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A swarm of children took over the Capitol Tuesday to defend education in the face of massive budget cuts. 

Ranging in age from eight years old to 18 years old, students from all over California sought to answer the question, "What is the purpose of public schools?"

The Children's Rally, coordinated by Sandra Tsing Loh, an author and member of the Burning Moms organization, is a congregation of young students as participatory citizens in the political dialogue of their state legislature.

The Burning Moms originated as a group of parents, fathers included, who had frustrations about the education system in California. “I'm a Proposition 13 baby, and my children continue to be affected by the way funding is done in California,” said Loh.

The purpose of the event was to, “Get our children in the habit of coming to the Capitol and meeting with their legislature,” Loh added.

The style of activism is “more hands-on, more creative, and uses what we know about the Internet,” she said. The Burning Moms work in a Burning Man spirit, the week-long annual event in the Black Rock desert of Nevada that celebrates art and community, and commissioned students to install a giant, interpretive art piece on the Capitol steps.

This year the Children’s Rally coincided with Senator Gloria Romero’s informational hearing on SB 604, which would obtain input from students, parents, teachers, and members of the public about the mission of public education in California, and include a preamble to the Education Code.

Senator Romero, Chair of the Senate Education Committee, highlighted the purpose of the hearing in an interview, “We want to hear from students; they are rarely represented in California.”

In the span of an hour and a half, several elementary, middle and high school students took the stand to testify on their school experiences and to provide feedback for reform measures. Almost every student addressed increasing sizes in classrooms and a general lack of funding.

“It is important that a classroom has proper equipment, but equipment is nothing if there isn’t a teacher who has a good salary,” said 11-year-old Amira Telloch.

Telloch continued to express her hopes for the future of education, “It is also important to have a fun, nice, clean and safe school system that celebrates diversity, encourages ideas, is open to change, listens to all ideas from adults and children, and provides a good education for all children who seek one.”

Heather Wiley Cox, a soon-to-be fifth grader in Burbank County, was deeply concerned about the trouble students will have as a result of bigger classrooms. “There will be more children that will have trouble focusing and will be getting less assistance from their teachers,” she said.

She touched on Proposition 13 and addressed the legislative body saying the proposition, “corrupted your inability to balance our state’s budget,” and she demanded, “Roll up your sleeves, drop your agenda, and take a good look at what our state needs.”

The audience was taken aback by the passion and eloquence in her speech, as with many other young students, hearing the word "wow," circulate the room quickly.

After the hearing the children and their parents convened on the West Steps of the Capitol for a kazoo parade. State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Jack O’Connell, led the tune, "Saints go Marching In," for the kazoo parade and expressed his gratitude for student participation in the day’s events.

Assembly woman Julia Brownley also made an appearance at the event. Sandra Tsing Loh led her to the interactive art installation equipped with a spinning wheel to see what will be cut next from the budget. The installation was political in nature, commenting on legislation that “goes nowhere” at times, said Assembly woman Brownley.

Senator Romero said she is trying to combat this by focusing the Education Code with a mission statement, “If we had a clear direction and purpose, I think we could begin to answer the question and to provide for stronger certitude as to what we expect from our public school system.”

This direction begins with the students themselves. The diversity in their backgrounds, coming from magnet, public, and technology specific schools showed the solidarity among young people in regards to the future of education. “You talk about how if you do this you will be saving the future of the state, but you are cutting the education of the children that are the future of the state,” said Wiley Cox.

Students from Los Angeles to San Francisco were able to mingle with important state figures yesterday, and their voices were heard. In these trying times, young students are recognizing the difficulty of looking to the future of education, and they are doing something about it.

For more information, click the following links:
California Children's Rally
The Burning Moms
Senate Bill Number 604