DeWitt parents clash over canceled pronouns lesson
DEWITT, Mich. (WLNS) — DeWitt Public Schools Board of Education met amid interruptions and applauds for the first time since a controversial lesson on pronouns was canceled in an elementary school.
More than a dozen parents and community members spoke their concerns and praise for the lesson plan to board members in the DeWitt Middle School auditorium.
In April, parents were notified of an optional lesson expected to be taught to one first-grade class at Schavey Road Elementary School. The lesson would have included a reading of the children’s book “They, She, He, Me: Free to Be”, practicing using they/them pronouns and learning that it’s “not ok” to change someone’s pronouns on purpose.
The lesson was later canceled because district officials said several staff members received angry and threatening calls, emails and social media messages.
Author Maya Gonzalez wrote the book picked for the lesson and uses they/them pronouns. They said their book explains the topic of pronouns at a basic level and serves as a “foundation to start taking things apart.”
They were not aware of the local controversy until a customer sent them a link to the news coverage. Gonzalez said canceling the lesson was a missed opportunity and that the context of the book is something all children could benefit from.
“Much of bullying that happens in schools, but then it extends out into the world as well, right, is really rooted in gender, in how we police each other and what we expect,” they said. “I feel like really addressing this in a lot of ways is a mental health issue for not just, you know, trans kids or gender non-conforming kids, but for all kids and the kind of pressure that we’re constantly putting kids under to behave in this very particular way instead of letting them just be who they are, right, letting them naturally be.”
But some parents said the topic of pronouns touches on sexuality and should be left out of the classroom and not brought up to young children.
“If there are children having tough feelings, everyone sympathizes with that, but the solution is not and can not be for a public school telling other kids they have to lie about,” a person’s gender, Chelsea Brown said to the board.
While Brown lives in the community, her child does not go to the Dewitt Schools, she’s worried about the students’ comfort.
“I don’t know how exactly this pronoun lesson was going to be taught but it seems like they are telling kids that if someone says that they need to be called something else, you need to call them that whether or not you feel comfortable with that idea or not,” she said.
Other parents, community members and even teachers shared their support for the inclusion effort. The lesson plan even brought up the attention of St. John’s senior Lucas Kramer.
Kramer uses they/them pronouns and said they made the drive to make a point that non-binary students deserve the same respect as others.
“I’m going to Grand Valley in their honors program next year. Like there is no difference between me and any other kid so I don’t see why this is an issue at DeWitt,” Kramer said.
During a report to the board, Superintendent Shanna Spickard said efforts in diversity and inclusion will continue as planned in a previous board meetings.
“Unapologetically, we will continue to accept staff and students for who they are,” said Spickard ahead of a standing ovation from half of the auditorium.
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