Hirstius comments bring secrets from schools to light

Don’t ever forget that one person can still make a difference.
We have seen that proven many times while watching St. Tammany government, as well as other aspects of our community, where one person has made a huge difference—all because they were willing to step up and speak out.
Last week we saw again that one person can truly make a difference.
It was at the St. Tammany School Board meeting when new Board Member Michelle Hirstius was part of the discussion with public school curriculum specialists, in the annual effort to get the School Board to approve curriculum for the new school year.
Hirstius spent hours reviewing some of the books she thought might have questionable material—something that is not uncommon in public school textbooks—before she found herself spending five hours reading the AP Psychology course book.
“AP” courses in high school are those which provide college credits for students before they head off to higher education.
When Hirstius began reviewing a number of different AP Psychology books she was astounded to read a chapter about transgenderism. The shock was because there was so little information to tell the entire story of what can happen to those individuals who take the drastic and life-changing step to change their sex.
At the meeting Hirstius started her comments on the book by noting, “I am not going to make friends,” since she has already become known for being outspoken at board meetings since being elected in 2022. But the information Hirstius made public to all of St. Tammany was certainly something the majority of our conservative parish residents would want to know.
The chapter that all AP Psychology books have contains what Hirstius described as a one-sided story about transgenderism. Many in our society still see it as something promoted in recent years by those who have the mistaken belief that boys and girls could have somehow been born in the wrong bodies, that is, as the wrong sex. But the book discusses the topic as if it is proven fact, even though it would be easy to believe a majority of people in this country do not think boys and girls can be born into the wrong bodies.
That national campaign gathered momentum in recent years, especially with huge support from the Biden administration the last four years. It has led to thousands of young boys and girls having life-changing surgery, something that has far-reaching potential dangers. One of the most extensive long-term studies ever on those who change sex, covering 42 years by a Denmark medical team, showed that suicide rates are eight times more likely for those changing sex. Other studies have said suicide rates can be 12 times as high.
That fact was just one Hirstius brought up at the meeting, since little of that information is in the textbooks our teens are reading. Hirstius wanted to drop the entire course at first, but after having push back from curriculum specialists and some board members, agreed to a companion guide that would be written locally through a committee which will include Hirstius. The guide will include much more information to tell the complete story of what potential dangers there are.Hirstius is a new board member, and it might be easy to be intimidated by publicly going against the crowd, especially since the public school system has its share of liberal ideology that many conservatives don’t agree with.
But she was determined to stand up and speak on the matter, all for the sake of our children. We will never know what lives she likely saved with her willingness to take a stand—something we could always use more of from us all.