What if I intentionally left this column blank, as homage to the
teachers who got paid to teach while not saying a word last week.
Nice work if you can get it. The difference between those teachers
and me is that if I had chosen to be
”
silent
”
today, then I wouldn’t expect to get paid.
What if I intentionally left this column blank, as homage to the teachers who got paid to teach while not saying a word last week. Nice work if you can get it. The difference between those teachers and me is that if I had chosen to be “silent” today, then I wouldn’t expect to get paid.
I might choose to recite my column at the Dispatch office on Monterey Street this Thursday. However, if I don’t write it down for publication, I understand that I won’t be paid because I am not fulfilling the job which I am contracted to do.
We have now heard from various members of the school community on this issue; Superintendent Edwin Diaz and Gilroy High student Chris Morsilli are both sitting on the fence. Why some people find it necessary to publicly state that they are indecisive or could go either way eludes me. Dina Campeau, a parent whose child does not attend public high school, is just fine with teachers participating in the Day of Silence. I wonder why Ms. Campeau didn’t choose to observe the silent teaching going on at Presentation High School – perhaps because that was not what occurred at her daughter’s school.
Many other Gilroy High teachers and students have now enlightened us with their insights into the struggles of gay students; fine with me, but it is totally off the point.
Let me reiterate: I have no objection to the Day of Silence at Gilroy High School. I encourage students who feel this is an effective way to exercise their free speech rights to participate. A student who feels compelled to be quiet for whatever their particular cause might be now has carte blanche from the school to clam up.
So while students now have the stamp of approval to remain mum, teachers don’t have that option. GUSD must make it clear that teachers may only participate in political protest outside of the classroom. While Superintendent Diaz may be confused about the nature of the Day of Silence, let me be clear that even the organizers of the event tout it as a political protest.
The ACLU has written that the classroom must be a viewpoint-neutral forum in which all students feel free to express themselves. A teacher who chooses to participate in a “Day of Silence” is not being neutral, they are taking a political stance. Students are in effect a “captive audience.”
For those teachers who support the Day of Silence but in good conscience chose to do their job fully last Wednesday, there is a solution to their dilemma.
Teachers could take part in an after-school activity called “Breaking the Silence.” Organizers of the Day of Silence put in place this mechanism so that students could come together at the end of the day with teachers, parents and community members to open a dialogue about the issues facing gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students. Such an event would actually engage a larger portion of the community to understand the harassment and bullying which students face every day.
At a recent Gilroy School Board meeting, there was a presentation of a program called “Character Counts.” Another program called “Teach Respect” is being undertaken by the same group who founded the Day of Silence a decade ago. Both programs seek to make positive change in our students so that honesty and respect for all are the norm.
I am not the only one who has heard a young child use “that’s so gay” as a putdown. I abhor this as much as I abhor the thought of my child’s teacher infusing their personal ideology into the classroom. It’s time for action by the school board.
