Today, 21 days before the election a a group of over 100 people are congregating in La Placita Olvera (or Olvera Street Plaza), the historical heart of Los Angeles to begin the largest hunger strike in American history.

I have signed a pledge and today I will fast for the purpose of supporting immigrants’ rights. I will fast because I care deeply for the rights of those who pick my food. I will fast because I am an immigrant in this country and at one point I too was an “illegal” and had the support of citizens and residents fighting for my cause.

xoxo, Damaris

…as i look at your questions there is so much that floods my mind, desire/deseo/desejo that comes through in the form of longing…longing…to be with a like-minded soul that has an understanding that oppression is not hierarchical, that as a feminist AfroBrasilian there is much that i carry on my back, sometimes i wish i could share the weight with other AfroBrasileiras but they are non-existent where i live, or at least those that do exist dont have that “endarkend”(collins) understanding of that weight we want to share… as a woman leaving an institutionalized religion weaving her ancestral past to make a new path, i seek knowledge in those hidden places, in the silences that are so loud. I wish that i could go back home to Brasil and scream it all out, make those women come down from their Carnaval floats and clothe their nakes bodies/corpos/cuerpos with this knowledge that i feel i must share…but then again, it is a privilege to even gain this knowledge…i sometimes fear being irrelevant to my people, i fear being too far off on my end where they can no longer understand…to speak is also to struggle. minha mae/my mother likes to tell me that i THINK too much for my own good, that it keeps me from being simple, and enjoying the simple things in life, because i analyse…. criticize… exorcise .. to speak is also to silence. to speak of politics with the conservative women in my family is to speak my “heretical” views … …but i am not ashamed, because i find those corners inside myself to speak of liberation/liberacao/liberacion….and then to speak will finally mean to “free”

Epiphanies keep circling my mind
intertwined are images of what could be, if i were just to
sit down and paint it all out, for some sort of
re-lax-ation..
i fear seeing the truth on that blank canvas tonight.

it is where my dreams come true
in all different hues.
can i with these images manifest my soul
into dancing outside of me, and reaching out for everyone to see?

fear being the opposite of Faith,
Faith being eclectic in its destination
comes differently to you and me
if we look @ that blank canvas and see differing things

positionality has left us standing on
margins and centers
epistemology has left you
scratching your head
and us trying to understand
hegemony has crucified my theoretical Christ
Heuristics have raped me of my privacy
for exotic curiosities
etymology has left us scrambling for
piecemeal
or just plain meals.

I cannot picture that blankcanvas whole
because there are so many parts
that keep viajando vagando
vagabundando…
like me, gypsy.

but i am not afraid of taking
that heuristic and tying it into
a seed, placing my hands inside my mother
earth for (re)birth…

nao tenho medo do dia, that envelops me with hegemony
when my words and thoughts are often misunderstood.

but we cannot refute that blank canvas waiting on the wall

or maybe there is no canvas at all.

Cor de Mel…

Alimentando a minha alma,
derretendo palavras na minha boca…
voce meu bem eres mel,
Cor de mel, olhos de mel com um aroma
sedutor….

Sinto-me uma abelha vagando de flor a flor…
Mais o Seu Doce, meu bem, nao existe re-compor,
Pois me deixa famita por o nosso proximo encontro
aonde de abelha a flor…
sugarei sua sabedoria
entrelazando na minha escrivania
este corpo “pecador”

Chegaste na minha telha
Provaste da minha lingua imaginaria
Seu olhar,
o meu desejo
Mais Hoje ja no espelho eu me enxergo
Outra Flor,
uma com um Mel Mais Doce
que o Seu mel…
o Sedutor…

Pois na minha alma existe algo
que O-deixa com louvor!
pregando palavras indigenas
Sobre um amor sem definicao
Refletindo Eupohoria

Em Seus Olhos cor de Mel
Olho-me em ti,

E te escrevo neste papel.

Filed under:   by Linda Darling-Hammond @ 12:34 pm

[Editor's note: Linda Darling-Hammond, formerly a public high school teacher, is currently a professor of education at Stanford University and an advisor to the Obama campaign.]

I was shocked recently to read an editorial pronouncing Barack Obama and John McCain nearly alike in their views on education — a statement that could hardly be further from the truth. I realize it might be possible to believe this if your major source of information is television news, which obsesses over personalities and pigs in lipstick rather than covering serious issues. Ever wonder what 24-hour news shows could do with all that time if they actually spent it evaluating what the candidates plan to do about the issues that affect our lives? But that’s a topic for another blog.

Although we hear little about education from the press, Obama announced a detailed plan a year ago and talks about education regularly. He has pledged over $30 billion annually in new investments in education — from early childhood to support for college tuition — because he believes education is the key to our nation’s future and to each child’s success. Not only is this commitment 30 times greater than anything John McCain has discussed, it is focused on supporting public schools and teachers, rather than punishing them. And, it is based on what we know makes a difference for success.

In a nutshell, educators should support Obama because:

Obama will provide schools and teachers the tools they need to educate all students.

He understands that No Child Left Behind left the money behind, while setting unrealistic goals and providing little support to reach them. In addition to boosting funding, he has promised to overhaul the accountability and assessment provisions of the law so that students are not “spending the year bubbling in answers on standardized tests” but are instead are challenged to think critically, conduct research, engage in scientific investigations, read and write for genuine purposes, and master the skills needed in the 21st century. He wants to be sure that schools are able to teach a full, rich curriculum that includes science, technology, history, the arts and music, as well as reading and math.

He will use a continuous progress approach to evaluating students and schools — one that assesses special education students and English language learners more appropriately and funds stronger services and more productive school improvement efforts. By contrast, McCain is content with No Child Left Behind as it is; he has no plans to increase funding for the law, which he voted against, along with his votes against hiring more teachers to reduce class sizes and funding teacher training.

Obama plans a major technology initiative to put computers, connectivity, and courseware within the reach of every student and teacher, incentives for redesigning middle and high schools, and expansion of after-school and summer enrichment programs, especially for students at risk of dropping out. Obama understands that educators deserve support for their own learning. His plans invest in high-quality preparation for both teachers and principals, service scholarships to underwrite preparation for those who will become teachers, mentoring for all beginning teachers, and useful professional development — not the drive-by workshops or “spray and pray” approaches that most teachers have learned to dread. His plans provide incentives for schools to set aside time during the day for teachers to collaborate.

Obama understands that teachers and schools cannot close the achievement gap by themselves, and there needs to be a broader effort by government and society to support children’s health, welfare, and learning.

With nearly a quarter of our children living in poverty — far more than any other industrialized nation in the world — Obama’s plans to address health care, housing, and employment needs are critically important.

Educators who work in low-income communities know how important it is that Obama will provide health care for all children and families (don’t look for anything meaningful on this score from McCain), as well as preschool education and services that support parenting from 0 to 5. His $10 billion investment will enable 700,000 children to attend Head Start and Early Head Start. Meanwhile, McCain offers empty rhetoric about the importance of preschool, pledging only $200,000 per state, if funding is available — enough for about 20 more children per state.

Obama supports education reforms that are designed in partnership with educators, not imposed on them.

His career ladder initiative will encourage districts to develop innovative compensation plans in conjunction with teachers. These plans should support higher base salaries and approaches that encourage teachers to continually improve their skills and share their expertise with others, for example, by serving as mentor teachers. Recognition for knowledge and skills and for excellent teaching that supports student learning can take many forms, like the career ladders developed with teachers in Arizona, New Mexico, Rochester, New York, Cincinnati, Ohio and Helena, Montana. Meanwhile, McCain’s plan to impose merit pay across the country, without working with teachers to avoid the many failures of the past, will be funded by raiding most of the current Title II funds for professional development and class size reduction.

Obama supports public schools and opposes vouchers.

Whereas McCain plans to expand vouchers, Obama has been a consistent and outspoken opponent of vouchers that would drain money from public education. Twice in the Illinois State Senate, Senator Obama voted against bills that would have created tuition tax credits for parents to use for private and parochial schools — legislation that he believed would create “backdoor vouchers.” In a major speech in July he noted, “The ideal of a public education has always been at the heart of the American promise. It’s why we are committed to fixing and improving our public schools, rather than abandoning them and passing out vouchers.” Obama’s School Innovation Fund will support new school designs launched by teachers, administrators, and parents in public school districts. He will also expand accountability along with funding for public charter schools, so that public funds go to support successful schools that serve all students equitably.

Obama would launch the most comprehensive supports for public education we have seen the 1960s, and he will help develop a 21st century system that can ensure quality schools for every child, every year, in every community. The choice for education could hardly be clearer.