Newly hired fifth grade teacher at Canopy Oaks Elementary is asking students to use gender-neutral pronouns in the classroom.
Chloe Bressack, a math and science teacher sent a letter home to parents headlined “About Mx. Bressack.”
“… my pronouns are ‘they, them, their’ instead of ‘he, his, she, hers.’ I know it takes some practice for it to feel natural,” the letter reads, “but students catch on pretty quickly.”
The letter also asks that students use “Mx.,” (pronounced ‘Mix’) when addressing the teacher rather than Mr. or Ms.
The letter alarmed the parents.
A parents writes a post on a Facebook Page group “Tally Moms Stay Connected,” said her child’s teacher sent home a “Welcome to my class” note, which included the request.
The parent ended her original post with the question,“What would your reaction be as a parent of 9 & 10 year olds?”
According to Tallahassee, Canopy Oaks Principal Paul Lambert said he and the school are in full support of Bressack.
Letter Chloe Bressack sent to parents
“We support her preference in how she’s addressed, we certainly do,” Lambert said. “I think a lot of times it might be decided that there is an agenda there, because of her preference — I can tell you her only agenda is teaching math and science at the greatest level she can.”
Bressack declined an interview with the Democrat Wednesday, but commented in an email, “I feel very lucky to be teaching at Canopy Oaks, and I look forward to working with my students this year.”
Superintendent Rocky Hanna addressed the situation in a statement sent to the Democrat. He said he met with Canopy Oaks administrators after learning about the letter.
“According to Principal Lambert, the teacher addresses students daily by using the pronouns he, she, him and her. The teacher also uses ma’am and sir when responding to students. As a personal preference, however, the teacher simply prefers to be referred to in gender neutral terms as that of a coach,” Hanna wrote.
“I can assure you that teachers in our district will not be allowed to use their influence in the classroom to advance any personal belief or political agenda. At this time, I do not believe that is the case in this instance.”
Sources: Mad World News
Photo Credit: Facebook via Tallahassee
