Teachers of the world: Resist!

One of the essential roles of teachers in today's oppressive educational climate is to openly and courageously resist policies that are detrimental, denigrating or even irrelevant to teaching and learning. Otherwise, why celebrate the third Monday in January by canceling classes? If the life of Martin Luther King symbolizes nothing else, it is the peaceful resistance and ultimate triumph over unjust policies, laws and practices established by the dominant culture in the name of political expediency. As teachers we face these policies and practices every day in the form of sanctions and punishments meted out by the brutal mandates of No Child Left Behind. If we are to be true to the spirit of the holiday that honors Dr. King, we must walk the talk of what his life represents, even if that walk consists of only a few steps.