Some day I'm gonna lay this hammer down

Imagine what school would look like if teachers could just teach?
Imagine if we could just concentrate on making learning meaningful, fun, and interesting?
Imagine if policy makers, CEOs, and politicians stopped turning our children into data points, profits and campaign donations?

Until then I'm going to keep swinging and singing Steve Earle's Hammer song.
"One of these days I'm gonna lay this hammer down
And I won't have to drag this weight around
When there ain't no hunger
And there ain't no pain
Then I won't have to swing this thing
One of these days I'm gonna lay this hammer down

Yeah, one of these days I'm gonna lay this hammer down"

In between the fights for equity and justice in our public schools, communities, and nation,
I get to play the role of being the teacher,
I dream-ed, I would become,

That dream holds it all together for me.

Someday I'm gonna lay this justice hammer down.

Someday, equity and justice shall be the norm,

And I'm gonna be the teacher I was born to be everyday.

Until then I gonna weave in and out of the Good fight, and hold on to those good teaching days.

October Read-A-Thon coming on 10/30.

Got my pirate pajamas and flag all ready to go,

I'm going to lead the Wild Rumpus at the CCSU Literacy Center.

Imagine honoring children's reading choices,

Imagine endless fresh popcorn,

Imagine young readers laughing, smiling, and reading together under the tables, in the hallways, on beach blankets,

Imagine plastic gold medals,

Imagine the smiling faces of children, teachers, and parents.

Imagine letting children be children?

But, understand reading stamina, and reading for pleasure are the best ways to build new vocabulary and fluency for young readers.

We don't need your rigor,

We don't need your grit,

We build readers for life here, not readers for the test.

Can't wait until the Wild Reading Rumpus begins,
Jesse The Walking Man Turner

Do you, even have to ask what tune this walking man is listening to on his walk on the Avon Mountain? Steve Earle's Hammer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wx9SGI97wuU

Connecticut: "We Choose: Truth in Education Reform Task Force"

Once again, our Tax Dollars are feeding the Charter School Gravy Train. Wall Street CEOs are invited into our communities, given millions, millions more in tax breaks, Visas for their friends and families, and given the keys to our local public schools. This continues to happen despite NAACP and Black Lives Matter Moratoriums on New Charter Schools. 

Budget cuts are devastating our local public schools in Connecticut and across the nation. Our nation's legislators at every level continue fill that-for Profit Charter School Gravy Train. Hundreds of millions of our public tax-dollars given to for profit educators at every turn. All the while they are cutting local school budgets. 

This Monday is Columbus Day. It should be noted Columbus did not discover a new world. It was already here, but his coming did mark the birth of a deadly colonization that would decimate Native Nations and their peoples. Columbus had no right to claim a New World for Spain that he did not own.
Local Public Schools are already here. These Education Reformers for profit, have no right to use our tax dollars to colonize our local public schools.

This Columbus Day, this coming Monday, Connecticut Moral Mondays, SOS, BATs, Children Are More Than Test Scores join with "We Choose" National campaign plan to step up our fight for real equity, real justice in our local public schools.
We reject inequity,
We reject injustice, 
And we reject the colonization of our local public schools. 

This Monday we shall launch a "We Choose: Truth in Education Reform Task Force" to investigate School Choice Reforms in Connecticut. 
Jesse The Walking Man Turner

From where I stand, I don't see failing schools. I see legislators at every level, failing to fully our poorest schools, and giving away billions of tax dollars to CEOs to plunder our local community public schools.
If you want to listen to the song that inspired my walk ovwer the mountain this morning...it's the Black Eye Peas singing "Where Is The Love"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84JyL5tposQ

I am-I know why I march

I know who I am,
I know what I want,
Ain't no one gonna turn me around.

49 states spend more money on their wealthy schools than their poor schools,
I know why I march,
I know why I talk up,
I know why I turn up.

Forcing America's poorest schools to compete against each other for limited resources is not equity.
I know injustice when I see it,
I know children deserve better,
I know parents deserve better,
I know teachers deserve better,
I know America deserves better.

I know why I march,
Silence is a war against our children,
Apathy is a war against justice,
I know what that-Public School's Promise Land looks like,
And I won't stop until I feel it beneath my feet.
It doesn't matter how tired these feet become,
My heart is set on that promise land,
And I ain't stopping until I get there.
Jesse The Walking Man Turner

If you want to listen to the song that inspired my walk this morning it's the Freedom Singers cover of "Ain't No One Turn Me Round" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhafyI6-Bp0