Two weeks ago I wrote about a school board that says nothing and
acts casual. I am hoping that they will all speak up now regarding
the Day of Silence at Gilroy High School.
If I were in high school today, there is no doubt in my mind
that I would participate in the Day of Silence.
Two weeks ago I wrote about a school board that says nothing and acts casual. I am hoping that they will all speak up now regarding the Day of Silence at Gilroy High School.
If I were in high school today, there is no doubt in my mind that I would participate in the Day of Silence. I have always been in word and deed supportive of equal rights for all people. If I were in high school, there are many other things I would support that might otherwise undermine the regular school day. I would support weekly assemblies, candlelight vigils, frequent field trips and various diversions that would take me away from the mundane world of Algebra II.
This is why our society does not allow children to make the rules. This is why parents make rules in a family and not the children. The people we choose to dictate the rules which govern our academic day are the trustees of the school board and the administrators hired by our superintendent of schools.
The reason we have a teacher at our flagship school encouraging other teachers to participate in the Day of Silence is because she hasn’t gotten the memo from the community which deplores this kind of action. I am the community – my daughter participated in this day last year. I allow my child to participate in these events because her not speaking for a few hours has no impact on the learning environment of the 2,400 students at Gilroy High.
However, there is no way that I could support the staff at the high school not speaking all day. If even a dozen teachers participate, and each of those teachers instructs 120 students, over half the student body at Gilroy High is losing out on quality instruction. Oral instruction is a vital part of the classroom experience. If it were not, then teachers could instruct via email.
Classroom teaching is participatory by definition – questions need to be asked and answered; instruction needs to be given orally and students need to be engaged. How can a teacher discuss Dickens “on the board” or conduct a science lab class without speaking.
The powers-that-be in this district need to succinctly address this latest in a series of missteps coming from our school campuses. Our students can’t seem to wean themselves from their cell phones for an hour never mind an entire school day. Perhaps our Day of Silence can be observed as a day without text messaging. Or perhaps our Day of Silence observation should be confined to the 18 hours of the day which are not spent in the classroom. Whatever the school board decides, teachers should be informed that if they intend to be silent all day, they should be taking the day off.
I am sure that the advisor to the Gay/Straight Alliance is a good teacher; she is beloved by her students. I support her efforts to extend equal rights to all people. But the fact remains that there are many students at Gilroy High who do not share my views or the views of the Gay/Straight Alliance. The teacher who advises this group should be supportive of students who participate in the Day of Silence as well as the vast majority of students who choose not to participate.
Choosing not to be quiet all day does not mean that the majority of students do not support human rights for gay/bisexual/transgender people. The fact that we have now sanctioned this action opens up a real can of worms. Will a group opposing gay rights now be allowed to have a day of silent protest? Will teachers be asked to take sides on issues which have nothing to do with our high school curriculum?
Listen up. The quiet you hear is not coming from the high school, the real silence is happening on Arroyo Circle.
