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The New Guard

8th Grade Survey: ‘May I Use These Pronouns When I Contact Home?’

By

Julia Johnson

July 19, 2023

Middle school students at a California school were given a survey prompting them for their “pronouns,” and asking if they could be used when the teacher calls home.  

An anonymous tipster alerted Young America’s Foundation through the Campus Bias Tipline to the survey at Miraleste Intermediate School in Verdes, California, which asks the 12–13 year old students to choose between he, she, they, and other pronoun options. 

The questions include, “What pronouns do you use?” “May I use these in front of the class?” and the most concerning, “May I use these pronouns when I contact home?”  

Science teacher, Robyn Benjamin, sent out the survey in late August. The tipster’s child told their parent that they were made uncomfortable by the survey, as well as the class conversation that followed it.  

According to the tip, besides the survey, Benjamin spoke to the children about “multiple genders, other than male/female, including gender z.”  

When the concerned parent reached out to the school, she was told to take it up directly with the teacher. “We have been asked to make sure we make ALL kids comfortable in how we address them,” Principal Frank Califano said in an email.  

The parent also asked for clarification on school policy regarding students “socially transitioning” without notifying the parents, he did not address it.

Trista Ramirez, a student mental health and support coordinator for the district also responded to the parent by email, saying “Preferred pronouns are just one way of recognizing who our students are as individuals.”She added that “Preferred pronouns are becoming much more commonplace within the world that our students interact.”  

“… Teachers can create a safe space within that classroom for those who want to provide such information.”  

Young America’s Foundation reached out to both Principal Frank Califano and the teacher, Robyn Benjamin, by phone and email but they did not respond to requests for comment.  

By asking students to pick their pronouns, teachers are endorsing radical gender ideology that claims gender is a social construct relying on what you feel like rather than what you were born as.  

Excusing it as a measure to make students comfortable is just untrue. In fact, it made students uncomfortable, because, even at the age of 13, they knew that the content being forced on them was wrong. The school also tacitly signaled that they would conceal information regarding gender identity and transitioning from parents. Gender ideology is seeping into our schools at even the youngest levels, and if parents don’t stand up for their children, there will be consequences for decades to come.  

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