Board looks into policy changes on teacher participation in Day
of Silence
Gilroy – The activity following Gilroy High School’s Day of Silence has lasted longer than the protest itself.
At the Gilroy Unified School District board meeting Thursday night, members addressed their feelings to the public and explained why the activity was allowed to occur in the first place.
Day of Silence is a nationally recognized protest against the oppression gay, lesbian, bisexual and transsexual individuals feel, and encourages teachers and students to recognize this oppression by not speaking for a day. At GHS, four teachers and about 16 students participated in the national protest on April 13.
Current board policy encourages teachers to actively partake in political activities available to all citizens outside the classroom. But inside the classroom, teacher participation in political activities is considered inappropriate. Day of Silence has sparked board members to revisit board policy and its enforcement.
“There is a time and a place for everything,” said board president TJ Owens. “And this should not be done in the classroom.”
Board members were alerted to the activity less than a week before the Day of Silence by an e-mail from a concerned parent. Despite unanimous opposition of teacher participation by the board and GUSD Superintendent Edwin Diaz, teachers were not banned from participating because district officials did not believe they had legal authority to do so.
Prior to the protest, Diaz contacted the district’s lawyer to see what legal actions they could take to stop teachers from participating, and at the time of the activity there was no conclusive answer, he said. Under Diaz’ instruction, a legal council is in the process of developing an opinion on the matter, which should be known in the next week.
“Once we have a legal opinion, we can develop a policy consistent with that,” he said.
A stream of parents flowed to the podium expressing their opinions about the activity. None supported teacher participation. One GUSD elementary school teacher opposed teacher participation in Day of Silence because of the impact it would have on one’s ability to instruct and because not all of the students were voluntary participants in the event. Many parents were upset that the board even allowed it to happen.
“We elect you to make hard decisions,” said parent Deon Bracco. “Stand up and take a position like those children did that day.”
Diaz spoke to GHS Principal Bob Bravo prior to the event and was assured learning would occur in classes that day.
Bravo spoke with Gay/Straight Alliance advisor Sally Enriquez regarding the district’s concerns, but did not order her to not participate in the Day of Silence.
“She was not given clear directions to not participate,” Diaz informed the 40 parents, teachers and administrators who were present. Enriquez and the three other teachers who engaged in the event were not acting in opposition to direct board orders.
English teacher Joan Martens, who participated, spoke defending her decision.
“I participated just to call attention to the fact that there is a problem,” she said regarding discrimination of gay students on the GHS campus. “I want you to recognize that it is a problem and that it is not being addressed.”
According to Enriquez, since the Day of Silence she and one other teacher who engaged in the activity have received hate mail. “By calling attention to hate, we are hoping to prevent it,” she said via e-mail.
One of the concerns of school officials is that by remaining silent, teachers were not instructing at their full capacity.
“I can understand why this would be true for elementary and possibly junior high,” Enriquez wrote. “I know my classes, and if I had had the kind of students that I would not have been able to control, I would have spoken. Many teachers at the high school have told me that had they had a different lesson or a different set of students they would have not spoken. I believe that the teachers at GHS are professionals and they can make a decision whether they can conduct class without speaking.”
