My response to the "Day of Silence" letter

I will let you know if it runs.

To the Editor;

As a Christian pastor, David Neal should be embracing the Day of Silence, rather than criticizing it and suggesting parents break the law by allowing students to stay home from school that day. But I am going to take his suggestion that as a parent I should speak out. Both of my daughters were involved in Gay Straight Alliances, and I am proud of them for that. I think the schools that do this should be praised.

 

One of the most important tasks of schools is teaching tolerance and understanding. It’s a task that Jesus himself would have understood and supported.

 

Day of Silence is less about homosexuality than it is about understanding and supporting classmates. It is, in many ways, no different than the day students from SADD walk around in white makeup and black clothes representing those who died in car accidents. It’s no different than programs on slavery, the Holocaust, Islam or mental health.

 

The schools at which Day of Silence is being held deserve to be singled out – not for a supposed “pro-homosexual” stance, as Neal points out, but rather in a positive way for supporting their students and allowing other students to learn from the day.

 

As a teacher who was involved in the earliest Day of Silence events, I can tell you that great progress has been made in acceptance on a variety of levels. Day of Silence is a barrier-breaker that benefits all non-traditional students. I remember the negativity of letter-writers at the time, but the youth and schools stood fast. I am surprised to see such stereotypes of the “risks of homosexual behavior” still appearing today.

 

Supporting and developing youth are the goals of both the educational and spiritual communities.

 

Bill Toscano

Salem, NY

 

The writer is a former teacher at Ledyard High School and helped start the Gay Straight Alliance there.