receives the same level of support, one-on-one with a certified teacher twice a week. Equity is real here. Children come from surrounding communities, some from poor ones, and others from wealthy ones. No one pays anything, actually, our teachers pay 6000 dollars to complete their final 6 credits for their advance degree to become a Literacy Specialist. They provide services equivalent to 6000 dollars free to two children for 15 weeks. That equity is not the reality for Connecticut Public Schools.

Now, our children from poor predominately communities of color wait years for specialized services, and seldom if ever get those desperately needing one-to-one services. This places them far behind their peers. This is heartbreaking, unfair, and a direct result of inequality and not fully funding our public schools.

This is not acceptable, spending 23 billion dollars more On wealthy predominately white schools every year is immoral.

Enough is enough education reform mumble jumbo from policymakers and legislators, it is these vast inequities that are holding our children in communities of color back. This fault cannot be placed upon our teachers or our poor school districts.

Let me call out whose feet this blame can be placed on, a state that refuses to take responsibility for a school funding formula that fails any equity smell test. I call this out as blatant RACISM. Vast inequality in the richest state in the union is morally UNACCEPTABLE. Trust me this is not just Connecticut, this is all 50 states. How many years must past before Black, Brown, Poor and Special Education Children are given an equal chance? The answer is blowing in the wind.

I reject silence and indifference,
Dr. Jesse P. Turner
Central Literacy Center Director If you like to listen to the tune that inspired today's blog...its the cover of "Blowing in the Wind' by Peter, Paul and Mary. > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ld6fAO4idaI <