2nd Grade Cells

Tears are not enough to change a system
Do we want an equal race for education?
Shop, buy, consume, this is what we teach our children to subscribe to
Economic utility doesn't seem to be about learning to me

We need to teach about diversity, compassion and love
About the effects of technology
To be aware that we destroy while we consume
To question all authority

No money for public education but
Ample funds to keep people in prisons
Jails can now be run by major corporations
Prisons offer more and cheaper labour, prisons offer more and cheaper labour

Found courage in the centre of a bomb
Greenback dollars and we can blow up anything we want
Since when is national defence more important than teaching children?
I'm afraid it's always been

State of the union, a catchphrase builds public opinion
In the closed eyes of a nation
Work around the problem, sweep it under carpets
Lock it up in prisons until it's forgotten

We're approaching the millennium, education is more important than bombs
More police on the streets isn't solving problems
Who are we going to turn to to teach our children to question this machine?
Education, the dead American dream

In Indiana the number of cells is determined by the
Socio-economic status of a class of second graders
The cells all must be filled with every prison that we build
We lose four or five or more schools, tears are not enough