AFA of PA ACTION ALERT
April 18, 2013
Issue
Reminder: Is Your Child’s School Allowing Students to Remain Silent?
Details
Tomorrow is the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network’s Day of Silence in which participating middle and high school students are to remain silent throughout the school day in order to show support for “disenfranchised” students who identify as ‘gay, lesbian, bi or trans.’ Is your school or classroom teacher permitting students to remain silent during instructional time? Even the ACLU and homosexual group Lambda Legal recognize that students have no constitutional right not to speak during instructional time.
So . . . what is your child’s middle or high school or classroom teachers doing tomorrow? If your child’s school has a Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) club, expect the students to be participating in the Day of Silence. The question is to what extend will the school permit the silent students to disrupt the school day? Remember GLSEN provides “Speaking Cards” for the students to hand out as well other resources for students to purchase. This is not intended to be a day where the promoters of the normalization of homosexuality go unnoticed.
Action Steps
If your child is in middle or high school, call to see if they are participating in the Gay Day of Silence and if they will permit students to remain silent during instructional time tomorrow. Check out the “Day of Silence Walkout” website for resources to help fight back on this GLSEN Day of Action. If your school principal or teachers will permit students to refuse to respond when called upon during instructional time, keep your child home that day. The Day of Silence Walkout website has a sample letter you can use to give to your school.
