Silencio No More
April 17, 2009, 05:47 PM
On April 9, 2009, this 11 year old young man left his school, went home
and hung himself. Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover had endured endless
teasing at school. His mother begged school officials for help, but
the bullying didn't stop. His 12th birthday would have been April
17th. You can read more about Carl's story here.
As a teacher, I show up in a classroom to help my students learn how to make their way out in the world. But for some students, school is not a safe place. I's not a place to learn; instead it's a place filled with torturous comments and bullying. For these students, we must not be silent. For these students, we must make sure school is a safe place.
For this reason today is the "Day Of Silence." This day was originally organized by kids, for kids to help educate students about the affects of bullying against students who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transsexual. If you are interested in supporting the "Day of Silence," and you are a student, you can sign up to show your support here. If you are no longer a student and would like to show your support, you can do that here.
For Carl and all of the other students who've endured the pain of bullying, we can be silent no more.
