Sandra Tsing Loh e-mailed me (and I’m so starstruck!) promoting the rally that’s clearly the place to be this summer if you want to speak up for children and schools! (Those Grateful Dads – that’s my husband, a classroom regular with his guitar, banjo and harmonica.)

FIRST-EVER "CALIFORNIA CHILDREN’S RALLY"
Tuesday, June 17, 2008 at the Sacramento Capitol (front)

SACRAMENTO - 2008 marks both the 30th anniversary of the passage of Howard Jarvis’ Proposition 13 (June) and the 160th anniversary of California public schools. On Tuesday, June 17, parental frustration over perennial public education budget cuts (California currently ranks 46th in the U.S.) will be transformed into a rally celebrating a group who has no lobbyists, California’s future, and the most important "special interest" in the world--our children. Also celebrated will be some extraordinary heroes of California public school culture whose hearts, despite many odds, beat strong.

WHO: A grassroots group of California public school families, and friends

WHAT: The California Children’s Rally - Working Schedule (subject to change):

10 a.m. - 11 a.m. Children visit their legislators, invite them to lunch

11 a.m. - 12 noon Kid’s cafeteria-style lunch provided for all, building begins of

"ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM"* led by Trash for Teaching, also
"Mission Impossible!" ("Are You Smarter than A Fourth Grader?
Can you build a mission out of clean recyclables?")
Music: The Kids of Widney High, Grateful Dads (w/ Foremen)
Children sing "California Public School Songbook"
California Autoharp Gathering - Fresno Migrant Scholars

12 noon - 12:40 "Barndance!" with Evo Bluestein and company
(Learn to squaredance on the Capitol Steps!)

12:40 - 12:55 The Angry Tired Teachers of Hayward (with special guest "performance art troupe" The Burning Moms) in "Low Budget High School Musical!"

12:55 - 1:00 p.m. "This Land is Your Land" group singalong w/ "Guitar Army"
(legislators invited to bring instruments and jam!)

WHEN: Tuesday, June 17, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.

WHERE: Capitol Steps on L Street at 11th

* "THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM" will be a giant group-built elephant sculpture (created by Beth Elliott) upon which participants can sit and pose for a photo. Democrat, Republican, Independent--everyone has a different "elephant in the room" re: public education funding. The Elephant (non-partisan, chosen only for structural stability) welcomes all--as in the barndance, all comers are invited to take a whirl.

PARTICIPATING GROUPS:

• The Angry Tired Teachers Band (Hayward, CA): This group of public school teachers from Hayward Unified (lowest paid teachers in the Bay) have plowed the slings and arrows of their superintendent, school board, administrators and even students into their rock ‘n’ roll music. A fun--yet pointed--dance party for anyone who feels, like Rodney Dangerfield, that they "don’t get no respect."
• The Burning Moms (Everywhere, CA): The Burning Moms are underpaid, overstressed public school moms tired of gluing their California public schools’ funding together by baking endless pans of Snickerdoodles. They join the Angry Tired Teachers as back-up dancers, doing the swim and the pony in their own special way, working in such theatrical mediums as sugary desserts and cash.
• The California Autoharp Gathering (Mendota, CA): The CAG was founded in 2003 at the Mendota Unified School District, enabling students to take classes in autoharp, folkloric dancing and more. An inspiring example of the synergies possible, Fresno Unified, the Fresno Folklore Society and the Fresno migrant scholars program all work together to bring traditional American arts to a new generation of California public school students.
• Evo Bluestein (Clovis, CA): Evo Bluestein is a legendary fiddler, as well as music and dance educator in Central Californian public schools. His "barn dances" timeless, fun, and uplifting. Bluestein’s Four "C’s" of squaredancing include Courtesy (politeness--the ability to dance with anyone in the room with a good attitude), Cooperation (willingness to try new things), Concentration (staying on the beat), and. . . Community!
• The Grateful Dads (Everywhere, CA): In California public schools where music programs have been cut and teachers are frantically busy teaching Open Court for standardized testing, who sometimes steps into the musical void is a brave volunteer dad with a guitar. (Or a piano.) While this is no substitute for the real music programs other states have, we still love our balladeer dads (and moms!) who teach our kids to sing.
• The Kids of Widney High (Los Angeles): The Kids of Widney High are a group of students from Widney High School, a special education high school in Los Angeles, who write and perform original songs. The group started in 1988 as a song writing class and changes as the students come and go from Widney. These incredible "Kids" record, gig and have their own you tube channel, to the delight of enthusiastic audiences.
• Trash for Teaching (Los Angeles): TFT collects clean and safe cast-off materials from manufacturing (that would otherwise become trash) and repurposes them to provide comprehensive arts education programs. TFT’s Treasure Trucks bridge the gap between the excess of waste created in manufacturing processes and the lack of materials in public education. TFT’s Motto: "Education and environmentalism through creative reuse."