California Educator

October 2016

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O N E R E C E N T A F T E R N O O N , just as he has in numerous Hollywood movies, Danny Glover, a San Francisco native, looked into a camera at a Yes on Prop. 55 phone- banking office in San Leandro in the Bay Area and spoke convincingly for a cause he believes in. " Hi , I 'm actor, director, activi st and proud Californian Danny Glover, and I'm committed to helping our kids thrive. And the way to do that is Prop. 55! So join me this November in voting yes on Prop. 55!" He was invited to do the video by his longtime friend Annette Walker, a Hay- ward Unified school board member up for re-election, who is supported by the Hay- ward Education Association. Glover praised the power and possibil- ities of education, and shared his family's strong belief that education matters greatly. But he lamented how teachers in the U.S. have been "marginalized, deprofessional- ized. It's incredible. It's one of the worst things that's happened." Glover describ ed four teach ers w ho made a lasting impression: his sister, his mother, a teacher in San Francisco, and another in Detroit. His sister was a teacher in Maryland for more than 20 years, he recalled. He used to visit her fourth-grade classroom. Students came up to him years later, remembering his visits and the work of his sister, who died in 2003. "She was a great teacher, man," he said with pride. His mother was trained as a teacher, but taught high school for only one year. Her own parents had only a third-grade educa- tion but made sure their three children all went to college. Glover remembers his mother describ- ing her parents: "I am eternally grateful for my mother and father, because I didn't p i c k c o tt o n i n S e p t e m b e r. I w e n t t o school in September. The shoes may have b e en to o sm al l . Th e di st an c e I h a d to walk was a long distance. The dress that I wore — other kids laughed at me. But I went to school in September." In third grade in 1955, Glover recalls, when "most of the students lived in the housing projects on ird and Army streets in San Francisco," his teacher told him: "I'm not simply in the business of making good students, I'm also in the business of making good citizens." Education helps us find our humanity, Glover said, recalling the words of an edu- cator who was with him in Detroit a while back on a project to revitalize that area. "e first question I ask my kids every year: 'What does it mean to be a human being?' It's the first question in philosophy. e sec- ond question is 'How do you know?' " Glover quoted French writer Alexis de Tocqueville, who said it takes "informed citizens" to make democracy work. "Edu- cation is an important link to being an informed citizen," Glover said. "Someone who's able to be rational, who's able to think clearly, who's able to make decisions, who's able to be independent, who's able to think independently — those are the properties and the possibilities that education brings to us." It provides the ability to comprehend, connect, and see with the heart. "Finding that, understanding that, gives you another kind of holistic way of seeing your relation- ship, not only to the planet itself, not only to nature itself, but also to each other." See Glover's video in support of Prop. 55 at youtube.com/CaliforniaTeachers. In Support of Education Danny Glover lends his star power for Prop. 55 Text and photo by Mike Myslinski IMPORTANT HASHTAGS Follow CTA and education initiatives; add your voice to the conversation: #CTAGOTV #WeAreCTA #CTAElection2016 #Election2016 #Prop55, #Yeson55 #YesonProp58 #Keepthegoodidea (Prop. 52) Join Us! We know many of you have already been getting out the vote with your colleagues, family and friends, and now we have a place to share the love! Join the CTA Get Out The Vote! Facebook Group at facebook.com/groups/ctagotv and tag us #CTAGOT V to share how you've been spreading awareness during this important election. 31 October 2016 # Join We getting family place Get facebook.com/groups/ctagotv us spreading Menifee Teachers Association members work the phones.

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