Gilroy School Board members spoke wisely, and with a unanimous
voice, last week. Every board member present at the April 21
meeting spoke against harassment, of gays or anyone else.
Gilroy School Board members spoke wisely, and with a unanimous voice, last week. Every board member present at the April 21 meeting spoke against harassment, of gays or anyone else. Every member agreed that students have a right to engage in political protest, such as the recent Day of Silence. And every member agreed that teachers should be teaching during class time, not engaging in political protest.
The editorial board concurs.
However, we have not heard nearly enough about the Day of Silence. We need to hear some clear direction from Superintendent Edwin Diaz and the Board that teachers will not be allowed to indulge in political protest during class time.
We need to hear this; the teachers need to hear this. Given the statements to the Board, the four teachers who maintained silence in Gilroy High classrooms on April 13 are so certain that their cause is just that they cannot even see another side to the argument.
According to another statement given to the Board, one parent called both the GHS office and the district office before the Day of Silence. Both the high school official and the district official knew that some teachers planned to be silent on the day. Both brushed aside the parent’s concerns.
Apparently, although the district office and the high school administration knew about the upcoming protest, it occurred to no one that Board Policy 6144 might be pertinent. BP 6144 states in part that when discussing a controversial issue, the teacher shall not “promote any partisan point of view.” Also the policy “obligates teachers to approach controversial issues in the spirit of inquiry rather than advocacy ….” Hear, hear.
Apparently, Superintendent Diaz intends to wait for a legal opinion before issuing any clear direction to teachers. This legal opinion is due today.
What does the legal opinion say? Who wrote it? What is it based on? This opinion could impact the rewriting of board policy. The policy will affect the education of our children. This legal opinion is far too important to be shrouded in secrecy and silence. It should be posted on the GUSD Web site for all to see.
This is not a freedom-of-speech issue. Of course teachers have freedom of speech. The very same amendment to the Constitution, the first, guarantees freedom of religion. We would be outraged, and rightly so, if a teacher used her class time to evangelize her students. It is equally unacceptable to inflict one’s political opinions on a captive audience.
