The 2006 Day of Silence will be held on this Wednesday, April 26th. The brainchild of GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network) the Day of Silence expects teachers to develop lesson plans and set aside their regularly-scheduled lessons for an entire school day in order to allow students' observance of the day, to support political activists and their controversial agenda, by not speaking (that means not participating in class).
Participating students “wear a rainbow ribbon on their shirts and carry a small paper that explains about the day to anyone who asks why they are not speaking.”
And school districts are cooperating. Such as in California: the Los Angeles Unified School District's Reference Guide states: "Students are to be addressed by a name and pronoun that corresponds to the gender identity that the students consistently assert at school. Students may request to be addressed by their “preferred name” (and preferred pronoun) that corresponds to their gender identity without obtaining a court order or without changing their official records. This reference guide acknowledges that inadvertent slips or honest mistakes in the use of the 'preferred' names or pronouns might occur, but it does not condone an intentional and persistent refusal to respect a student’s gender identity."
The San Francisco Unified School District has issued a Suggested Gay Pride Month Curricula and Activities.
The Oakland Unified School District has issued suggestions on Erasing Homophobia.
Is the Day of Silence coming to your child's school? You can check out the schools that participated in 2005 Day of Silence from across the nation around the world, and contact your school to ask if they are planning to observe it, if you don't find it here.
Last year tens of thousands of students countered the Day of Silence with a Day of Truth. Learn about the 2006 Day of Truth here.
Related:
Day of SilenceGSA Day of Silence
History of The Day of Silence
Leave the Kids Alone
They're serious about this
Hear today's show for more on Day of Silence (See 4/24/06)4Comment
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