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

keith99 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.

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Fantine said:

It's perplexing. While their "elders" and conservative activist groups are trying to get dangerous books (classics like "Huckleberry Finn" and contemporary books, often by black authors) banned, they are marketing the most absolute claptrap.

I was very glad to see that my Arkansas does not carry this non-factual propaganda:

Mike Huckabee's The Kids Guide | Educational Books for Kids

thekidsguide.com

I was hoping the library might carry "The Kids' Guide to President Trump," because the former Governor Huckabee, when he governed Arkansas, was reasonably moderate, 20x better than his daughter, and I am curious to see how far down the rabbit hole he's fallen.
I

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Pommer said:

PragerU should be able to peddle their wares in any school district that’ll have them.

People should vote out any school board which allows PragerU to peddle their wares in that district.

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essentialsaltes said:

PragerU: ‘Masquerading as a university’: inside the brazen rightwing plan to conquer American schools​

The year before the [billionare early PragerU donor brothers] Wilks meeting, in 2012, it had raised just $491,000 in donations and grants; by 2018, its annual revenue climbed to $18.6m. By 2024, it would rise to almost $70m, more than prominent non-profits such as the Parkinson’s Foundation, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Evidence Action. (PragerU says it has more than 400,000 lifetime donors.)

That money has brought Prager’s master plan to life. Despite its name, it is not in fact a university, but rather a prolific content generator that has often been accused of spreading misleading information. PragerU’s goal is to attract young people to its ideology, and it is increasingly making inroads in America’s educational systems.

Teachers tap PragerU’s library of free lesson plans and videos, some of which have become approved classroom materials in a dozen states, including Texas, Florida and Arizona. Middle and high schoolers flip through its books about the perils of socialism and “the human cost of reducing emissions”. College students at Southeastern University in Florida can earn credit by taking a PragerU history course.

And though the non-profit originally focused on reaching students and the general public, it has expanded its target audience to small children with cartoons and picture books, such as The ABC’s of America, which it says is designed “for babies and toddlers”.

“I think the problem comes when people don’t understand the nakedly political objectives of PragerU,” said Clifford Lee, a teacher who sits on the board of the South Carolina Education Association. (PragerU materials are sanctioned for use in classrooms across the state.) “It commits the ultimate educational sin of having an outcome that it wants to present and then trying to substantiate that perspective … rather than look at the evidence, think about the evidence and then come to a conclusion.”

Indeed, PragerU’s approach does not always seem rooted in academic inquiry.

In another video about Islam, a PragerU host argues that “the word ‘moderate’ as we understand it does not really apply” to most Muslims. In a colorful font, the video declares that “the values of the West and the values of Islam are not compatible”.

Thanks to its deep reserves, PragerU can afford to give away its digital materials for free, unlike most curriculum providers. Last year, PragerU’s videos were viewed more than 2bn times, said Streit, and nearly 4 million parents and educators have expressed interest in its materials for children, such as by signing up for kids’ newsletters. (The Guardian could not independently verify these figures.) With newfound momentum, it is arguably angling to become a conservative replacement for PBS, Time for Kids and Sesame Street simultaneously, helping shape young minds from infancy.

According to [current PragerU head] Streit, after graduating, she worked as an assistant principal at a parochial school in Los Angeles, then rose to become head of another nearby school for approximately four years. In between, she said, she taught kindergarten through eighth grade.

The Guardian sought to speak with some of Streit’s former students to understand her pedagogical instincts, but her credentials couldn’t be confirmed. Streit declined to name the schools she worked at

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Lengel, a self-described conservative and historical traditionalist, said he was initially a fan of PragerU’s work. However, its recent series on the founding fathers, which uses artificial intelligence to animate their voices and supposed beliefs, has appalled him.

One example is a video of John Adams, who tells viewers to remember that “facts do not care about your feelings”, nearly identically parroting the title of a book by Ben Shapiro, founder of the Daily Wire and a member of PragerU’s leadership council.

Lengel said he formally asked PragerU to remove his name from its website, but his requests were ignored. “The AI scandal shows they’re not dedicated to learning. They’re dedicated to pushing a political point of view,” he said.

The problem with Lengel’s objections is that few PragerU fans are likely to care. The US’s polarized politics have moved into schools, and battle stations have already been taken.

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essentialsaltes said:

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.

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Fantine said:

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.

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essentialsaltes said:

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.]

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Fantine said:

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.

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rambot said:

It makes me so sad when Christian Organization misrepresent/lie/distort historical events. They are cowardly and scared. I'm not gonna flagelate myself because of the mistakes done by my church....but I most certainly strive to understand the impact and am willing to support those through pain.

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Oompa Loompa said:

Grooming children to be patriotic citizens who contribute to society is bad

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iluvatar5150 said:

I haven't seen many contributions from angry conservatives propagandized by right-wing media. It's been my experience that, the farther down that rabbit hole they go, the less productive and more destructive they become.

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Oompa Loompa said:

I get it. Grooming children to be patriotic citizens who contribute to society is bad, but grooming children to hate America and normalize weird sex stuff is teaching them tolerance and acceptance.

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Fantine said:

By your fruits you will know them. Grooming children to normalize persecution of immigrants, unjust empire-building wars, and turning our backs on the poor, the disabled, and people of color is not 'patriotic.' It is a sick distortion of the values not only of our Constitution, but also on the God whom Christian nationalists love but don't understand.

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Oompa Loompa said:

Good thing that isnt happening. What was happening was little boys wearing how to give each other oral sex from books in their school library. And liberals argued that Florida was "book burning" when parents wanted them removed.

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