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The Day of
Truth and Day of Silence are two nationally recognized days that discuss
gay rights. The Day of Silence aims to make people aware of the fight for
equal rights that homosexuals are forced to undertake every day. In
contrast, the Day of Truth is a largely conservative-backed day that says
that being homosexual is fine, but it is not the right choice. (Editor’s
Note: The previous passages are generalizations of both the Day of Silence
and the Day of Truth, and are based off of claims found on both of the
respective organization’s websites. For more information, it is
recommended that readers visit
dayofsilence.org and
dayoftruth.org, respectively.) At our school, we recognize both
days. The two days are steeped in controversy, but claim to promote unity
and tolerance. However, through my experience with these two days, I have
seen that both the Day of Truth and the Day of Silence disrupt the
learning process.
I am not
against expressing one’s beliefs: but I feel that there is a right time
and a wrong time to express these beliefs. School is not the right place
because it interferes with the school day and creates tension.
During the
Day of Silence, many students remain silent for the whole day. In
classes, for me, this caused many issues. For one, it made it hard for
teacher to student communication to occur. In addition, many students
were only remaining silent to get out of class, which defeats the whole
purpose of the day. During the Day of Truth, people wear t-shirts
representing that they are a part of this day. While at first this
appears harmless, it caused problems. Those wearing the t-shirts were
judged very harshly by their peers. The Day of Truth also brought up
religious issues; many students believed that the only people who
supported the Day of Truth were Catholic, which is most certainly not
true.
The two days cause tension between students inside the school building.
This itself disrupts learning, and therefore should not be allowed. This
tension is unnecessary and should not be discussed in a classroom
setting. I am an advocate for first amendment rights, but I think the Day
of Truth and the Day of Silence are best left outside of school.
Sources: www.dayoftruth.org,
www.dayofsilence.org |
