Sunday, February 27, 2011

Raising Our Voices as Experts

The education reform debate has tended to marginalize, silence, and even render invisible the teacher, the educators themselves—not to mention the children. As we face a moment when speaking up may shift the tide against us, I want to recommend two new songs with lyrics that I believe speak to the need to fight, to raise our voices:

"It Happened Today"
Collapse Into Now
R.E.M.

This is not a parable
This is a terrible
This is a terrible thing

Yes I will rhyme that, after, after all I've done today
I have earned my wings

It happened today. Hooray! Hooray!
It happened. Hip, hip, hooray!

We'll leave the allegory to a different Bible story
Out of deference, defiance, the choice
Closing on a promise, after, after all I've done today
I have earned my voice

It happened today. Hooray! Hooray!
It happened. Hip, hip, hooray!

-----

"This is Why We Fight"
The King Is Dead
The Decemberists

Come the war
Come the avarice
Come the war
Come hell
Come attrition
Come the reek of bones
Come attrition
Come hell

And this is why
Why we fight
Why we lie awake
This is why
This is why we fight
And when we die
We will die
With our arms unbound
This is why
This is why we fight
Come hell

Bride of quiet
Bride of all unquiet things
Bride of quiet
Bride of hell
Come the archers
Come the infantry
Come the archers
Of hell

Chorus
So come to me
Come to me now
Lay your arms around me
This is why
This is why we fight
Come hell

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