We March For Education Justice
by Luz Christina Ramirez Mooney
* Speech originally presented at the March For Education in Kingston, New York on March 4th, 2017
Greed and hate are evil and destructive forces, eating away at our nation today. But we have gathered here, to make it clear, that we will not turn a blind eye to what we see and we will stand up and fight back!
And although Governor Cuomo has been sounding real progressive on some issues, as of late. When it comes to public schools he has done far more harm than he's done any good. In fact, He and Trump, are one and the same. They both see the public school system as a monopoly, a business, that must be privatized. They want to replace our beloved buildings with private for profit charter schools and give millions away for religious vouchers.
One of the tools Cuomo will use to complete his evil plan is the Education Transformation Law passed in 2015 in which a school's evaluation is based 50% on unreliable high stakes tests. We must demand that our elected officials amend this law to stop the test and punish policies that are a detriment to all of our children.
High stakes testing is used to reinforce the false narrative that public schools are failing. That same false narrative is most damaging to our communities of color. Schools in these communities have been purposefully and grossly underfunded for years and it's not right! When agendas like those of Cuomo and Trump are being forced forward, our Badass Teachers Association: We March For Education Justice by Luz Christina Ramirez Mooney: