The Day of Silence is fast approaching. For the uninitiated, the Day of Silence (DOS) is yet another effort by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) to use public education to transform the views of our nation’s children on the nature and morality of homosexuality.

In a concerted effort, numerous pro-family organizations are urging parents to call their children out of school on the Day of Silence (April 16, 2010) if their school is permitting students to remain silent during class.

DOS participants have a First Amendment Right to wear t-shirts or other DOS paraphernalia. They do not, however, have a right to refuse to speak in class. Parents should call their middle and high school administrators and ask one question: Are students permitted to refuse to speak in class on the DOS? If the answer is yes, or if it is evasive or unclear, call your child or children out of school on April 16.

Schools lose money for every student absence. We believe that if one group of students is silent and another group is absent — which costs schools money — school administrations will reconsider the wisdom of allowing social or political action to intrude into the classroom.

GLSEN, like many other homosexuality-affirming organizations and many professional education organizations, has been exploiting public education, anti-bullying sentiment, and anti-bullying resources in its subversive effort to impose GLSEN’s social, political, and moral beliefs on all of society.

The means by which GLSEN seeks to end bullying is by normalizing homosexuality through anti-bullying resources.

A combination of naïvete, ignorance, and cowardice has lead conservatives to acquiesce to the manipulative tactics of GLSEN and it compeers, like the Southern Poverty Law Center’s “Teaching Tolerance,” The Illinois Safe Schools Alliance, and the National Education Association, all of which are vigorously pursuing inroads into elementary, middle, and high schools as well as schools of education, which teach future teachers.

To get a better sense of the big and ever-darkening public school picture, here are just some of the homosexuality-affirming educational highlights from 2008-2009:

• Homosexual activist and founder of GLSEN, Kevin Jennings, was appointed Assistant Deputy Secretary for Safe and Drug Free Schools (a.k.a. the “Safe Schools Czar) in the Department of Education.
• Openly homosexual Ron Huberman was appointed CEO of Chicago Public Schools, the third largest school district in the country.
• The “Student Non-Discrimination Act” (H.R. 4530) was introduced by openly homosexual U.S. Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO). This act would prohibit “public school students from being excluded from participating in, or subject to discrimination under, any federally-assisted educational program on the basis of their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity or that of their associates.” So, if a boy wishes to join the girls’ swim team, schools would be prohibited from excluding him based on the objective fact that he is not a girl.
• The “Safe Schools Amendment Act” (H.R. 2262) was introduced by U.S. Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA) — who is designated a “far left Democrat” by Gov Track. Of the 95 co-sponsors, only 4 are Republican, and 1 of the 4 is Illinoisan Congressman Mark Kirk. H.R.2262 would mandate that schools that already receive funding for drug prevention education would either have to include homosexuality, cross-dressing, and “transsexuality” or lose federal funding for their drug prevention programs. And this would apply not just to high schools but to elementary schools as well.
• An Illinois elementary school invites lesbian activist to speak to teachers on a taxpayer-funded Institute Day about how to incorporate homosexuality-affirming resources into classroom anti-bullying lessons.
• A largeCaliforniaelementary and middle school district adopted a homosexuality-affirming, anti-bullying curriculum. Following significant public opposition, a judge decided that parents had no right to be notified prior to their children being exposed to pro-homosexual resources and no right to opt-out
• A Chicago elementary school becomes first elementary school to march inChicago”gay pride” parade.
• The pro-homosexual Maine Human Rights Council “disclosed new state guidelines requiring schools to allow young children to have access to facilities of the opposite sex. Under the proposed guidelines, boys who self-identify as female will have access to girls’ sports teams and cheerleading squads, girls’ bathrooms, and girls’ locker rooms. “
• The Maine Human Rights Council decided that a gender-confused fifth grade boy must be allowed to use the girls’ bathrooms. This means that all parents of all elementary school children will have to explain why a boy is using the girls’ bathrooms.
• Three elementary schools inMinneapolispiloted the homosexuality-affirming “Welcoming Schools” anti-bullying curriculum, which teaches children as young as five terms like “gay” and “lesbian.” It exposes elementary school children to resources that present families led by homosexuals as morally equivalent to families led by heterosexuals. It affirms cross-dressing as moral behavior and presents traditional beliefs about marriage and homosexuality as harmful stereotypes. “Welcoming Schools” was created by one of the largest and most well-funded homosexual activist organizations in the country: The Human Rights Campaign.
• Scholastic Books now sells homosexuality-affirming books
• UniversityofIllinois Music Education Department Chair, who is in charge of preparing future music teachers, wrote an article in the premier professional journal for elementary, middle, and secondary school music teachers in which he advocated using public school music classes to normalize homosexuality.
• At the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) conference, high School English teachers led and attended workshops on the use of curricula to affirm homosexuality.
• The American Library Association endorsed same-sex “marriage” at its July 2009 national conference. In addition, the ALA welcomed increased numbers of books that deal with “gay and lesbian themes and topics.”
• The National Education Association endorsed gay-straight alliances; the inclusion of “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” in school anti-discrimination policy; homosexuality-affirming professional development workshops; homosexuality-affirming classroom lessons; and same-sex marriage.
• The nation’s first homosexuality-affirming middle school opened inMilwaukeein 2009.

It’s an unconscionable fact that in those communities where opposition to pro-homosexual resources has arisen, it’s almost always one person or a very small group who are willing to endure public hostility for the sake of children and the cause of truth. Participating in the Day of Silence Walkout is one of the few relatively easy efforts that conservative parents have available to them to express their opposition to the use of public funds and school time to normalize homosexuality.

One word of warning: Parents should not ask if their school is sponsoring, endorsing, or promoting the DOS because technically the DOS is sponsored and promoted by students. School administrators have been known to tell parents that their school is not sponsoring, endorsing, or promoting the DOS, when the administrators knew full well that teachers were allowing students to remain silent during class. These administrators were misrepresenting to parents what would take place on the DOS, while remaining technically truthful.

Conservative parents have remained largely and irresponsibly silent in the face of steadily increasing pro-homosexual activism in public schools. This activism, almost always ushered in through anti-bullying programs, has now reached elementary schools.

Pro-homosexual activist-“educators” will not listen to reason; they do not honor all voices; and they do not respect either intellectual diversity or parental rights. Administrators and school board members may, however, respond to the loss of funds.

Please, find out if your school is permitting student silence during class on the Day of Silence, and if so, call your children out. Send a message to your school that if they are going to allow social and political action in class, your child will not be there.