A proposed lesson aimed at teaching first graders about gender pronouns, including nonbinary terms like “ze” and “tree,” was recently canceled by a school district in DeWitt, Michigan, resulting in backlash from concerned family members.
Schavey Road Elementary School initially informed parents of the optional lesson in a letter earlier this month. The letter informed parents of the optional lesson, claiming that it was designed to “help students share and explore pronouns through discussion and literature to embrace differences and promote acceptance.”
However, the announcement sparked immediate backlash from parents, who called the school to complain about the lesson being taught to their children. The school, in response, canceled the lesson, citing “safety reasons” amid claims that the calls by parents were threatening.
Dr. Shanna Spickard, the superintendent of the DeWitt Public Schools district, addressed the situation in a message to families and staff.
“The goal of the voluntary mini-lesson was to help promote Dewitt Public Schools’ vision of a safe, nurturing, and supportive learning environment where all learners can succeed,” she said. “Unfortunately, it has become a major disruption and distraction to that vision in which our staff, administrators, and students feel unsafe.”
The proposed lesson intended to use the book “They She He Me: Free to Be!” by Maya Gonzalez, which features illustrations of men and women using various pronouns interchangeably, according to Fox News.
The book encourages children to embrace nonbinary gender terminology and suggests using unconventional pronouns like “ze” and “tree.” It also advises children to default to using “they” when uncertain about someone’s pronouns.
“On the inside, you may not feel like a he or she at all,” the book reads. “Maybe they feels most free or you may feel like both she and he.”
“You can use your own name as a pronoun,” the book continues. “You can change pronouns from he to she or she to he. You can use new ones like ze or create your own like tree! Some people use they, which is a perfect way. There are many more pronouns waiting to be discovered and used.”
Spickard clarified that while the optional mini-lesson was not part of the core curriculum, it was meant as a “supportive measure to promote inclusivity,” a “core value” of the district.
