Ohio High School Removes Prager U Videos After Parent Complains

HuffPost reported that a teacher at an Ohio high school had been offering extra credit to 10th grade history students who watched and answered questions about videos from Prager University (PragerU). After a parent complained to Maumee High School’s principal and vice principal, the school removed the materials from the curriculum.

PragerU is a conservative nonprofit that uses social media to “educate millions of Americans and young people about the values that make America great.” Founded in 2009 by radio talk show host Dennis Prager, the organization promotes Judeo-Christian values and has a vision for “a world committed to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

PragerU began by producing 5-Minute Videos, which cover a wide array of topics from a conservative viewpoint. Since then, it has expanded to include video series and podcasts such as The Candace Owens Show; The Book Club, with Michael Knowles; Fireside Chats with Dennis Prager; and Americanos.

The nonprofit says its videos have been watched by more than 4.2 billion people, with its hundreds of 5-Minute Videos averaging 3.3 million views. The organization just launched “PragerU Resources for Educators and Parents” (PREP). The chief marketing officer told HuffPost that “2,000 parents and educators have already signed up for PREP.”

HuffPost says that 10th grader Avery Lewis “was immediately alarmed when she started her extra credit assignment last week.” Her mother, Andrea Cutway, “was similarly shocked when her daughter showed her the assignment,” which was to watch a video and answer questions “about how the videos challenged her beliefs.”

Cutway shot an email to the school principal, saying, “It’s ALT RIGHT propaganda.” (Her use of all capitals.)  The AP Stylebook defines “Alt-right” as, “A political grouping or tendency mixing racism, white nationalism, anti-Semitism and populism; a name currently embraced by some white supremacists and white nationalists to refer to themselves and their ideology, which emphasizes preserving and protecting the white race in the United States.”

Dennis Prager, of course, is Jewish, describes himself as an ethical monotheist, and practices his faith. He’s written The Nine Questions People Ask about Judaism; regularly teaches the Torah, the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, verse by verse; has published commentaries on Genesis and Exodus, with plans to cover the entire Torah; and has also written Why the Jews? The Reason for Anti-Semitism. He’s hardly anti-Semitic.

In addition, PragerU has people of all colors and ethnicities presenting on videos and on his talk show. Prager writes that such accusations are a typical tactic of the Left, “Every prominent conservative or liberal opponent of the left has been smeared — which is just another way of saying “lied about” — as being sexist, intolerant, xenophobic, homophobic, Islamophobic, racist, bigoted, misogynistic, white supremacist, transphobic, etc.”

HuffPost did not question Cutway about her accusation.

Cutway pulled her daughter from the class, but “she worried about other students, who may be learning about some of these issues for the first time and assume the videos are presenting facts rather than opinions.” Cutway said, “This really is some scary stuff. I do feel like they have found a way to get into the public school system.”

It’s important to note that neither HuffPost nor Cutway pointed to any falsehoods in PragerU’s 5-Minute Videos, each of which is narrated by someone with expertise on the issue, has a transcript of the talk, and lists facts and sources for the studies and examples cited. They did not explain why they disagreed with the presenters, which would be fine, if they made specific arguments opposing the viewpoints and values espoused.

Instead, they labeled the website “right-wing” and “conservative,” as if that alone justified keeping the videos out of public schools.

But HuffPost is fine with students being indoctrinated with Leftist ideology. Just search their website or the internet, and you’ll find that HuffPost authors have long lauded and advocated for Marxist author Howard Zinn’s debunked history to be taught in schools. Do a similar search, and you’ll find they also push for the historically inaccurate and biased 1619 Project, constantly mentioning that it won a Pulitzer prize. The National Association of Scholars has called for the prize to be revoked.

HuffPost just listed titles like “Build the Wall,” “Why the Right Was Right” and “The Left Ruins Everything,” as if that proved that the material was objectionable and inaccurate. Rather than seeking to find the truth on an issue, Cutway said she was concerned with how some of the videos might make some students feel.

Prager writes that he began studying the Left as a graduate student of communism at the Russian Institute of the Columbia School of International Affairs. He also spent time in the Soviet Union, interviewing Soviet Jews about Communist oppression.

Prager believes that Leftists don’t value truth, working to stifle and smear opponents, rather than presenting truthful, rational arguments. Sadly, many conservatives now fear the Left and quickly cave to their demands. As we’ve just seen in Maumee, Ohio.

Photo from Prager University

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