The world has certainly changed in recent years. Some people consider it progress, but others feel that it is a giant step backward. This includes Pamela Richard, a Kansas teacher who stood up for what she believed in, despite the possibility she could be suspended for it. She was working at Geary County Schools in Kansas at the time, and was suspended for three days because she would not use a preferred pronoun for one of her students.

Richard describes the situation in simple terms, saying she was suspended “for addressing a biologically female student by the student’s legal and enrolled last name.” Prior to this, a school counselor had told her one of the students preferred to use a different first name than their legal name. They also wanted to be referred to as a different gender. This student was born as a female.