Florida approves 'PragerU Kids' curriculum for use in public schools; PragerU Kids “aligns to Florida’s revised civics and government standards”

[essentialsaltes]

PragerU Says Florida Teachers Approved to Use Its Class ‘Curriculum’​

A PragerU spokesperson told The Daily Beast it will be “up to teachers” to decide whether they use its “supplemental curriculum” in their classroom. The non-profit says Florida is the first state to approve the content, but they’re pushing for other states to join by the fall.
The Florida Department of Education told The Daily Beast in an email that it determined PragerU Kids’ material “aligns to Florida’s revised civics and government standards” and can be used by school districts at their discretion.

[Needless to say, PragerU is not an academic institution.]

 

[Fantine]

Parents need to be more vigilant about what their children are learning in school and complain loudly to their school boards if history is being whitewashed and distorted. They also need to beware of the "Moms for Liberty," designated as a hate group by the SPLC, which is attempting to place their members on local school and library boards with orders to ban books and discourage curricula featuring "real" history and "real" science.

 

[essentialsaltes]

I'm glad somebody has watched the videos, because that somebody wasn't going to be me. [OK, I did watch part of the one for girls about how to be feminine, and had an aneurysm when it came to developing make-up skills.]

The lessons Florida public school students will learn from PragerU Kids​

A cartoon Booker T. Washington distorting the history of the Civil War. A narrator explaining that embracing climate denialism is akin to participating in the Warsaw Uprising. An instructional video telling girls that conforming to gender stereotypes is a great way to embrace their femininity. A dramatization of the supposedly civilizing, benevolent era of British colonial rule in India.

“America was one of the first places on earth to outlaw slavery,” Washington says [falsely]

 

[HoneyBee]

I've seen some of the PragerU Kids videos and it makes me uncomfortable that a state would allow non-academic materials like this to be injected into the curriculum. It would be one thing if qualified professionals created factually correct cartoons, but this isn't it. This is clearly slanted propaganda, whether you agree with the stances taken or not. They come across more as opinion pieces to me rather than just sharing facts.

 

[variant]

I've seen some of the PragerU Kids videos and it makes me uncomfortable that a state would allow non-academic materials like this to be injected into the curriculum. It would be one thing if qualified professionals created factually correct cartoons, but this isn't it. This is clearly slanted propaganda, whether you agree with the stances taken or not. They come across more as opinion pieces to me rather than just sharing facts.

It's propaganda.

Florida is injecting "conservative" propaganda for kids into the school system.

After years of proclaiming that it was what liberals were doing to schools.

 

[comana]

I'm glad somebody has watched the videos, because that somebody wasn't going to be me. [OK, I did watch part of the one for girls about how to be feminine, and had an aneurysm when it came to developing make-up skills.]

I made it through the entire video about femininity. I feel so gross now. A lot of emphasis on smiling, graciousness, and bringing joy to others. Females have a full emotional spectrum like males. Please stop telling women to smile and holding them responsible for bringing everyone else’s mood up.

 

[essentialsaltes]

Please stop telling women to smile

Augggh! Now you reminded me. Paraphrasing: "One of God's greatest gifts to women is her smile."

 

[comana]

Augggh! Now you reminded me. Paraphrasing: "One of God's greatest gifts to women is her smile."

more specifically it was “A woman’s smile is the most beautiful thing God has created “. No pressure for women with that statement.

I have seen some of the Prager U videos geared for adults, but these ones targeted at youth are truly disturbing. Really hope schools decline to use them.

 

[FireDragon76]

"Future generations are never responsible for the sins of the past", one video says.

Since when is it OK to teach religion in school? I happen to belong to a religious tradition that takes original sin seriously, and wouldn't agree with that statement, at least in those terms. Sin is a curse, and the Christ-like thing to do is take responsibility for sin. That is a Christian response to sin. Not to make apologetics for institutional evils.

 

[FireDragon76]

I made it through the entire video about femininity. I feel so gross now. A lot of emphasis on smiling, graciousness, and bringing joy to others. Females have a full emotional spectrum like males. Please stop telling women to smile and holding them responsible for bringing everyone else’s mood up.

They believe its normal to hold up bubble-head blonds as the ideal of femininity, despite how the rest of us find that disgustingly unappealing and degrading.

They aren't even trying to get past the idea that they aren't just a cult of nostalgia for 1950's America. They are very much out of touch, and I hope younger people wise up and get out and vote. Otherwise, their kids will be forced to become Stepford wives in Gilead.

 

[FireDragon76]

They believe its normal to hold up bubble-head blonds as the ideal of femininity, despite how the rest of us find that disgustingly unappealing and degrading.

I don't think I can emphasize that point enough. Every female conservative influencer or cheerleader I have encountered has this kind of persona. It's just a question of what kind of spin you put on it. They want a world where women speak up, sure... but they only repeat the talking points of what is ultimately patriarchy and rigidly stereotyped gender roles. Free thought is especially squelched in conservative women, who are expected to be the moral guardians of beknighted private family life, rigidly upholding its moral code. It's not surprising some of the most vociferous conservative culture warriors are women, as a result (usually on some screed about how X group is a threat to children. This rhetoric is always more credible when it comes from a woman, with these types).

 

[The IbanezerScrooge]

Florida OKs school materials aimed at making students conservatives

Gov. Ron DeSantis repeatedly says he opposes indoctrination in schools. Yet his administration in early July approved materials from a conservative group that says it’s all about indoctrination and…

www.orlandosentinel.com

“We are in the mind-changing business and few groups can say that,” Prager says in a promotional video for PragerU. He reiterated this sentiment this summer at a conference for the conservative group Moms for Liberty in Philadelphia, saying it is “fair” to say PragerU indoctrinates children.​

​

“It’s true we bring doctrines to children,” Prager told the group. “But what is the bad about our indoctrination?”​

​

Indoctrination is fine as long as it's the "right" indoctrination.

 

[Pommer]

Indoctrination is fine as long as it's the "right" indoctrination.

Yes, this was always the case.

 

[wing2000]

PragerU Says Florida Teachers Approved to Use Its Class ‘Curriculum’​

A PragerU spokesperson told The Daily Beast it will be “up to teachers” to decide whether they use its “supplemental curriculum” in their classroom. The non-profit says Florida is the first state to approve the content, but they’re pushing for other states to join by the fall.
The Florida Department of Education told The Daily Beast in an email that it determined PragerU Kids’ material “aligns to Florida’s revised civics and government standards” and can be used by school districts at their discretion.

[Needless to say, PragerU is not an academic institution.]

And DeSantis was the one going on about indoctrination....

 

[keith99]

Florida OKs school materials aimed at making students conservatives

Gov. Ron DeSantis repeatedly says he opposes indoctrination in schools. Yet his administration in early July approved materials from a conservative group that says it’s all about indoctrination and…

www.orlandosentinel.com

“We are in the mind-changing business and few groups can say that,” Prager says in a promotional video for PragerU. He reiterated this sentiment this summer at a conference for the conservative group Moms for Liberty in Philadelphia, saying it is “fair” to say PragerU indoctrinates children.​

​

“It’s true we bring doctrines to children,” Prager told the group. “But what is the bad about our indoctrination?”​

​

Indoctrination is fine as long as it's the "right" indoctrination.

I would guess that their "right" indoctrination at the least implies that being good at Math, Chemistry and Physics is not feminine. And probably that cooking is not masculine. I can forgive the later, but the former insults my mother and I would not be inclined to take that well. And I would take it very badly if the state encouraged any of the women in my family to act dumb to be feminine. Come to think of it even the most red necked guy who married into the family would not take that well, perhaps even worse than I would.

 

[essentialsaltes]

They also need to beware of the "Moms for Liberty," designated as a hate group by the SPLC, which is attempting to place their members on local school and library boards with orders to ban books and discourage curricula featuring "real" history and "real" science.

Speaking of Moms for Liberty and Florida...

DeSantis names Moms for Liberty co-founder to Florida ethics panel​

The move highlights how the governor has elevated the group.

Descovich’s appointment underscores how Moms for Liberty has risen to prominence in Florida under the DeSantis administration, which has emphasized rooting out any perception of liberal “indoctrination” in the state’s public schools through legislation and the Department of Education. Last year, DeSantis, a Republican presidential candidate, appointed Esther Byrd, a Moms for Liberty member in Duval County and the wife of Republican Secretary of State Cord Byrd, to the state Board of Education. The governor also appointed another Moms for Liberty co-founder, Sarasota County school board member Bridget Ziegler, to the board overseeing Walt Disney Co.’s special district in central Florida.

A previous DeSantis appointee to the ethics board, Glen Gilzean, resigned last month following a legal opinion that determined he was violating state law by holding a separate position as the administrator overseeing Disney World’s district in central Florida.

 

[essentialsaltes]

AZ Superintendent pushes for PragerU in schools, draws criticism from some​

On Wednesday, Horne announced a partnership with PragerU, promising to put its videos and informational content on the state’s education website, as well as urging schools to adopt it as a part of their curriculum.

The organization is not an accredited higher education institution and is a self-described “free alternative to the dominant left-wing ideology in culture, media, and education.”

“PragerU does not belong in Arizona schools,” Representative Raúl M. Grijalva, D-07, said in part. “It’s masquerading as a serious educational resource when in reality it’s unaccredited right-wing propaganda.

Arizona Education Association President Marisol Garcia was disappointed to learn about the partnership.

“I’ve not heard from one teacher who wants this in their classroom and I taught civics and American history for 15 years,” Garcia said.

 

[keith99]

AZ Superintendent pushes for PragerU in schools, draws criticism from some​

On Wednesday, Horne announced a partnership with PragerU, promising to put its videos and informational content on the state’s education website, as well as urging schools to adopt it as a part of their curriculum.

The organization is not an accredited higher education institution and is a self-described “free alternative to the dominant left-wing ideology in culture, media, and education.”

“PragerU does not belong in Arizona schools,” Representative Raúl M. Grijalva, D-07, said in part. “It’s masquerading as a serious educational resource when in reality it’s unaccredited right-wing propaganda.

Arizona Education Association President Marisol Garcia was disappointed to learn about the partnership.

“I’ve not heard from one teacher who wants this in their classroom and I taught civics and American history for 15 years,” Garcia said.

I've only seen a couple of their videos. They did seem harmless for a while and I could see the appeal for those susceptible to their position. The only way I can see them as having a legitimate place in a classroom would be as the basis of a case study in deconstructing propaganda. For that the ones I saw hit the sweet spot of having some appeal and being polished enough that it could work if one does not view it critically, but not so polished that a student could not see through it if some things were pointed out and some questions were asked.

 

[essentialsaltes]

Red states strike deals to show controversial conservative videos in schools​

Educational material from PragerU is now offered to public schools in six states. Opponents call it indoctrination and inaccurate.

PragerU is not a university but a nonprofit that produces short videos that push patriotism and conservative views of history, race, sex and gender, among other topics. Since last year, Florida, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Montana and Arizona [and now Louisiana] have also announced partnerships with PragerU under which the nonprofit’s lessons become state-sanctioned, optional teaching materials for public schools.

PragerU, founded in 2009 by conservative talk show host Dennis Prager and screenwriter Allen Estrin, began by producing videos aimed at college students and expanded its offerings in 2021 to reach younger students. Its website says its goal is to counter “the dominant left-wing ideology in culture, media, and education” by promoting “American values.” Two of the most-watched videos on the “PragerU Kids” YouTube channel are a lesson on “Student Loans 101” and a cartoon-style retelling of the biblical story of David and Goliath that instructs children, “when God is on your side, you have nothing to fear.”

Some of PragerU’s videos have drawn criticism for factual inaccuracies, especially for a fictionalized animated clip that portrays famed abolitionist Frederick Douglass defending the nation’s Founding Fathers’ support of slavery.

[Past million dollar+ donors to PragerU] included the conservative Bradley Foundation, the National Christian Foundation and Texas fracking billionaires Farris and Dan Wilks, according to the Guardianand SourceWatch.org.

 

[BCP1928]

They believe its normal to hold up bubble-head blonds as the ideal of femininity, despite how the rest of us find that disgustingly unappealing and degrading.

They aren't even trying to get past the idea that they aren't just a cult of nostalgia for 1950's America. They are very much out of touch, and I hope younger people wise up and get out and vote. Otherwise, their kids will be forced to become Stepford wives in Gilead.

But at least you have gained some insight into the real reasons for objecting to "trans" and other forms of gender nonconformity.