New York State Education Commissioner John B. King honors Martin Luther King’s fight for true equality of opportunity. John B. King acknowledges the tremendous progress in racial equality over the last 50 years and further encourages the fight for educational equality.
In an opinion piece for NY Daily News, John B. King discusses the importance of educational equality, specifically through the implementation of the Common Core standards:
The Common Core offers a path to the precise reading, writing and thinking skills that will help propel their children and children across the state to success. Yet some now want us to delay, or even abandon, our efforts to raise standards.
I say no. As King said in that speech a little more than fifty years ago, “We do not have as much time as the cautious and the patient try to give us.”
We have many great schools in New York State, but we do not have time to wait to dramatically transform those that are not working. We do not have time to wait to give all students — regardless of their race or zip code or the language they speak at home — access to the enriching and engaging learning experiences they need and deserve. And we do not have time to wait to ensure that the students who graduate from our high schools do so ready to succeed in college and careers.
