Lighthouse Trails Research Journal
7
A PUBLIC SCHOOL TRANSGENDER AGENDA ALERT: A WAKE UP CALL FOR CHRISTIANS
BY LOIS PUTNAM
erhaps, you’ve heard of the Sacramen-
to, 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 innocu-
ous looking picture book I Am Jazz ? Who
are its authors? What organizations are sup-
porting this book? How should Christian
parents and teachers respond? Will you be
an upstander or a bystander? To help answer
these questions and more, here is a brief
review of the book, the so-called “essential
tool for parents and teachers.”
P
I AM JAZZ CO-AUTHOR—JESSICA HERTHEL
Jessica Herthel, the book’s 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.” Her-
thel 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 volunteer-
ing for the Florida Broward County Schools
(sixth largest district in the USA) where soon
Volume 5—No. 6
she was designing inclusive lesson plans, and
purchasing diverse books for elementary
classrooms. Later, she became the primary
content editor of “Broward County’s LG-
BTQ Critical Support Guide” presented to
all district administrators in 2014. After,
Herthel worked as the Education Director
at the Stonewall National Museum and Ar-
chives 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 nation-
wide spreading the trans kids agenda using I
Am Jazz as a jumping off point. This mes-
sage 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). 1
It must be noted the Human Rights
Campaign considers Jazz Jennings their
foundation “Youth Ambassador.” Coming
this December 7, 2017, HRC is sponsor-
ing an “I Am Jazz: School and Commu-
nity 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 check
out this site to view this invasive school
agenda—while it gives the appearance of
being about safe schools and stopping bully-
ing, 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 pre-
school through grade three introducing them
to transgender ideas. Herthel begins by pre-
senting 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 correct-
ing 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 con-
tinues, 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 “transgen-
der” for the first time. Listeners at this point
have heard the term “transgender twice,” and
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November/December 2017