School cancels lesson to teach about 'ze' and 'tree' pronouns

• Schavey Road Elementary School in DeWitt, Michigan, planned pronoun lesson
• But staff were targeted by a huge harassment campaign and scared to teach

An elementary school has canceled an optional lesson teaching students about gender-neutral pronouns after an avalanche of threats.

Schavey Road Elementary School in DeWitt, a town outside Lansing, Michigan, planned the mini-lesson for first-graders in the new few weeks.

The class would have taught children about they/them pronouns, why they should use the ones a classmate preferred, and what to do if they made a mistake.

The session also included reading a book that said children could use whatever pronoun they wanted, or even make up their own like ‘ze’ or ‘tree.’

DeWitt Public Schools superintendent Shanna Spickard announced the lesson was canceled as teachers felt too unsafe to come to work

However, teachers and staff at the school were harassed and their personal details posted online after far-right social media pages caught wind of it.

DeWitt Public Schools superintendent Shanna Spickard announced the lesson was canceled as teachers felt too unsafe to come to work.

‘Several of our hard-working school staff members have received inappropriate, angry, and threatening phone calls, emails, and social media messages,’ she said.

‘Some staff members have had their personal information, including information regarding their families and children, placed online to harass and intimidate them.

‘While the vast majority of these inappropriate communications have originated outside of our community, several staff members have expressed feeling anxious, stressed, and even afraid to go to school.’

Spickard said the district reported the harassment to law enforcement and boosted security and police presence at Schavey Road Elementary.

She said the lesson was called off due to ‘legitimate safety concerns’ expressed by staff and the furor became a ‘major disruption’.

‘We realize this decision will please some and disappoint others in our school community, and I can assure you we did not reach this decision lightly,’ she said.

An April 11 letter sent to parents explaining the session included an exemption form they could sign if they wanted their child excused from the class

The class included reading the children’s book They, She, He, Me: Free to Be! by Matthew Sg and Maya Christina Gonzalez

Spickard earlier tried to quell concerns, stressing that the session was optional, not part of the curriculum, and prompted by ‘concerns brought to our attention’.

‘The purpose is to promote greater understanding, compassion, and kindness regarding gender identity and the use of pronouns,’ she said.

‘The mini-lesson is not designed to challenge, persuade, or alter family beliefs. Instead, it aims to promote a safe and respectful learning environment where all our students feel valued.

‘Parents and guardians were informed in advance and given the opportunity to opt out.’

The April 11 letter sent to parents included an exemption form they could sign if they wanted their child excused from the class.

Students in the session would ‘practice using pronouns they/them and what to do if we make a mistake with pronouns’, it explained.

They would also ‘learn that it is not OK to change someone’s pronouns on purpose and to always try to use the pronouns that people want to be called’.

The class included reading the children’s book They, She, He, Me: Free to Be! by Matthew Sg and Maya Christina Gonzalez, and discussing its themes.

Schavey Road Elementary School in DeWitt, a town outside Lansing, Michigan , planned the mini-lesson for first-graders in the new few weeks

Publisher Reflection Press described the book as ‘a playful narrative about pronouns for kids’ that ‘shows many gender presentations under each pronoun and invites even more’.

‘You can use your own name as a pronoun. You can change pronouns from he to she or she to he,’ part of the book reads.

‘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.’

Some parents complained about the class to local media and Michigan State Representative Steve Carra joked he should teach the class.

”Little Jack, you’re a boy even if you pretend to be a girl. Other people shouldn’t be forced to pretend along with you. Your pronouns are he/him.’ Great, now back to reading, writing, and arithmetic,’ he wrote.

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