Labor proud, labor strong, solidarity forever

Happy Labor Day America.
In 1962 looking back Elizabeth Gurley Flynn said:  "We couldn't see things with the eyes of 1962. We saw them with the eyes of 1905 through about 1917. Well, we certainly never heard of such a thing and we never thought it would be possible, that there would be social security or unemployment insurance... Also, we never heard of vacations with pay. We never heard of vacations, let alone vacations with pay. We never heard of seniority as it is understood today. There were no pensions for retirement of workers."

In 2014 looking ahead we may very well lose everything that was gained by generations of Americans. Silence and apathy are the actions that will leave America's poor, the elderly, and the sick  on their own, and is leaving middle class Americans in a sea of debt. Not afraid anymore, unions make us strong. I grew labor strong through watching and following the life of that labor giant César Chávez 

Sí, se puede,  

Jesse The Walking Man Turner

If you are wondering what the Walking Man is listening to on his walk this morning it's NEA Vice President singing that old 1915 rallying cry "Solidarity Forever"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kWp3iWa5nA&feature=youtube

Telling a lie over and over again is not truth, it's propaganda

This is an excellent article today in Truth-Out Education Inc, the link is below.
http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/25799-education-inc
My take on the article follows:
The quote in the article that kept sticking out for me was.. “This predominant storyline places the blame for this perceived crisis on public schools, parents, teachers and their unions, and has been very effectively sold to us through a narrative that has been repeated over and over again - by our politicians, the super rich and the corporate media”….

Why this sticks out? Perhaps because I heard it before?
“But the most brilliant propagandist technique will yield no success unless one fundamental principle is borne in mind constantly and with unflagging attention. It must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over. Here, as so often in this world, persistence is the first and most important requirement for success. : "War Propaganda", in volume 1, chapter 6 of Mein Kampf (1925), by Adolf Hitler.

What’s the story Dr. Turner well the story is…“This predominant storyline places the blame for this perceived crisis on public schools, parents, teachers and their unions, and has been very effectively sold to us through a narrative that has been repeated over and over again - by our politicians, the super rich and the corporate media.” Over a decade later and 1.2 trillion dollars federal tax dollars later with little or nothing to show for itself. Well the story goes on and on, and children and teachers are it's victims.

You have it parents and teachers, it’s all propaganda sold to us over, and over again by government officials, politicians, and cooperate education reformers. Propaganda that reduces our children, teachers, and their schools to test scores and profits. Steven Biko said: "The most potent weapon of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed."
The time is here to free our minds and our children from this corporate propaganda that demoralizes children, teachers, and places for sale on our local public schools.
Children are more than test scores,
Jesse The Walking Man Turner

If you want to know what I weas listening to on my walk today...it's the OJAYS Money, Money, Money...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXE_n2q08Yw

Like a tree by the river, I shall not be moved!

Why DC? It's our nation's sacred ground!
Why travel to stand with my fellow teachers, and with parents?
It's a teacher thing?
It's a BAT thing!
It's an Opt Out thing!
It's an American thing!
Why fight the wealthy, powerful, and the connected?
It's a moral thing!
Why fight back against injustice?
It's A Selma thing!
It's a Walking Man thing!
It's the right thing!
William Lloyd Garrison that great abolitionist said: "I will be as harsh as truth, and as uncompromising as justice. On this subject, I do not wish to think, or to speak, or write, with moderation. No! no! Tell a man whose house is on fire to give a moderate alarm; tell him to moderately rescue his wife from the hands of the ravisher; tell the mother to gradually extricate her babe from the fire into which it has fallen; — but urge me not to use moderation in a cause like the present. I am in earnest — I will not equivocate — I will not excuse — I will not retreat a single inch — AND I WILL BE HEARD.”
In 15 days I will drive down to Washington DC with a carload of teachers to the stand against our United States Department of Education polices that reduce children to test scores, turn teachers into the enemy, parents as naive moaners, and public schools as the problem. No lobbyist, no political party, no union is paying for the gas, the hotel, the meals, Bill Gates is not funding this ride. My own dime is driving this car. Morality does not travel on the money of the wealthy, the powerful, or the connected, morality travels on the wings of hope.
I will not equivocate,
I will not excuse,
I will not retreat a single inch,
Like a tree by the a river I will not be moved,
This BAT WILL BE HEARD.
Friends this Walking Man goes to DC on the wings of hope to be heard,
Jesse The Walking Man Turner

If you want to hear what the Walking Man is listening to on his walk today? It's I shall not be be moved by John Hurt. > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLc8YeXP8FY <

It not an Achievement Gap America, it's an Opportunity Gap

1 trillion Federal Dollars has been spent on policy that forces schools to compete under the threat of closure during the last decade. We reduced learning and teaching to testing. This focus on outcomes conveniently helps the wealthy, the connected, and the powerful to justify not investing in our schools, our children, and our teachers.
What have we gained?
Over a decade of Ed Reform data points to little or no growth. Actually for our first generation to graduate knowing only No Child Left Behind, we find test scores that are lower than they were in 1992.
What are we losing?
In my view children are losing the opportunity to view learning as fun, and as something personally and socially meaningful.

We are we risking with a national common core?
We risk losing our democracy by emphasizing conformity rather than celebrating our individuality. By focusing solely career goals we lose history, science, art, music, physical education, and play. Trust me these are the subjects that liberate the mind, the soul, and spark a child's imagination.

It's simple while spending over a trillion tax dollars on testing and standards our schools have become more segregated. Rather than fight for equity in our schools, we have spent a decade increasing inequity in our schools. We don't have an Achievement Gap; we have a Gap between a system of have and have not schools.
Steve Jobs said: “I’m a very big believer in equal opportunity as opposed to equal outcome. Equal opportunity to me, more than anything, means a great education. Maybe even more important than a great family life. We could make sure that every young child in this country got a great education. We fall far short of that.”
Steve Jobs got it, the failure to focus on our Opportunity Gap places our children at risk. Focusing on outcomes cannot close our Opportunity Gap. Isn't it time the United States Department of Education started focusing on equity in our schools?
Something deep inside my soul tells me bowing down to childhood makes so much more sense than crushing it.
Jesse The Walking Man Turner

If you want to know what the Walking Man is listening to today on his walk...its Barry Lane "Know your higher self" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-i872w3D2w

The difference between 1961 and 2014, in 61 we had childhoods

No one tracked the data online,

No teacher listed his/her SLO on the board,

We took 3 standardized tests,
One in grade 3,
One in grade 6, and
One in grade 9.

The total time spent on this testing was less than 2 days each time.

The state sent no color-coded reports home.
No newspapers published any schools scores.

Our teachers and administrators told us do your test, and remember they really don't count.

There were no Education Reformers without decades of teaching experience.

Teachers and administrators were valued and respected.

The standards educators and parents worried about were bigger than any bubbles on a test.

Their standards in 61 were

Honesty,

Doing our best,

Being fair,

Respect for others,

Being timely,

Being Trustworthy, and

Do the right thing.

All beyond the scope and sequence of any curriculum.

None of it was perfect, but childhood strived and survived.

Parents and teachers tried to stretch it out for as long as possible for their children.

No one ever said he is smart, he'll go places, no they said anyone could go anywhere they wanted as long as they tried their best.

I was not shaped by data, but by my school experience, my time on the playground, my wanderings through our neighborhood, and a million opportunities to be just another boy.

It's simple young people are tested for nearly two months a year these days. With the Common Core it will be every year for 13 years.
That is 516 more days than in my youth. When you break it down by 180 day school years, children today spent nearly three years taking, practicing, or preparing for some standardized test. Testing is not teaching. It time to start teaching our children again.

Jesse The Walking Man Turner

If you are wondering what this Walking Man will be doing on Sunday June 1, 2014, I be talking to a room full of parents asking them to join in this fight to take back childhood. It's what I seem to be doing every day these days. If you are wondering what the Walking is listening on his way to his talk it's "For what it's worth" >

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gp5JCrSXkJY <

Before there was a United States Department of Education

Long before there was a United States Department of Education, the Federal government did something about inequality in our public schools. Our supreme did something before compromising away equity in our public schools.

1954 The Supreme Court rules on the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kans., unanimously agreeing that segregation in public schools is unconstitutional. The ruling paves the way for large-scale desegregation. The decision overturns the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson ruling that sanctioned "separate but equal" segregation of the races, ruling that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." It is a victory for NAACP attorney Thurgood Marshall, who will later return to the Supreme Court as the nation's first black justice.

1957 (Little Rock, Ark.) Formerly all-white Central High School learns that integration is easier said than done. Nine black students are blocked from entering the school on the orders of Governor Orval Faubus. President Eisenhower sends federal troops and the National Guard to intervene on behalf of the students, who become known as the "Little Rock Nine."

1962 James Meredith becomes the first black student to enroll at the University of Mississippi. Violence and riots surrounding the incident cause President Kennedy to send 5,000 federal troops.

1974 Lau v. Nichols U.S. Supreme Court: When children arrive in school with little or no English-speaking ability, "sink or swim" instruction is a violation of their civil rights, according to the U.S. Supreme Court. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lau_v._Nichols 

The United States Department of Education policies continues to chase test scores and standards rather than lead the fight for equity and justice in our public schools. The silence of our U.S. Department of Education on equity is shameful. Mr. President, members of Congress and the Senate, it's time to start doing something about inequality, and dump those do nothings NCLB, RTTT, CCSS, PARCC and SBAC. Once you stood by a six-year old little girl named Ruby Bridges, and we respected and loved you for it. Morality matters more than test scores. Isn't it time you started standing by our children again?

Love you Ruby,
Jesse The Walking Man Turner

If your wondering what the Walking Man is listening to on this bright April morning it "People Get Ready" by the Impressions http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l04yM7-BWbg

Mr. President, I woke with my eye still on the prize you missed

Mr. President, I woke up this morning with my mind still set on equity in our public schools.
Testing children will not bring equity to our public schools.
Having them Race To The Top will not bring equity to our public schools,
Common Core State Standards will not bring equity to our public schools.
Closing poor schools will not bring equity to our public schools.
Putting our public schools up for sale to the highest bidder will not bring equity to our public schools.
Mr. President, I once though you might be the change that would bring equity to our public schools.
Mr. President, I woke today knowing you are not the president who will bring equity to our public schools.
Mr. President, I woke up today knowing I still need to keep on walking, keep on talking, and keep on marching for equity in our public schools.
Mr. President, see you in DC on July 28, 2014.
My eyes are still on the prize you let slip away,
Jesse The Walking Man
Listening to Roots Ain't nobody gonna turn me around Mr. President.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJ6mhRZ8LjM

What If? What if the Ed Reformers had to send their children to public schools?

What if only elected officials who send their children to public schools were allowed to vote on education issues?
What if only Ed Reformers who send their children to public schools could talk about education reform?
What if only education policy makers who send their children to public schools could be appointed Commissioners of Education?
What if Ed Reformers had to be public school graduates themselves?
Something makes me think things would be different.
if that were the case, then the issues we would be talking about now would be:
Equity,
Class sizes,
An army of reading and math tutors,
More art teachers,
More music teachers,
More school field trips,
More after school programs,
More play time for young children,
Inquiry,
Innovative, creative, imaginative Saturday and summer school programs,
Our school would stay open in the evenings for family activities, and adult education program,
If only these Public School Education Reformers had public schools education.
Proud public school graduate, and the parent of a public school graduate,
Jesse The Walking Man Turner

just in case you want to know what I am listening to on my walk today. It's What if Daddy by Bobby Bare
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmkNBYiUXg8