Churchill performance about free, open debate.

Byline: GUEST VIEWPOINT By Jill Schwab For The Register-Guard

Each of us in Urgent Carnival - a political theater troupe of nine performers - is a parent, a teacher or both. We understand the apprehensions underlying the recent letters to the editor and the Jan. 26 guest viewpoint regarding the performance we were invited to present at Churchill High School's Human Rights Day.

A child coming of age makes a parent apprehensive in the best of times, and these are clearly uncertain times. We understand the impulse to protect young people from viewpoints that clash with one's own, but we feel this does them a disservice. Young people are going to make tough decisions as they enter adulthood. Those decisions should be based on a broad range of information.

Following our performance, we were excited by students debating the issues brought up in the skit - including the Iraq war, military recruitment, war profiteering, anti-terrorism legislation and the coverage of these issues in the mass media. We welcomed questions and challenges from students during the question-and-answer session after the performance.

We were saddened, however, when some parents later condemned the school for allowing the expression of an alternative point of view. The result of this controversy seems to be a very undemocratic silencing of students' expression. Some of the young people involved in the performance have told us that the school administration is considering curtailing other performances that might be construed as "too controversial."

This would be a huge loss for Churchill students who have, as it is, little time outside of class in which to share divergent viewpoints.

Some parents are rightly concerned about students who lack the ability to hold a respectful conversation with a person with whom they disagree. Indeed, some students who joined our performance told us they were personally attacked afterward by students who had different views. Yet depriving students of opportunities to hear and discuss different opinions neither will protect them in the long run, nor provide them with the skills they need to defend their positions.

What does censoring the expression of diverse views in the schools mean for our community and for our democracy? It means having a citizenry unskilled at critical thinking - a skill that is crucial to the survival of our democracy. To ensure the continuance of our cherished freedoms and to have an informed electorate, we must not allow any voice to be silenced. On the contrary, we must encourage and value all contributions.

Some parents would prefer that schools remain "neutral." Such objectivity is neither possible nor desirable. Schools always uphold certain points of view as they adopt one curriculum over another and determine which student activities to endorse. If there is no forum where diverse viewpoints can be expressed, students may well become blinded by the particular perspectives embedded in the information they are receiving.

Human Rights Day is a celebration of the rights guaranteed to us by our Constitution. In the first clause of the Bill of Rights - arguably, the most important - is the right to free speech. Were the founders of this democracy lukewarm to this idea? Did they think diverse opinions should be reluctantly tolerated? Did they mean that free speech should apply only to those in power or only to those who voice opinions shared by the mainstream?

We think not. Yet these are the attitudes many in our country are adopting in this crucial time. The perfect place for instilling love and respect for our democracy, our freedoms, our complex and diverse culture, the healthy exchange of ideas, and active participation in our democracy is in our schools, where we educate the next generation of citizens.

Jill Schwab has taught for seven years in the Eugene area, most recently in South Lane School District. She is a member of Urgent Carnival and wrote this with the other members of the troupe.