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On Friday, April 25, several thousand schools
across the nation, including many high schools in Alaska,
will be observing a “Day of Silence” – a nationwide push to
promote the homosexual movement in public schools. If you
or someone you know has a teenager attending a public high
school in Alaska and believe that our classrooms should
not be used to actively promote the gay, lesbian, transgender
and bi-sexual lifestyle, you should read on.
According to one commentator, “the explicit purpose of the
Day of Silence is to encourage sympathy and support for students
involved in homosexual behavior and cross-dressing whose voices
have been allegedly silenced by the disapproval of society.
The implicit purpose is to undermine the belief that homosexuality
is immoral. Parents should no longer passively countenance
the political usurpation of public school classrooms through
student silence.”
During the Day of Silence, students are given
permission by school administrators, principals and
teachers to remain absolutely silent throughout the school
day. Participating students hand out cards with the following
statement on them –
Please understand my reasons for not speaking
today. I support lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights.
People who are silent today believe that laws and attitudes
should be inclusive of people of all sexual orientations and
gender identities. GLSEN'S Day of Silence is to draw attention
to those who have been silenced by hatred, oppression, and
prejudice. Think about the voices you are not hearing. What
can you do to end the silence?
The Alaska Family Council is joining other pro-family groups
in urging concerned parents to oppose
this blatantly political event sponsored by the Gay,
Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN). School administrators
are wrong when they allow the classroom to be disrupted for
political purposes. The Day of Silence requires that teachers
either create activities around the silence of some or many,
or exempt silent students from any activity that involves
speaking.
This pro-homosexual event communicates clear (and false) messages
to ALL students in the school
that: homosexuality is a worthy lifestyle; that it has few
or no risks; that some people are "born" homosexual,
including students; and that those who oppose this behavior
are hateful and uninformed.
Although the Day of Silence is presented as a way to develop
“tolerance” and “acceptance”, the organizers fail to clarify
what they want students to accept. “While it is legitimate
to teach students that diverse opinions exist on this issue,
it is not legitimate to imply that one of those opinions is
preferable to another. While it is appropriate to teach acceptance
of people, meaning that we should treat all with civility,
it is not appropriate to suggest that students need to accept
the view that homosexual conduct is moral. These important
distinctions are rarely, if ever, made in public school discussions
of acceptance.”
The Alaska Family Council believes that the Day of Silence
is, sadly, a day of deception and political pressure from
a very pro-active, advocacy group that has successfully manipulated
our public schools. By allowing the event to occur and disrupt
the learning experience for the entire
student body, school administrators, principals and
teachers are simply telling just one side of what is undeniably
a very controversial and sensitive issue.
PRAY - Please pray that on all sides
of this issue, people treat each other with civility and our
schools remain peaceful during
the Day of Silence, the Day of Truth, and in the weeks that
follow. The Day of Silence is very divisive, yet we must remain
civilized while hopefully bringing it to a halt.
TAKE A STAND - Keep your kids home
if your school is officially holding, or passively allowing
a group of students to disrupt the learning environment for
everyone in the school. If students are being given permission
to remain silent, parents can express their opposition most
effectively by keeping their kids out of school on the Day
of Silence and sending letters of explanation to their administrators,
their children’s teachers and to school board members.
VERY IMPORTANT - If your school
is listed here as
a participating Day of Silence location, please double-check
with your local school to see if the school is actually sponsoring
the Day of Silence. Sometimes the "participation"
turns out to be a handful of kids who are saying they have
a homosexual club and are observing this protest day, but
without school endorsement.
HOW DO YOU KEEP YOUR KIDS HOME?
Obviously, the best option is to inform the school of your
intentions and reasons up front, and keep your child home.
The Alaska Family Council does not advocate other methods
like a sick day, etc. This is the ethical, honest thing to
do and would demonstrate moral courage to your school, your
children, your neighbors, etc. In fact, you should explain
to your kids why you are doing this and the problems with
'gay' activism and behavior.
The other benefit is that many schools lose tax dollars for
every child who stays home. If enough do so in any one school,
it will send a clear message: school-sponsored corruption
and manipulation through promotion of homosexuality is unacceptable
and there is a price to pay.
Click
here for a sample letter for parents to send to the school
administration. NOTE: Again, please call
your school or in some fashion locally verify that the school
is indeed observing the Day of Silence before you send the
letter. |
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