Experts sound alarm over concerning ‘propaganda’ found in public school curriculum: ‘It’s evil more than it is stupid’
Experts sound alarm over concerning ‘propaganda’ found in public school curriculum: ‘It’s evil more than it is stupid’
If anyone has not previously googled for PragerU content, you should. I watched a couple vids and looked at images from a textbook awhile ago. You'll be sure it's either satire or fake. Best as I can tell, it's neither. That makes it scary.
The problem is that there are grains of truth here, but a lot of emotional manipulation, such as:
Poland’s leaders promised to cut all coal production by 2049
Yet the video focuses on the Russia-Ukraine war. Surely that war won't last for the next 26 years. I think the world would accept going back to coal (perhaps from non-Russian sources) until natural gas can be sourced elsewhere or replaced by something else. 26 years is a long time, and they could totally build nuclear plants in that time. They have the international agreements in place, so it shouldn't be a huge issue to roll that out by the stated timeline.
Had they started rolling it out sooner they would already have a backup plan to Russian natural gas and coal.
So the main thrust of the videos i completely fine, but it sets up a strawman pitting two all-or-nothing approaches (switch 100% to green energy today or abandon green energy).
I'm not going to go through the full video as the motherjones article does that already, but I do also want to point out that motherjones is pushing a heavy narrative as well, such as:
While no school district has announced plans to show any of PragerU’s videos, NPR reports, there’s nothing to stop teachers from independently airing the material
They're making a huge deal out of something relatively small. Basically, Florida has stated that schools may use PragerU's content, not that they have to or should use that content, only that it's allowed.
The important thing is how it's presented. I think this video would be interesting for in-class discussion, especially when shown alongside a video with the opposite perspective. It could raise interesting questions, such as:
I think it's also interesting from a "how bias can impact the presentation" discussion. So I 100% agree with it being allowed to be used in schools, but I think that should be followed up with some kind of auditing process to make sure it's being used appropriately, and that process should be as open as possible.
Logic and critical thinking was a third year course... in college... and was a freaking elective.
I remember being in the class and thinking that this probably would have been good to know before deciding what college or major to pick.
Citizens who can logically assess information in a systematic manner are less easy to control.
The Florida Department of Education has approved screening videos that deny the Earth’s changing climate to schoolchildren in the state, according to the Guardian.
Animations from Prager University Foundation, a conservative group that pushes untruths about sustainable energy and the warming of the planet, will now be a part of the public school curriculum in Florida.
Seems like it says what was being taught right at the start?
They also quote a researcher at Kansas State University and it's kind of weird you glossed over that entirely to focus on the reddit user.
From Motherjones
While no school district has announced plans to show any of PragerU’s videos, NPR reports, there’s nothing to stop teachers from independently airing the material. As a Florida Department of Education spokesperson said in a statement, the material aligns with Florida’s revised civics and government standards.
Thanos was right. Some greater-being should just snap some part of humanity out of existence. Just not the random half, but those who actively try to ruin it for the others.
Is anyone able to find these videos on the Florida list of approved materials? I found statements from state officials that Prager is included, but I don't see it in any official documents or [teacher resource lists](https://www.flimadoption.org/Bids/Adopted Materials). I'd love some help digging it up so I can get involved.
Zoe Bee did a great video recently where she broke down some of the PragerU teaching materials from a teaching materials. They're worse than I expected.
I wonder if other well-known industry groups are also called our for their propganda? For example recycling is pushed by the plastic industry, the notion of "clean coal" is pushed by coal mining, and of course the entire notion of volunteering for charity is just Capitalism ensuring that societal problems will never try to be tackled by a Government.
This is no different.
What schools are teaching clean coal as part of their curriculum? And yes, even ineffective solutions like recycling are extremely different and far better than teaching kids outright denial.
I don't know any specific school that is teaching clean coal, however there is nothing at any school district that would preclude clean coal from being discussed as an answer to climate change. Much like the PragerU videos. No school district is currently using those videos, but there is nothing stopping any school from using them which is what the whole article is about.
What's the point of teaching children to deny climate change? So that they won't go and find a solution? Are they trying to eliminate human beings?
Let me guess....big oil is now lobbying for changes in our education so they can keep making money and ruining the planet
what good is money for if we all die
I believe that they are direct funders of PragerU actually yes.
A lot of these religious folks think the apocalypse can't get here great enough, so they are helping
Teach 'em young to get more votes. Republicans have been playing the long game for generations now.