A Public School Transgender Agenda Alert: A Wake Up Call for Christians
Perhaps, you've heard of the Sacramento, California charter school Rocklin Academy where a kindergarten teacher read the transgender picture book I Am Jazz, and who, after reading it, presented a little boy to the class as now being a little girl. You can imagine how perplexing and unsettling this incident was to these little ones, as well as to their uninformed parents.
Recently, a board meeting at the school caused a huge confrontation between upset parents and a defensive teacher and school board. In the end, the board boldly asserted that topics dealing with "gay, lesbian and transgender issues" are open for discussion at Rocklin, and that parents may not always be notified before such discussions occur. The board also maintained that opting out of these discussions promotes a "discriminatory environment ... prohibited by law."
With this incident in mind here are some questions: What exactly is in this innocuous looking picture book I Am Jazz? Who are its authors? What organizations are supporting this book? How should Christian parents, and teachers respond? Will you be an upstander or a bystander? To answer these questions and more, here is a brief review of the book, the so-called "essential tool for parents and teachers."
I Am Jazz-- Co-Author Jessica Herthel
Jessica Herthel, its co-author, is a Broward County, Florida mom of three, and an all-out advocate of the transgender agenda. Herthel, having met Jazz's mom at a community function, soon formed a friendship with her and her little boy who became "a trans girl" renamed "Jazz." Herthel then went on to co-write the book, along with Jazz, telling what it is like to be a trans kid.
As a result of writing I Am Jazz Herthel has become a recognized LGBTQ advocate on many fronts. It began with her volunteering for the Florida Broward County Schools (sixth largest district in the USA) where soon she was designing inclusive lesson plans, and purchasing diverse books for elementary classrooms. Later, she became the primary content editor of "Broward County's LGBTQ Critical Support Guide" presented to all district administrators in 2014. After, Herthel worked as the Education Director at the Stonewall National Museum and Archives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, which is a nonprofit that shares the culture of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, and the role they play in society.
Beyond Florida Herthel travels nationwide spreading the trans kids agenda using I Am Jazz as a jumping off point. This message has taken her to such diverse places as: Mt. Horeb Public Library, Mt. Horeb, WI (The Mt. Horeb School System refused to allow her to read I Am Jazz in a public school setting so it was read in the public library.); Temple Bat Yahm, New Port Beach, CA (This is a welcoming Jewish congregation for all including the LGBT community.); and The Human Rights Campaign "Time to Thrive" Conference in Dallas, TX. (HRC partnered with the National Education Association and the American Counseling Association to reach out to LBGTQ Youth).
http://jessicaherthel.com/
It must be noted the Human Rights Campaign considers Jazz Jennings their foundation "Youth Ambassador." Coming this December 7, 2017 HRC is sponsoring an "I Am Jazz: School and Community Readings" all over the nation at many venues. Besides, HRC has a web site www.welcomingschools.org with lesson plans to aid in creating LBGTQ-inclusive schools. Its "Top 10 Books for a Welcoming School" includes I Am Jazz and an accompanying lesson. Readers, I would urge you, to click on this site to view this invasive school agenda--while it gives the appearance of being about safe schools and stopping bullying, much of the its materials are about other causes.
https://www.hrc.org/resources/i-am-jazz-a-guide-for-parents-educators-and-community-advocates
I Am Jazz--Its Transgender Agenda
I Am Jazz ( Ages 4-8) is "a picture book lure," based on the actual life experiences of Jazz Jennings
designed to be read to preschool through grade three introducing them to transgender ideas. Herthel begins by presenting Jazz as a "girl" whose favorite color is pink, and who likes girly things like drawing, dancing, and putting on make up. Most of all Jazz is mesmerized by "mermaids."
Now, Jazz's best friends are Casey and Samantha with whom Jazz plays dress up in high heels and princess gowns. They also do fun things like turning cart wheels, or jumping on trampolines. However, as a "sad-faced Jazz" says, "But, I'm not exactly like Samantha and Casey."
To explain, there's a page of kids' drawings showing a very unhappy Jazz. Below this, Herthel unleashes these troubling sentences: "I have a girl brain, but a boy body. This is called transgender. I was born this way."
Herthel records Jazz's transition saga as a two year old boy starting with Jazz's mom saying he was a good boy, and him correcting her as he retorted, "No Mama. Good GIRL!" Herthel also writes, "At first my family was confused. They'd always thought of me as a boy."
The next pages show Jazz's brothers and sister. His brothers comment that his dress up antics are "girls stuff;" while his sister comments that his girl thoughts, dreams, and ambitions made him "a funny kid."
Whenever, he went out, the text continues, his parents had him wear his "boy clothes" which made him mad! One then hears this startling thought, "Pretending I was a boy felt like telling a lie." Talk about confusion. Just imagine a child's puzzlement to this thought.
Then came "an amazing day" when all was changed for his parents took him to a doctor who asked many questions. There, says the text, he heard the word "transgender" for the first time.* Listeners, at this point, have heard the term "transgender twice," and are now told this revelation was part of "an amazing day."
* His parents heard the words: "Gender Dysphoria."
That night, relates Jazz, for the first time his parents told him to "Be who you are." This caused
him to smile and smile as he went to bed dressed in a girl's nightgown. Do what you want, and whatever makes you happy is the sense one gets here, making one think of Judges 17:6 that reads, "... every man did that which was right in his own eyes."
The book fast forwards to Jazz at school. Here, like Jazz's family, his friends and teachers were "confused." Upset with his teacher, Jazz found it hard to have to use the boy's bathroom, and be on the boy's teams. Jazz longs to be with Casey and Samantha. Finally, the teachers change their minds allowing Jazz to use the girl's rest room and to play sports with the girls.
At this point Jazz shares how mean some of the children are. "This," says Jazz, "makes me feel crummy." Here of course, the teacher would stop and talk about not bullying, or making fun of someone who is different. The listeners are made to take sides with Jazz for "being different like this is special!" To end, a beaming Jazz declares, "I am having fun. I am proud. I am Jazz."
https://www.amazon.com/I-Am-Jazz-Jessica-Herthel/dp/0803741073/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1508285502&sr=8-1&keywords=i+am+jazz+book
I Am Jazz--The Celebrity
What has been the result of reading, and sharing this innocent looking, but oh so influential picture book? Well, Jazz has been promoted as one super star--one courageous reality star (TLC TV)--one influential teen (Time Magazine)-- one true to myself person (I Am Jazz)--one amazing LGBTQ activist (Human Rights Campaign)--one honorary co-founder (TransKids Purple Rainbow Foundation)--a trans kid poster child. And I must add--one exploited young person!
How sad one feels for a child such as Jazz, whose parents, believing they were doing this in love,
allowed him to become a trans kid following the world's upside down transgender ideology guidelines, and how much more should the reading of this story make us mindful of the children suffering because of it, and make us want to do all we can to stop others from following in Jazz's footsteps. A wonderful verse to memorize and share with children is found in Psalm 139:14 which reads, "I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well."
I Am Jazz--The Consequences
This picture story was meant to tug at one's heart. Its story leads its readers to believe the lie that children can be born with gender confusion, and that if such behaviors are sanctioned by a doctor, as in Jazz's case, even young children can identify as a trans kid . But, this book is but part of the story. For as a transgender child gets ready for puberty harmful hormones must be taken, after which comes invasive surgery. To understand these procedures please read quotes from the article referenced below.
Dr. Michelle Cretella, President of the Amercian College of Pediatricians, in the July 3, 2017 Daily Signal article: "I'm a Pediatrician. How Transgender Ideology Has Infiltrated My Field and Produced Large Scale Child Abuse" lays out some facts. Cretella begins by commenting that transgender ideology not only has infected our laws ( e.g. bathroom) but "has intruded into the lives of the most innocent among us--our children."
Cretella says, there's a "New Normal" where doctors in gender clinics are "affirming children who are distressed by their biological sex." This condition, Cretella writes, once dubbed gender identity disorder, was renamed "gender dysphoria" in 2013. Now these doctors, as did Jazz's doctor, "tell parents to treat their children as the gender they desire, and to place them on puberty blockers around 11 or 12 if they are gender dysphoric." And if by16, they insist they're trapped in the wrong body, cross-sex hormones are then given. After, teens as young as sixteen may have "bottom surgeries" or "sex reassignment surgeries."*
*As of a recent piece that I read, Jazz is now at this frightening point.
In her article Cretella lists eight basic facts about transgenderism including: twin studies that show no one is born "trapped in the body of the wrong sex;" puberty blockers have not proven safe; cross-sex hormones are associated with dangerous health risks; neuroscience shows youth lack adult ability for risk assessment; and transition-affirming procedures haven't solved transgender suicide. She sums up her article by asserting the transition-affirming movement, said to help children, is inflicting a grave injustice on them.
Cretella wrote, "These professionals are using the myth that people are born transgender to justify engaging in massive, uncontrolled, and unconsented experimentation on children who have a psychological condition that would otherwise resolve after puberty in the vast majority of cases."
Cretella finishes with these sobering words: "These harms constitute nothing less than institutional child abuse. Sound ethics demand an immediate end to the use of pubertal suppression, cross-sex hormones, and sex reassignment surgeries in children and adolescents, as well as an end to promoting gender ideology via school curricula and legislative policies. It is time for our nation's leaders and the silent majority of health professionals* to learn exactly what is happening to our children, and unite to take action."
http://dailysignal.com/2017/07/03/im-pediatrician-transgender-ideology-infiltrated-field-produced-large-scale-child-abuse/
* How about the silent majority of Christians? What are we doing?
I Am Jazz- Parent's Response
In the case of the Rocklin reading of I Am Jazz, parents banded together to confront the board. When the board declared they would not necessarily notify parents prior to using such materials, nor could parents legally opt out of these presentations, many parents pulled out their students from Rocklin. Parents must work toward having the right to opt out their students should gender related materials be presented, just as they now can opt out when sexual materials are used.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/sep/19/school-defends-transgender-lessons-kindergartners/
Fearing harsh reaction to their stories, two Rocklin parents anonymously went to Fox News's Martha MacCallum to tell of their children's reactions to the academy incident. The first parent told how her daughter, after being present at that kindergarten reading, while bathing caught a reflection of herself with her hair slicked back, and tearfully cried she had changed into a boy. The other parent told how her daughter, now a first grader, on the play ground greeted the "trans girl" that had been presented in the kindergarten that June day, by his male name and was promptly reprimanded by the principal for "misgendering his new name."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DPTqzb8dLE
In sum, Christian parents must be active at their schools, be informed of transgender issues, be able to talk with your own children, be into the Word so as to be able to stand for truth, and be into prayer for your children, family, and schools.
I Am Jazz--Teacher's Response
Christian teachers too must prepare themselves for the time that they will be required to read such a book as I Am Jazz. Do your research now. Prayerfully prepare for a coming day when one must either comply with the godless demands of the public schools or leave one's job. As Daniel of old, in whom was found "an excellent spirit," one must stand up, and as the old song "Dare to Be a Daniel" challenged: "Dare to be a Daniel, Dare to stand alone!, Dare to have a purpose firm! and Dare to make it known!"
In today's world "a conservative upstander" will be bullied. Bullied by whom? --by the school systems, and by pressure group organizations such as the Human Rights Campaign. How is this done? --by taking away your rights to stand up for your beliefs, and by labeling you with all kinds of names. And as some do "shouting you down!" One such eminent doctor, Dr. Paul McHugh, now
85, has been maligned and mocked and called a "transphobe." Why is this? Of "transgender" children Dr. McHugh dared to write such things as this: "Misguided doctors at medical centers ... have begun to treat this behavior by administrating puberty-delaying hormones to rend later sex surgeries less onerous--even though the drugs stunt the children's grown and risk causing sterility." Read the whole article here:
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/lgbt-activists-slam-the-most-important-psychiatrist-of-the-last-half-centur
I Am Jazz--Your Responsibility--Be An Upstander, Not A Bystander!
Whether or not you have children or grandchildren in the public school, you as a Christian must stand firm in your convictions. Whether or not the transgender agenda has yet to come to your school or your school system, you as a Christian must not be a bystander! Get busy, become familiar with the transgender movement, and be an upstander*--that is one who is not afraid to stand up for a cause--the cause of little children of whom our Lord Jesus said in Matthew 18:6: "For whosoever shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depths of the sea."
* Upstander: (Wordnik) A person who stands up for something, as contrasted to a bystander who remains inactive. (Urban Dictionary) A person who stands up for his or her beliefs.
As someone said, "Why aren't pastors speaking out on these issues? Why? Because so many are asleep. Because so many are bystanders. Some have called Jessica Herthel, the co-author of I Am Jazz and champion of LGBTQ causes, an upstander or one who is unafraid to go it alone to stand for a cause--the cause of transgenderism. Christian, are you an upstander for the Lord Jesus Christ?
So today determine you'll be ready with answers no matter what you are told to do. Wake up! The transgender agenda is already being practiced in some schools, and is soon coming to schools nation wide. Set aside your apathy, and stand up for truth. Remember Paul's admonition in Ephesians 6:10, 11: "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil."
Learn to Discern Granny Verse: Isaiah 5:20
"Woe unto them that call evil good and good evil; that put darkness for light and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter."
For More Information:
Excellent Recent Panel: "Doctors Describe Dangers of Puberty Blockers Used on Children That
LGBT Activists Don't Tell" at the Heritage Foundation (October 11, 2017) Note: Dr. Cretella mentions Rocklin's transgender incident on the panel's You Tube video.
http://www.christianpost.com/news/doctors-describe-dangers-puberty-blockers-used-children-lgbt-activists-dont-tell-202572/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOniPhuyXeY Note reference to Rocklin Academy 15:32-17:15.
Related Article: "The Gender Bender War on Children Rebutted by Science" posted by Marsha West from Berean Research (August 10, 2016)
https://bereanresearch.org/gender-bender-war-children-rebutted-science/
Berean Call Article: "TBC Today"--"Opposing the Transgender Craze: How to Become a Scientific Heretic" from "ChristianHeadlines Online." (June 6, 2017) Article names Dr. Paul McHugh.
https://www.thebereancall.org/print/46599
