Sounds of Silence

While voluntary prayer groups and/or two minutes of silence are discouraged by most public schools these days, some ideological movements appear to have a bit more clout with educators.

For example, on April 16^th, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) sponsored a “Day of Silence,” when “hundreds of thousands” of public school students were encouraged to take a vow of silence for the entire day—even during instructional time, according to the TownHall.com/blog.

GLSEN claims that this event is designed to call attention to “anti-GLBT name calling, bullying and harassment in schools,” but parents would be well-advised to make sure they understand how certain groups inflict their messages on unsuspecting audiences who are not aware of the politicized ideology involved in the seemingly innocent request.

Carrie Lukas from the Independent Women’s Forum uses activities on Earth Day as an example of how schools “take a break from normal instruction to discuss the importance of preserving the environment. That may sound like a harmless activity, but too often Earth Day becomes a platform for pushing an ideological brand of environmentalism.” For example, just because it’s Earth Day, teachers shouldn’t abandon their “mission to educate students, provide facts, and encourage them to draw on their own conclusions.”

Deborah Lambert writes the Squeaky Chalk column for Accuracy in Academia.