Legislators, it's not just your immoral budgets, we want out public schools back

I have been at the capital and fighting against CT Legislators proposed budgets every day. 114 of Connecticut Clerical Leaders called for a Moral Budget, and they took their call for a Moral Budget this past Monday to the Connecticut Legislative House. When they start singing "This little light of mine" 6 of them were arrested, and the rest of us were pushed out of the people's legislative house. Both political parties here are set to deliver painful cuts to our most needy and our public schools. But it is not just about the budget, it is about what they have done to our children, their teachers, and our public schools. We deserve a Moral Budget!

We need, our public schools back from your unfunded and insane mandates. We need, teachers to be respected again by our legislators and policy makers. We need, wrap around services for our most vulnerable children. We need, smaller class sizes. We need, more Art and Music. We need, more social workers and councilors. We need, summer school program for all children. We need, less testing, and more teaching. We need, funding for more field trips. We, need more special education teachers. We, need more para-professionals, We, need more Literacy Specialists. Most of all we need moral legislators willing not to protect billionaires, but to protect our children, our parents, our teachers, and our public schools.

Connecticut is not unique in this madness that cuts funding in our classrooms, and gives billions to testing companies at the same time. We need a Moral Budget, and a Moral People ready to fight to take back our public schools. Still marching, Jesse The Walking Man Turner

PS I got my walking shoes on. If you like to hear what inspired my walk this morning...its Barry Lane’s “Jesse Turner Is A Walking Man” https://barrylane.bandcamp.com/trac...

Today I shall walk with the Moral

Today Monday June 5, at 4:PM in Hartford Connecticut at the Legislative Chambers.
I will answer the call to the faithful, people of good conscience, and the just issued by Connecticut's Clergy to go to the Legislative chamber to demand a Moral Budget.

Today I will walk in the light of a greater good.

Today I will walk with my DueJustice brothers and sisters.

Today I will walk with our men and women of our clergy of all faiths.

Today I will walk with our non-profit agency leaders who serve the poor.

Today I will walk with my union brothers and sisters.

Today I will answer the call to justice.

Rev Barber said: "it is emotionally sick to deny people health care."

I would add it is evil for the wealthiest and most nation in the world not to provide medical care to all their own citizens.

When judgement day comes?

Shall our leaders say Lord, we could have asked the wealthy do pay more, but that would have limited to 5 or 6 mansions only Lord.

While they raise taxes on the middle-class lord. They reduced taxes by half on the wealthy since the 1960s.

What shall they say Lord?

They fear asking the wealthy to pay more might mean lowering their standard of living might fall.

Shall our legislators cry out Lord we could have could have ask them to pay more to help the sick, but the sick should have taken care of themselves.

Johnny Cash sang the "The man going round"

"There's a man goin' 'round takin' names

And he decides who to free and who to blame

Everybody won't be treated all the same

There'll be a golden ladder reachin' down

When the man comes around"

I don't need the man to come around to stand up for my brothers and sisters who are sick.

I don't need the man to come around to stand up for my brothers and sisters who are hungry.

I don't need the man to come around to tell me that 49 states spending more money on their wealthy schools than their poor schools to stand up for our poor schools.

I don't don't need the man to come around. I need to stand up for those that can't stand up for themselves.

I am my brother's and sister's keeper, and they are mine.

Today I will be a Moral Man.

Jesse The Walking Man Jami Turner



If you want to know what I am listening to this morning as I prepared to walk with Connecticut's Clerical Leader its...Johnny Cash singing "There's a man going round" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9IfHDi-2EA

Where has all the money gone, long time passing

Where has all the money gone, long time passing,
Gone to profits everywhere, long time passing,
When will we ever learn,
When will we ever learn.

Accountability matters, and so does the stealth robbery of funding for our public schools.
In the late 1990's Former Secretary of Education William Bennett saw a potential 250-billion-dollar assessment market.
NCLB and Race To The Top more than doubled on that prediction.
Public school students use to be test three time in the past. Once in Elementary school, once in middle school, and once in high school. This is still the way it is still done by most nations. Especially the nation's out scoring America on international assessments.
Let me play with the math a little. We have about 53 million children in our public schools. It takes some 13 years to complete a child's public education. In 2015 NCLB and RTTT first 53 million children completed their public-school journey.

In my day those children would have taken national/state exams three times costing about 300 dollars per child. Now when we calculate it out for 53 million students it come to somewhere around:
300 U.S. dollars per child over 13 years. Time that by 53 million = 15.9 billion U.S. dollars A massive amount of money. Testing in our public schools has always been a lucrative business.
Now people stay with me people? Under NCLB and Race To The Top testing when from 3 standardized tests to some 112 standardized tests per child. No one in the Department of Education wants to put a number on the cost of those 112 Standardized tests that children take during their 13 years in our public schools. But, heck let me take a shot at it for them? Let us say buying these tests and paying for the scoring equal somewhere around a 100.00 a pop.

So that comes 11, 200 U.S. dollars for every child during their public-school experience. Sure, sounds like a great deal of money. In most districts that equals what many schools spend to educate a child. Now we don't want to stop people. We have to take that 11,200 dollars, and times it by 53 million to fully see the cost of testing in our public schools. That comes 593.6 billion U.S. dollars for every generation of children that pass through our public schools. That is over 45 billion dollars for every year during a child's public school experience.

Where have all the art teachers gone,
Where have all the music teachers gone,
Where have all the Special Education teachers gone,
Where have all the Reading Specialists gone,
Where have all the school councilors gone,
Where have all the school social workers gone,
Where have all school nurses gone,
Where have all Gym teachers gone,
Where have 540 learning days gone,
Where have all teachers gone,

Gone to 112 Standardized tests everywhere, long time passing,
Where has all the money gone, Gone to profits everywhere, long time passing,
Where have all our school house smiles gone, long time passing,
Gone to tears everywhere, long time passing,
When will we ever learn,
When will we ever learn.

Parents, students, and teacher must Fight For Six, before ESSA robs another generation of hundreds of billions of dollars on useless testing.
Fight this insanity,
Jesse The Walking Man Turner

If you want to listen to what tune inspired this walking man on his walk this morning in the rain...its Pete Seeger singing “Where Have All The Flowers Gone” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1t...