Here's some more guest blogging from Office........

Over the weekend, OFFICE played a benefit for Chicago Public Schools (CPS) with rapper extraordinaire, Common. The event took place at House of Blues in front of a sold-out crowd of more than 2,000 people, spanning the ages of 16 through 70.

Normally, we are very selective about the benefits we perform at, since there are so many issues in our society, and so many organizations trying to get their name established. If we played them all, our own organization would sink. In the case of the CPS benefit, the cause was something we all believe in. Public education, we feel, is an essential ingredient in any democracy. Conservative programs like No Child Left Behind attempt to pull funding from inner-city schools, create a standardized "cookie cutter" learning environment, prevent teachers from using their creativity in the classroom, and hold teachers accountable based on a curriculum that was developed by corporate hedgehogs who've never spent a day in front of a diverse group of students.

To me, I've always felt that standardized testing was a horrible idea, especially if it means that funding to a particular school is cut when that particular school doesn't meet the status quo. There is an insidious racism involved with this political practice, and it's also impossible to judge an entire classroom based the average score of one test, given on one day, in any given year. Every classroom consists of students from diverse backgrounds, various learning abilities, and customized needs. It's my belief that America should celebrate this diversity, especially when these kids are learning. Not only that, but lower the classroom size, so teachers are more able to pin-point problems in a student's ability, and develop strategies that will help this student grow. Ironically, this will also create more jobs in the school system.

For photos of the event, go to www.unratedmagazine.com

Here's a photo I took backstage of Erica and Jessica in a cage:

S. Masson