Day of Silence

[Xiao_Chun]

What should the teachers do on the Day of Silence?

 

I am a college professor, and I have to teach on April 18, so I can't really observe the Day of Silence. But what can I do? What other high school and college teachers usually do on the Day of Silence?

 

Please share any ideas or personal experience.

 

Michael.

[Graeme]

One suggestion I saw is that during classes, things should be as normal, but outside of classes, the day of silence can be observed.

[NickolasJames8]

Teachers should just let people do what they want during the period, as long as it's quiet and doesn't disturb those of us who are observing it...... I'll be spending the day in prayer

[sumbloke]

A family friend who teaches stats at uni is apparently marking the day - he has to teach - by using statistics about discrimination against, educational success failure of, queer students for his classes tomorrow. Takes some planning I'd have thought though :-)

[old bob]

I did know nothing about the Day of silence.

Then I made a research and found get organised

As the the "speaking cards" say :

"Please understand my reasons for not speaking today. I am participating in the Day of Silence, a national youth movement protesting the silence faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their allies. My deliberate silence echoes that silence, which is caused by harassment, prejudice, and discrimination. I believe that ending the silence is the first step toward fighting these injustices. Think about the voices you are not hearing today. What are you going to do to end the silence? "

And to the question "what to do in school " I found an answer :

"While some students choose to be silent for the day, some participants are simply silent for part of the day, during lunch, or at community events. Students may also participate in"Breaking the Silence" rallies, events at which students come together at the day's end to express themselves and share their experiences with members of their local communities."

Does it help ?

[NickolasJames8]

Our Spring Anthology last year had a Day of Silence Theme. There's some really great stories and a poem posted. Some people might want to take the time to read those tomorrow as a way to observe.

[Razor]

We'll see. Hopefully it'll work well.

 

 

I would suggest an activity that doesn't require you to talk. A handout explaining a project or assignment, including the fact that you are participating, would work nicely. I dislike the idea of giving busy work, but maybe you have something in mind that could be fun and educational. Otherwise, do as Graeme suggested; teach normally, but observe otherwise.

[NickolasJames8]

What should the teachers do on the Day of Silence?

 

I am a college professor, and I have to teach on April 18, so I can't really observe the Day of Silence. But what can I do? What other high school and college teachers usually do on the Day of Silence?

 

Please share any ideas or personal experience.

 

Michael.

Another thing you could do is order them all to come and register at GA, then do a book report on a story they found here We could wind up with a whole new batch of Domoholics

[Lugh]

depending on what you are teaching and the length of your classes... a pop quiz would be in order. give it out at the beginning of class as they walk in, and collect it as they walk out. put a sign on your desk/podium that speakers will be failed and mark an F on the first one who asks a question.

[rknapp]

I could only ever partially observe this day, since I know already that none of my friends would understand what it was that I was trying to accomplish. Besides that, I think I partially participate every day, as I am naturally quiet such that I do not speak in any of my classes, ever, unless I am presenting something.

 

Isn't this day also famous for many of us in the closet to come out? Making me think now...

[AFriendlyFace]

Hi all!

 

What should the teachers do on the Day of Silence?

 

I am a college professor, and I have to teach on April 18, so I can't really observe the Day of Silence. But what can I do? What other high school and college teachers usually do on the Day of Silence?

 

Please share any ideas or personal experience.

 

Michael.

Actually, a friend of mine is a teacher and had planned on participating. He even worked out things he could have his class do. Then he realized that the day fell right in the middle of some important state testing and he HAS to speak. Ultimately I think he did decide to do as some other suggested and remain as silent as possible.

 

Personally speaking I don't really plan to participate in the silence part of the day this year. I gave it a shot last year and...well it didn't work out . I tend to be both extremely absent-minded, and chatty. Thus I kept forgetting I was supposed to be silent and talking to people. Then I'd say (to myself) "Oops, OKAY, I won't talk ANYMORE"...then I'd forget and start the whole process over again. After the first few hours of the day I just gave up since I obviously wasn't "getting it".

 

 

 

"While some students choose to be silent for the day, some participants are simply silent for part of the day, during lunch, or at community events. Students may also participate in"Breaking the Silence" rallies, events at which students come together at the day's end to express themselves and share their experiences with members of their local communities."

That's what I'm doing! I'm throwing a party tomorrow evening with the theme being "Night of Noise", after all the silence. And I'm sure we will all share our experiences etc.

 

Our Spring Anthology last year had a Day of Silence Theme. There's some really great stories and a poem posted. Some people might want to take the time to read those tomorrow as a way to observe.

An excellent idea! And there really were some awesome entries!!

 

Take care all and have a great - if silent - day!!

Kevin

Edited April 18, 2007 by AFriendlyFace

[Menzoberranzen]

I have a teacher who simply makes the entire class remain silent for the first and last five minutes of class. She's into symbolism, but it seemed to work alright.

[rknapp]

Interesting development: Walking through the galleries between the various wings of the schoo I found that someone (probably our GSA that I can't find) put up small pieces of paper on the support columns with small blurbs about the Day of Silence. One of them said "Think about why some are NOT speaking on this day." There was a sticker on the glass entrance causeway that described the Day of Silence. One of these days I might go to one of the advising offices to see if I can find more information about our GSA, other than its name and what its for... it would be helpful to have meeting times and locations lol.

[JamesSavik]

Pardon me but I want to express a different opinion about the day of silence.

 

Although non-violent passive resistance is extolled as a power tool of social change, IT NEVER WORKS WITHOUT THE USE OF FORCE.

 

Medgar Evers and Martin Luther King did NOTHING to advance the civil rights movement except to act as martyrs for their cause. Real change did not take place until the sitting president showed the moral and political will to use force to implement policy. In LBJ's case, force was to mobilize the national guard at key confrontations and task the FBI to put pressure on local law enforcement and racist organizations and politicians.

 

Passive resistance often ends in disaster: many, many peaceful protestors in our country, which is fairly tolerant of dissent, are maced, beaten and jailed. At Beijing in the early 90s, protesters were run over with tanks. At Kent State and Jackson State in the 70s, national guard troops poorly trained for crowd control shot scores of college kids. In other countries "Dirty Wars" make "un-people" of student protesters without regard to how peaceful they are. The grandfather of passive resistance himself, Gandhi was shot in the head.

 

Yes: the day of silence is useful to raise awareness. However- don't harbor any illusions about its impact.

 

Real change without the power and force of law behind it simply will not happen.

[Guest raz]

For me, observing it was more for my sake than anyone elses. I had such a busy schedule, with important appointments and Labs that require team work, and I managed to do it all without uttering a word. It was incredibly frustrating, but in the end I'm glad I did it. I know it's idealistic to think that a couple of kids shutting up for a day can't have much of an impact. I found it as a good outlet, however, for expressing how much it meant to me. It meant even more that one of my best friends did it with me, even when her schedule was just as packed.