Join us Sunday, June 14 for 'A Conversation with Teacher and Film Director Laurie Gabriel' -  Laurie is the Writer/Director/Filmmaker of 'HEAL OUR SCHOOLS; HEAR OUR TEACHERS' a documentary film about the real issues hurting our public schools and what real teachers have to offer as real answers and solutions. Laurie will talk about her new teacher-produced documentary and how to put control back into the hands of the people who know the students - the teachers who are the experts.

'Heal Our Schools; Hear Our Teachers' was produced with the mission of uncovering and solving the real problems of public education in America. This venture is different from other education documentaries in that it fully explores the experience and expertise of our most overlooked resource: teachers. Through this platform, educators from all over the country can share their compelling (and strikingly similar) stories and solutions. 'Heal Our Schools; Hear Our Teachers' is an enlightening look into what's really going on behind school doors, as well as a collection of virtually cost-free answers to the education crisis--answers that are based on teachers' caring compassion for the children they serve.

Recent reforms, penned by politicians and policymakers who often have little-to-no classroom experience, have been addressing the same surface issues (testing, teacher evaluation, vouchers, etc.) instead of the real problems: herding of children by subject and by age; daunting bureaucratic paperwork; our society's lack of adult role models who exemplify compassion, honesty, patience, and commitment; parents who do not support the schools; and the reduction of meaningful teacher/student relationships to overcrowded buildings and faceless statistics. Until these truths are acknowledged and addressed, no other reform plan will work.

The teaching profession is currently being maligned by a number of politicians and other persons in the media spotlight, leading to a dangerous plan to replace teachers without finding out what's really keeping them from effectively helping their students. Instead of seeing a turnaround in student achievement, we'll only see a repeat of the same setbacks with the next batch of teachers (if we're able to attract new teachers at all). It's time to set the record straight.

A review of the film:

Documentary aims to 'bring back trust of teachers'

By DEBBIE KELLEY, The Gazette - May 30, 2015

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Teaching a herd of sheep to move in one direction at the same time works. Similarly, teaching a herd of children to read a book, solve math problems and other lessons doesn't.

That's one of the messages conveyed in a new documentary a former Colorado Springs public school teacher created, directed and produced.

"Heal Our Schools" "illuminates the problems federal and corporate takeover have created in our schools and provides teacher-generated solutions." It will debut with screenings in Colorado Springs this weekend and June 13.

Laurie Gabriel, who taught music, drama, choir and orchestra for 27 years in public schools in Colorado, most recently in Colorado Springs School District 11, spent four years and a chunk of money creating the film.

She traveled the country talking to teachers, education policy analysts, authors and other education experts.

"It's getting more and more important that the general public understands what's going on in education, that kids and teachers are being left out, as profit-driven corporations have taken over testing," she said.

Her goal: "To bring back trust of teachers. We've been painted sometimes as not knowing what's best for the kids. We do, and we can work together with parents for the benefit of the kids."

Teachers, Gabriel said, are being left out of the decision-making processes in education to the point that "the silence of the teachers is deafening."

Teachers are being blamed for students not performing well on standardized tests, she said, and in many cases are being threatened with losing their jobs for speaking out against the system.

"I watched the profession deteriorate bit by bit, and it seemed like we teachers were helpless to do anything," Gabriel said. "I heard the same stories in the teachers' lounge and on Facebook and instead of swallowing it, I decided to tell the story."

Along with teachers and students talking about today's classroom environment and impediments to learning, the film includes commentary by high-profile personalities. Those include former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education Diane Ravitch; Jonathan Kozol, an award-winning author on public education; and author and co-founder of an institute to minimize school violence Nancy Carlsson-Paige. She's the mother of actor Matt Damon, who puts in an appearance in the documentary.

Merril Boruchin Spielman, a reading specialist who lives in Manitou Springs, is one of the film's featured teachers. She volunteers to teach students in Southeast Asia and is a substitute teacher in Colorado Springs School District 11.

"I am afraid for our public school system and the dangers that are happening," Boruchin Spielman said. "Ask the teachers what isn't working and how to improve that.

"Whenever there's a problem, we blame and judge rather than look at the solution," she said.

Gabriel said the main problem with today's public education system is that teachers no longer have control of how and what to teach. She advocates localizing and individualizing education. Smaller class sizes, curriculum that includes the arts and humanities, less emphasis on high-stakes testing and more emphasis on promoting individual students' gifts are some of the ideas she puts forth in her documentary.

Boruchin Spielman said the herd mentality of teaching has resulted in classrooms having mixed levels of proficiency, with kids entering kindergarten having anywhere from fourth-grade reading levels to no reading skills.

"What do we do when we have a kindergartner who has to learn how to sit in a chair first before they learn alphabetizing, and we have to treat them all the same," she said. "We're seeing the stress this is putting on teachers and the students, and we're losing our passion."

The film highlights two teacher-led schools, one in Boulder and one in St. Paul, Minn., where students are grouped by academic abilities rather than age and teachers tailor learning to nurture each child's talents and interests.

"It was a heart-breaking decision for me to leave public school teaching," Gabriel said. "If teachers stood together it would be a lot easier for us to stand up for our kids. We need a unified voice saying the way it is isn't right for our kids."

Information from: The Gazette, https://gazette.com/

As the Director of the only Institute in the Nation that offers an approved Associates Degree in Sound Healing, and co-creator of the World Sound Healing Conference, David Gibson has developed a unique perspective on everything going on in the field. David began as a Professional Recording Engineer. He has been teaching, engineering and producing groups in major studios since 1982. He has been studying esoteric systems of sound healing for over 15 years and has an in-depth understanding of the underlying physics of sound. David is also the author of the best selling book, "The Art of Mixing" that uses visuals to explain and show every style of mix in the world, which makes complex structures of mixes easily understandable. His second book, "The Art of Producing," uses the visual framework for displaying sounds to explain Music Theory. Gibson is also the inventor of the Patented, "Virtual Mixer," which uses 3D visuals of the mix to control mixing consoles and computerized mixers. He is currently working on a Virtual Reality system where you can step into an image of your own body and be able to place visuals inside the body in 3D. The visuals will then move sounds up and down in a Sound Table so you feel the sounds inside the body exactly where you are seeing the visuals. David Gibson is the Founder and Director of Globe Institute. David has a bi-weekly show, on Saturdays, on BBSRadio, Station 1, at 5pm PST. If you are interested in the power of sound and music for inspiration and healing, you will appreciate this interview with David Gibson, Founder and Director of the Sound and Consciousness Institute in San Francisco and online. David offers classes and a State accredited associate’s degree program in sound healing therapy, and he’s author of the book, ‘The Complete Guide to Sound Healing’. He is also a top selling producer of sound healing music in many hospitals around the country, including Boston General and U.C. Medical Center, samples. Offering 15 types of sound healing treatments, David Gibson also runs the Sound Therapy Center at the Institute and online. David has produced 3 International Sound Healing Conferences and is also Founder of the Sound Healing Research Association, designed to help bring sound healing into the mainstream (homes & hospitals).

SONIA BARRETT

Sonia Barrett is known for her cutting edge insights with much of it supported by quantum physics. Theoretical Physicist Dr. Amit Goswami refers to her as a true mystic. Her work bridges the gap between science and spirituality in a simplified format. She addresses the programming, beliefs and concepts by which we have lived our lives both individually and collectively.

Sonia Barrett is the author of The Holographic Canvas: The Fusing of Mind and Matter and her second book, A Journey of Possibilities. She is also the publisher of the book Health: An Inside Job an Outside Business (a supplement to the film- each chapter is written by those in the film) and her latest book and 7 Day Program, Simple ways to step outside of your comfort zone; Letting go of an outdated life.

She has been  a popular radio guest appearing on such shows as Coast 2 Coast AM with host George Noory, Red Ice Radio, Conscious Media Network/Gaia TV and a host of others..

Sonia Barrett has been a Key note speaker at such conferences as the Alchemy Conference, Conscious Life Expo, the ISSSEEM conference, Conspiracy Con, The Bay Area UFO Conference and more. She has appeared on panels with such visionaries as Bruce Lipton, Ph.D, Dr. Jacob Liberman, Amit Goswami Ph.D, Rev. Michael Beckwith and others.

She has appeared in a number of documentaries, Openings; a search for Harry, Ghetto Physics the movie Co-produced by E Raymond Brown and Will Arntz (Producer of What the Bleep do we know) iTHINK, and soon to be released Punk Science the Movie, produced by Dr. Manjir Samantha-Laughton.

“Recognizing our spiritual and perceptual boundaries and comfort zones is a major factor in our quest for answers. In general we are unaware of what we don’t know and the distance widens even further when we are affixed behind a barrier of limiting beliefs. Reality is a great science that has no boundaries only those that we create for our comfort. There is no right or wrong way to grow but it can be of tremendous assistance in recognizing the limitations which hold us bound. ” Sonia Barrett

Stephanie M. Caballero, Esq. has represented nearly 2,000 clients, including Intended Parents, Surrogates and Donors from all over the world through Surrogacy, Egg Donation, Sperm Donation, and Embryo Donation. Stephanie specializes exclusively in Family Formation and Reproductive Law and has appeared on various programs and print media including The Bakersfield Californian, The Examiner, the Creating a Family radio program, NPR, Fox News, The Los Angeles Times, The Union Tribune and the L.A. Daily Journal (and again on March 23rd, 2015).

Stephanie M. Caballero, Esq. is the founder of The Surrogacy Law Center and her firm is dedicated to helping you start your family using surrogacy, egg donation, embryo donation, and sperm donation.

Stephanie had her own journey through infertility, after eight years of treatments including having endured more than 10 artificial insemination procedures, three surgeries, three miscarriages, and 13 IVF procedures she finally realized her dream of having children when a surrogate carried her twins. Stephanie also had to adopt her twins because the state where they were born did not recognize surrogacy.

Stephanie is also a member of the American Fertility Association, American Bar Association, San Diego Bar Association, and American Society of Reproductive Medicine, serving on the board of its Legal Professional Group.

STAN GOFF grew up in a staunchly conservative, anti-communist family. In 1970, he joined the Army. Goff retired in 1996 as a Special Forces Master Sergeant. During his tenure, he was sent to Vietnam, Haiti, Panama, Colombia, and Somalia, participating in several different military attachments. Goff would later write that his time spent in Latin America shifted his politics to the left. His experiences, particularly in Haiti, are recounted in his 2000 book, Hideous Dream: A Soldier’s Memoir of the US Invasion of Haiti.

In between stints in the military, Goff studied literature and philosophy at Garland Community College, Henderson State College, and the University of Arkansas at Monticello. Soon after retirement, Goff began a career in activism, studying Marxism and briefly joining the Communist Party USA.

After the September 11, 2001 attacks, Goff became active as a speaker against an invasion of Iraq. His status as a veteran gave him credence and popularity with anti-war activists. In 2003, Goff wrote “Bring ‘Em On?” for the online journal Counterpunch. It was a response to the taunting phrase “Bring ‘em on!” uttered by President Bush regarding Iraqi guerrillas.  In the article, Goff compared the Iraq war to his experience in Vietnam. He wrote of being told by a fellow veteran that “All Vietnamese were the enemy…this was a race war. Within one month, it was apparent that everything he told me was true, and that every reason that was given to the American Public for the war was not true.” He ended by stating that President Bush’s “legitimacy has been eroded as even the mainstream press has discovered that the pretext for the war was a lie. It may have been control over the oil, after all.”

The popularity of this article led to the formation, with other veterans and activists, of the organization Bring Them Home Now.

His 2004 book, Full Spectrum Disorder: The Military in the New American Century, critiques US foreign policy. According to the publisher, Goff “depicts the new ‘American Empire’ as over-reliant on technology, ignorant of the lessons of history, and backward in the stereotyping of other countries.”

Goff began studying and writing about feminism, particularly how it relates to war. This re-examination is brought together in his article “Sex and War”, where he argues that war is not an instinct of man, but rather, “men are made into killers by governments, corporations, and systems of power.” His latest book is a compilation of essays called Energy War.

Born with empathic abilities, Jerry uses his feelings to guide him on the treatment of each individual. From early childhood Jerry has had special experiences with both the angelic and extraterrestrial beings. Jerry utilizes the lessons he has learned from his extraordinary experiences to teach other people their gifts and true value. As an intuitive medical, he uses his knowledge to help people with the mending of their physical ailments. He reads the energy of people and delivers pertinent information about their present moment. Jerry has dedicated his life to teaching people about the existence of other life forms.

Jerry is an evolved soul who has tapped into all life forms in the universe and his mission is to be the conduit of metaphysical and scientific research of extraterrestial life. Jerry looks into the mind and sees the auras and elements of past lives, negative energies, and present blockages. He then can remove these negative energies and blockages from those he is treating. He sees visualizations of images of how the mind interprets the reality of the world around you. He sees symbols, entities, angelic beings, and your third eye and whether it is open or closed. Through these images he is able to bring a clearer picture to your state of mind and well being. Most importantly, for those that are open and willing he can help them receive their Spiritual Gifts so that they may enhance their life and Spiritual growth.

GUEST:  ARTIS LANE

Artis Lane was born in North Buxton in southern Ontario, Canada, on May 14, 1927. When she was two years old, Lane’s family moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where Lane attended school and began to distinguish herself as an artist. By the age of fifteen, she was painting portraits of her classmates, and after graduating from high school, she was awarded a scholarship to the Ontario College of Art in Toronto. After graduating, she married journalist Bill Lane and moved with him to Detroit, where the Urban League, Detroit Chapter, played an instrumental role in Lane’s being the first woman to be admitted to Cranbrook Art Academy. Lane used her artistic talent to help support her family by painting portraits of auto industry executives and then Governor of Michigan George Romney.

Lane met actress Diahann Carroll shortly afterwards, and moved to New York City, where she continued to paint portraits while becoming a member of Portraits Incorporated. She soon moved to Los Angeles and began working with Universal Studios. There, she met actor Cary Grant, and the two became close friends. Over the ensuing decades, she was commissioned to paint such notables as President John F. Kennedy, Frank Sinatra, Henry Kissinger, Barbara Bush, Rosa Parks, Michael Jordan and Aretha Franklin, among others. In addition to her portraitures, Lane created bronze sculptures for the National Council of Negro Women’s Dorothy Height and Mary McLeod Bethune.

Lane has created bronze sculptures for the Soul Train Awards and has designed book covers and the original logo for the Dance Theatre of Harlem. Lane has held exhibitions throughout the United States and Canada. Her works can be seen in the Smithsonian Institution, the University of Missouri Library, AT&T’s corporate collection, the offices of Motown Records and numerous private galleries.

Lane is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Women of Excellence Award from the Chatham-Kent Family YMCA in Canada, the Museum of African American Art Award in Los Angeles, and the Women for Women Award from the Martin Luther King, Jr. General Hospital Foundation. In 2004, Lane continued to live and work in Los Angeles.