At a time when Floridian teachers’ fears of violating the slew of new laws run high, Florida’s Department of Education has offered educators a life raft: PragerU Kids. In July, the FDOE approved Prager University as an educational vendor—meaning that teachers have the option to show content made by the company and, more importantly, cannot be fired for it. Oklahoma followed suit Sept. 5. Although the state has approved PragerU materials, Brevard County will not implement it this year because teachers review instructional pacing resources in June. Baker County, Clay County, Duval County, Putnam County, and St. Johns County have announced that they will not include PragerU in their curricula yet.
Despite its name, the organization is not an accredited university. PragerU was created by Dennis Prager, a radio show host. According to PragerU’s webpage, the Judeo-Christian, conservative nonprofit “offers a free alternative to the dominant left-wing ideology in culture, media, and education.” This statement seemingly aligns with DeSantis’s goal: “We want education, not indoctrination.” However, PragerU’s founder admitted during the Moms For Liberty conference July 6 in Pennsylvania that his organization “brings doctrines to children”. He then added, “But what is the bad of our indoctrination?” It is hypocritical that the government rails against what it views as liberal brainwashing in schools, yet it approved a conservative company that openly indoctrinates children. The government does not seem to care about students learning the truth; it only cares that children learn its version of the truth.
Furthermore, PragerU videos provide unreliable information. For instance, in the video “Poland: Ania’s Energy Crisis”, the main character’s parents tell her that the planet’s temperature has been rising and falling since prehistoric times; therefore, carbon emissions are not causing global warming. However, NASA states in the article “Scientific Consensus: Earth’s Climate Is Warming” that “human activities (primarily the human burning of fossil fuels) have warmed Earth’s surface and its ocean basins”. PragerU’s claims directly conflict with the conclusions of 97 percent of climate scientists. These videos lead students to believe false information, which they may use while making crucial decisions later in life. The government has given the green light for schools to implement content that misinforms students.
Additionally, the videos present opinionated versions of events. In “Leo & Layla Meet Christopher Columbus, Leo and Layla travel back in time to ask Christopher Columbus questions. When they inquire about Columbus bringing slavery to America, he replies that the natives already practiced slavery. He adds, “Being taken as a slave is better than being killed, no? I don’t see the problem.” He then tells the kids it would be “estupido”, or stupid, for people from the 21st century to judge him and the beliefs of those from the 15th century by modern standards. While Columbus expresses that he is glad future generations recognize the immorality of slavery, PragerU downplayed the horror of slavery. The company fails to include any primary sources to back up its claim that slaves would prefer slavery to death. Instead, PragerU aims to protect the images of those who perpetrated it. As an educational vendor, PragerU Kids’ mission should be to educate children. Instead, it presents students with a dangerously skewed interpretation of historical events.
PragerU also releases videos offering life advice. The video “How to Embrace Your Femininity” tells young girls to “be positive” and to “ try smiling and see how it affects the people around [them].” Nowhere in the video “How to Embrace Your Masculinity” does PragerU tell boys they should smile more. Rather, the company advises boys to “be strong and use your strength for good.” Children should not be told in schools what kind of personality they should adopt. This advice could send the message to students that it is not acceptable to show emotions; rather, they should project masks of positivity and strength. If students feel like they need to hide their true feelings, negative emotions will build up. A study in the American Psychological Association Journal found that emotional suppression leads to “greater depressed mood, greater fatigue, lower self-esteem, and lower life satisfaction.” PragerU should not set standards for how boys and girls should behave, as this can ultimately harm students.
While PragerU Kids may seem like a positive, experts see through the facade. According to Francesca Tripodi, a sociologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, “It’s very important to recognize that these are not educational videos. These videos are very explicitly created to get people to think a certain way.” If Florida claims to care deeply about freeing children from indoctrination, the government should not promote an organization that openly “brings doctrines” to students.
