Oklahoma Education Rally
On March 30th teachers from all over the state came to the Oklahoma state capitol to let the legislators know about whats going on in the schools. We heard from teachers, adminstrators, politicians, and best of all we heard it from the mouths of the students talking about testing policies.
Kiante Miles, a senior at Mustang High School, had everyone on their feet and saying AMEN, Hallelujah , and applauding as if he was in the pulpit because he was speaking the truth. After you read his poem click here to find the photos.
http://musicalfocus.com/gallery/events/nggallery/events/oklahoma-education-rally 
Here are his words.
Thirsty hungry driven broken
i am a student
hardworking passionate strong weak soft spoken
i am a student
chained down by tests that say
i’m not allowed to fly if i don’t click my mouse a certain way
i am a student
an unlit match just waiting to be struck
i am a student
and that’s something that simply can’t be measured
no limits flow like a cascade
in life i don’t see
why would i set at a computer screen
and just try and answer a b or c
in life i want
the questions that say how do you stop cancer
how can we stop from killing each others
Why do we clip the wings of the ones we love
I like to think that we are all seeds
planted into the soil of public education
until we get covered with the cement mixture of
EOI’s, unfunded classes, over stressed teachers
and how few of us
the ones who fight through the adversity
see the light from the cracks of the cement
and manage to have some type of growth
and what a glorious sight right a few trees growing through concrete
well looks can be deceiving because its not worth the cost of the hundreds no thousands that get left behind?
for there is strength in numbers
it’s easy to remove a tree
but it takes an army to take on a forest
For me it’s never been about the Ap classes
it’s been about how can i connect with the masses
with people
with my peers
my classmates
I want to know their story
or how does the teacher paint the blank canvas which are their classes
I love my teachers who cared
the ones who led me to believe that i could share
my dream
and their the reason I stand before you today
they taught me how to be a person instead of a human being
how see life through others eyes and maybe even my own
how to do Calculous and how the body works and yeah english too
but they made it more about test in life than they did test in school
and if you ask me that’s how it should be
that’s the quality of school i want my kids to have
to gain knowledge rather than just holding a paper saying i’ve made it
They are my teachers
that knows no matter how many extra hours they put in theyll never get overtime
but they do it anyways
They are my teachers
that are in trusted to insure the greatness of our future
and if their pay were to reflect the importance of their job
well i hope you guys comfortable with the darkness
They are my teachers
that will leave no student behind
They are my teachers
that can truthfully say
that they don’t do this for punishable pay
but for being a miracle worker
They are my teachers
That have fed hungry students, washed their clothes, and given them hope
They are my teachers that have had to leave their passion
for a search of higher pay
In life i’ve learned things fade
but i hope there’s a day
where you can say that public education is one of the things that stay
Because it’s something more than just school
for it’s like a beach after the waves have hit there’s treasures left on the shore
I am a student
These are my teachers
will you please put us first?
Kiante Miles Class of 2015 Mustang High School
