| Day of Silence Still Sparks Protest | | Print | |
| WRITTEN BY JACK KENNY |
| TUESDAY, 20 APRIL 2010 00:00 |
"Parents must actively oppose this hijacking of the classroom for political purposes," Tim Wildmon, president of the American Family Association, wrote in an e-mail to AFA members. "Parents should no longer passively countenance the political usurpation of public school classrooms through student silence." The National Day of Silence encourages students to "take a vow of silence to bring attention to anti-LGBT(Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) name-calling, bullying and harassment in their schools," according to the Day of Silence website. The commitment is to avoid speaking between classes, during lunch breaks and other free time — and even during classes, if teacher and school administrators allow it. "We recommend that you talk to your teachers ahead of time, tell them what you plan to do, and ask them if it would be okay for you to communicate on that day in writing," was the advice posted on the website. But Wildmon argued that students' observing a vow of silence during classroom discussions or when called on by their teachers would be disruptive and "politicize" the classroom environment. |
It isn't often that parents have occasion to protest an outbreak of silence by their school-age children, but the "Day of Silence" observed by students in schools across the nation on Friday, April 16, sparked a reaction from some pro-family groups that urged parents to keep their children out of school to avoid the event, organized each year by the Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network.