A Day Of Silence For A Rainbow Of Reasons

Yesterday students across the country went through their school day without uttering one word. This day of silence was aimed at highlighting the intolerance that gay and lesbian students have to deal with all the other days they go to school. Many school districts here where I live were very supportive of students participating in this event......except my district. In fact, my daughter was one of many middle school students who went through the school day, not uttering one word. She wore a rainbow sticker and carried a letter that explained to each of her teachers why she would not be speaking. The students who organized the day of silence in her school were given in-school suspension because it was "against school policy" to do such a thing. I'm very proud of my daughter for participating in this event, even though many of her teachers and most administrators were visibly annoyed with her for doing it. A parent always hopes their children will not turn out to be bullies or bullied. I'm just glad I raised my kids to stick up for what they believe in and stand their ground. On the other hand, I'm ashamed of my district for being so narrow-minded. How can they expect children to learn tolerance, when they themselves are so intolerant. Kudos to those public school districts, colleges and universities across the country for supporting their students yesterday. As one student put it "One person not speaking will make a difference. It might even be more effective than an entire group because maybe people will say, 'Wow, this person is trying to make a change'".