Pronouns in elementary school confusing for kids
By Lethbridge Herald on June 4, 2025.
Editor,
This is not meant to be hateful or to spark debate. I want to be clear: while gender ideology is a hot topic in Lethbridge right now, recognize that I am talking about children in elementary schools.
I have children coming up on school age and upon registering them for kindergarten in the Lethbridge public school district, I found some surprises I thought others might want to know about. I also have suggestions to act if you too don’t agree with the information I am relaying.
The new education legislation coming into effect September of 2025 stipulates that schools must ask parents for permission (opt-in) whenever “explicitly” or “primarily” discussing gender ideology or sexuality.
Nicholas Sheran elementary school, and others in the district, have gendered pronouns after teacher names on the doors to classrooms and on desk placards, i.e. Mrs. Smith (she/her). I was told by the front desk staff my child, at five years old, would learn teachers’ preferred pronouns out of respect for some they/them teachers in the school. The principal said it doesn’t matter if they/them pronouns are confusing for children and he would not support a parent should a conflict arise regarding gender ideology teaching.
All public elementary schools in the district celebrate gay/trans pride month with flags displayed on the walls.
I have been told repeatedly by educators from various schools that the new legislation will not change anything because of the legislations’ guardrails terms of “explicitly” and “primarily”; evidently, they believe these terms are open to interpretation.
One teacher told me he uses a movie featuring nonbinary children to teach tolerance in his Grade 3 class. He said: “yes, parents get upset but this is the only way forward for our society.” Gay/trans pride and pronouns are not a part of the curriculum, nor should they be at elementary level.
Later, the superintendent of the district assured me that all subject matter even mentioning gender ideology or sexuality requires an opt-in from parents, but this is not what I was told at the ground level; this requirement is not being implemented.
The superintendent then said he sees no issue with gendered pronouns being used, taught, and displayed; this isn’t seen as opening a discussion to gender ideology. He has no issue with gay/trans pride flags on the walls of an elementary school; these flags have no link to sexuality.
My suggestions for action:
– email the public school district board members and vote in the upcoming school trustee election in October of 2025. Information about the election can be found on the district’s website and anyone can vote.
– email your MLA and the minister of education
– change your property tax allocation from the public school district to the Catholic. I know Catholicism comes with hurdles for many, but we must choose which kind of indoctrination of a child’s brain we are willing to support with our hard-earned money. Just go to the City of Lethbridge website and print off the “school support declaration form.”
Anna Corne
Lethbridge
17-16
Wow. Glad this ‘wasn’t meant to be hateful.’
ya know, it took us soooo long to move on from the thou, thee stuff, it seems a step back to move from he/she to them/they. cannot we all agree to just two sexes, he and she, and fight for a trump 3rd term?
While I understand you’re speaking from personal concern, the views you’ve expressed are misinformed and harmful. Schools recognizing pronouns and celebrating diversity isn’t “ideological”—it’s about inclusion and respect for all families. I want my children to grow up in a public system that teaches kindness, empathy, and the reality of the world they live in.
bravo!
I was deeply disappointed to read the hurtful comments published and am genuinely puzzled by the Herald’s decision to promote them during Pride Month — a time meant to celebrate inclusion and diversity. It’s a strange and troubling choice.
As a parent with children in the public school system, I’m grateful they are growing up in an environment that reflects the diversity of the city we live in. Could my child encounter someone who uses they/them pronouns in our community? Absolutely. Would I hope they show the respect and courtesy to address that person in the way they identify? Of course. Is this truly confusing for children? I don’t believe so — and suggesting otherwise says more about the limitations we impose on children than about their actual capacity to understand and show kindness.
This letter seems rooted in fear — a tactic increasingly used by far-right voices to sow division. I’m not concerned that inclusive language or gender identity will negatively impact my children. What is harmful are the attitudes expressed in the letter you chose to publish.
The Lethbridge I know is an inclusive, welcoming place. I hope readers will approach this kind of rhetoric with critical thinking and compassion.
i suspect the learning how to use they/them will be an easier task than the has been the likes of there/their/they’re, and its/it’s.
meanwhile, kind of a scary outlook the writer professes, where one views education as a choice around “…which kind of indoctrination (italics mine) of a child’s brain we are willing to support with our hard-earned money.”
mind you, the issue around so many things in societies comes down to indoctrination, which boils down to the idea that preference, taste and outlook must be ultimately owned by the state. we have and have had laws that contravene rights in the name of dictating taste and preference. recall laws criminalising, for example, homosexuality, the right to choose, and cannabis use (drug use and drugs, like liquor, must be controlled for safety, but not banned and outlawed). such laws are rooted in prejudice and bias, they undermine rights rather than protect rights. moreover, such laws actually cause harm.
ditto trying to marginalise people because of the likes of pronoun use. in fact, has one truly got to the root of why they are so vocal and at odds with pronoun use?
What this letter writer appears to not appreciate, among several other matters, is the posting of preferred pronouns is consistent with Alberta Education’s Character Education initiative. That initiative aims to foster acceptance of difference and diversity, as well as cultivate character traits such as empathy, honesty, respect and accountability.
Perhaps the letter writer does not know that Alberta’s Character Education initiative was introduced in the early 2000s, following the school shootings in Columbine and Taber? Bullying of kids who were seen as “unacceptably different” was identified as a factor in both incidents.
And she may be ignorant of the fact that hate crimes committed against members of the LBGTQ+ community are on the rise in Canada.
According to Statistics Canada, hate crimes against sexual minorities increased by 69% in 2024 over 2023. That’s unacceptable.
We owe it to all young people to keep them safe and to provide them with the tools to navigate an increasingly diverse world. Teachers posting their preferred pronouns supports these objectives, so if any child is “confused,” parents need to partner with teachers to address that confusion.