Ed Schmidt
Sartell
Some Sartell Middle school parents were recently informed yet again that a questionnaire asking for their child’s gender pronouns was recently distributed to their children in a classroom without prior parental consent.
Both the SMS principal and Superintendent Michael Rivard issued an immediate statement addressing this. They reassured SMS parents by acknowledging the questionnaire was distributed in violation of district policy and that the educator who distributed it had received remedial instruction. I applaud Rivard and the SMS principal for that response.
The educator who distributed the questionnaire also asked the student to address her/him as “Mx” instead of “Ms.” I’m not sure what this accomplishes in a classroom where the focus should be on academics and the subject matter at hand. Why should an 11-year-old have to wade through parsing an instructor’s “non-confirming gender identity?” These kinds of issues are simply inappropriate, and do not belong in our schools.
This isn’t the first time children have been asked to stipulate their pronouns or asked to complete an inappropriate survey. Public schools statewide, including our own, have suffered from enrollment decline because of issues exactly like this, while homeschooling and private schooling have surged. The reasons are not mysterious. There is no reason to be asking middle school kids questions about their gender or sexual identity.
Another good reason to have some new eyes and minds on our school board. Vote Michael Ringstad, Michael Gruber and Aaron Alexander on Nov. 5.