“My conscience leaves me no other choice.”
– Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
On April 4th, 1967, Dr. Martin Luther King delivered his “Beyond Vietnam” speech, declaring “My conscience leaves me no other choice.” Dr. King went on and “insisted that it was morally imperative for the U.S. to take radical steps to halt the war through nonviolent means (King, ‘‘Beyond Vietnam,’’ 139). In a Q & A following his speech, Dr. King said:
As I said earlier in the speech, I think the time has come for those of us feel that this war is immoral and unjust to advise young men of the alternative to the draft, which is to serve as conscientious objector. I think this will do a great deal to arouse the conscience of the nation on this whole situation, and certainly if the war is continually escalated I think this will be absolutely necessary. – Dr. King
In a letter to a Navy friend written in 1965, John F. Kennedy wrote on the topic of conscientious objection:
War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector
enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today. ~ John F. Kennedy, Letter to a Navy friend, quoted in Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1965), p. 88.
Through No Child Left Behind, through Common Core and its subsequent tests; our own Congress, the US Department of Education, the National Governor’s Association, and the Council for State School Officers have joined corporate education reformers declaring war on America’s public schools. (This war is actually global.)
As a result of this declaration of war – aligned with the passions of conscientious objectors of previous wars, a spark was lit in the hearts and minds of teachers. As teachers, we passionately object to the way testing dominates and distorts instruction and learning for children, preventing teachers from teaching in ways we know are good for children.
A new movement has risen in the Teachers’ Letters of Professional Conscience. We believe it is morally imperative to take radical steps to halt toxic high stakes testing around the globe. We write these letters to arouse the conscience of each nation and believe our actions are absolutely necessary.
A re-write of JFK’s quote is meant to inspire our movement:
Governmental and corporate-led war on public schools will exist until that distant day when the Teacher of Professional Conscience enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the corporate reformer does today.
~ Susan DuFresne
On January 28th, 6th grade teacher, Becca Ritchie delivered her letter of professional conscience to our local school board, re-writing and speaking her words echoing Dr. King’s “Beyond Vietnam” speech, as found here.
“Remember that fear is natural, but there is greater fear in knowing what will happen if we don’t take a stand.”
– Jia Lee
Taking this step is a serious matter, and as you can see by the expression on our faces, we knew the seriousness of putting our objections into words, and then into action. Notably we crossed enemy lines to give our speeches in Bill Gates’ backyard – aka prime corporate reform territory. As conscientious objectors, we have been forged in the crucible of corporate education reform.
On Wednesday, January 28th, as one of four teachers in Renton, WA, we stood before our local school board and read our Teachers’ Letters of Professional Conscience. The #Renton4, as we call ourselves, included Integrated (special ed and general ed) Kindergarten teacher – Susan DuFresne (speech here), 3rd grade teacher – Judy Dotson (speech here), 5th grade teacher – Julianna Krueger-Dauble (speech here), and 6th grade teacher – Becca Ritchie (speech here).
After our objections, we asked our school board to respond to our letters, giving them two options. Please see these options below:
____ (insert teacher name), Your concerns are noted and valued and you will be allowed to opt out of administering the (insert test name) without any retribution.
____ (insert teacher name), Your concerns are noted and your professional conscience is being discounted. Administration in this building or district requires you to administer the (insert test name) despite your objections and the harm, outlined in the narrative, that children will experience.
This ground-breaking movement led by teachers is challenging work. We want to provide both a space for other teachers to publicly share their letters, a road map for teachers who wish to join our movement, and a space to create solidarity for the growth of this movement. Peggy Robertson of United Opt Out is keeping a list of teachers who refuse to administer the test. Her updated list as of today is as follows:
Subsequently, we have created a road map for other teachers to follow in our foot-steps. We are continuing this work with our local school board and will post updates and additional strategies, bumps in the road, suggestions, and successes as the process unfolds.
Please find our objections on our “Our Objections” page, linked here. If you, as a teacher agree with our objections, you are free to use them, adding your own words in a few paragraphs to personalize your story. Please work with other teachers in your district prior to going to the school board with your letters. Once you are ready to read your letters to the school board, please post your letters here in our comment section. We will publish your letters here on our blog, collecting the Teachers’ Letters of Professional Conscience. This is a call to action. Direct action. Imperative moral action. Join us.
What do you think? Is toxic testing a moral issue? Should teachers as professionals have an oath of “first do no harm”? Are you ready to join a movement led by teachers to end toxic high stakes testing? Are you ready to take a stand, objecting to being used by our government and corporate reformers as an instrument of war on children, teachers, and public schools?