Quite a ruckus broke out at the Board of Education hearing last week. Controversy exploded over personal finance videos created for high school students. The videos were nonetheless unanimously approved by the NH Board of Education. Who knew “compound interest” could be so exciting?
Related: Help New Hampshire Support Its Student’s Financial Literacy
Dennis Prager’s “PragerU” produced the videos, available HERE.
The Board simply wanted to determine whether the short, cleverly-produced series could be included in their “Learning Everywhere” program. As an economics professor with forty years of teaching experience, I decided to attend and speak in support of them.
Many of the speakers – including most of the opponents – acknowledged the videos were well-produced, objective, and suitable for high school students.
We also noted that the videos alone did not fully satisfy NH’s competency-based education model. The Board would need to ensure a lesson plan with a variety of learning activities and assessment tools was added to meet state requirements for a .5 credit course in Financial Literacy.
That should have concluded the meeting.
Hearing adjourned! Nope.
One Hundred NEA/AFT educators appeared with hair on fire because – DENNIS PRAGER!! For two hours, these folks embarrassed themselves, trying to malign Mr. Prager, a prolific scholar, well-known talk show host, and the founder of PragerU. Prager was given a variety of names – including “white supremacist” and “racist” who wants to get his “camel’s nose under the tent” and infiltrate NH education with conservative views.
I was tempted to turn around and ask, “Shouldn’t you people be in CLASS?” But I figured NEA was giving them three hours of “Professional Development” credit to come unfairly blast Prager.
Ian Underwood delivered the zinger of the morning, asking attendees why they were here picking away at a ‘financial’ literacy course – when literacy scores per se in NH are so disastrous. Call the burn unit!
The PragerU videos were also attacked for lacking “rigor.”
Purported Financial Literacy videos are everywhere on the internet, so I surfed over to NEA’s “Financial Literacy” resource page. Sure enough, it provides links for teachers — including some old Abbott & Costello skits and a Bill Cosby Show episode showing the TV family grappling with budget problems.
NEA “rigor”?
Given the state of public education, the NEA and AFT leaders who attended to complain about Prager might want to tend their own garden.
Opponents also supplied entertainment, crying about the prospect that students might click on other PragerU videos and be exposed to – gasp! – different perspectives on subjects such as transgender beliefs and climate change policy.
They called the videos “hate speech” and disparaged PragerU for daring to enter the education realm with analysis competing with positions pushed out by unions.
President of AFT-NH Deb Howes pouted that the series was “intended to “indoctrinate” – even though several speakers emphasized PragerU’s videos would represent one choice among many learning options.
“We do not want propaganda in our schools!” yelled one speaker.
“Can’t they hear themselves?” I wondered.
That’s what made it so entertaining. This was a totally sincere lot!
Opponents were blind to the irony of their own words. A perfect example of what is meant by ‘Systemic’ bias, I thought.
One Board member reminded the audience that a Bedford teacher had assigned a text by a self-described socialist – for a Personal Finance class!
That was pretty funny. Both sides became agitated!
To the Board, I noted during my comment that “everyone has a political bias or viewpoint. Let’s provide options for students – a diversity of age-appropriate perspectives, not censorship – and foster critical thinking skills! And yes, if the Chinese Communist Party produced an excellent Algebra video for students – I’d take it!” (in response to an earlier speaker who thought she’d gotcha’ed PragerU supporters with the question).
One speaker said her conclusion that the videos are “biased” against the government was based on seeing a girl grimacing in the PragerU video on “Taxation.” That same girl, however, grimaces through several of the other PragerU videos. After all, it’s about Personal Finance – and living within a budget. Eew!
That particular remark revealed what I’d already known – that many educators cannot distinguish between private and public sectors.
Private spending involves voluntary purchases from a variety of competing firms. Public finance operates through force (because it’s a function of majority consensus) and oversees monopolies more susceptible to corruption, cronyism, and bailouts because of the lack of competition.
It all depends on how carefully the government is monitored by The People – which the PragerU Taxation video itself noted!
Prager was viciously maligned as pro-slavery and anti-Semitic (even though he’s a practicing Jew), and belittled as an “infotainer” who wants to “make money” …with videos…about retirement planning…for 9th graders. Right.
The ignorance displayed was shocking.
Mr. Prager is a New York Times best-selling author. He has published dozens of books on subjects ranging from religion and culture to American politics and Middle East affairs. He speaks several languages. He conducts symphony orchestras. He did graduate work at the Russian & Middle East Institutes of Columbia University and has taught at Brooklyn College. He is #24 among top radio talk shows in the United States.
I’ve listened to Prager’s radio program many times. While I don’t always agree with him, he’s always impressed me as a brilliant thinker who offers thought-provoking perspectives on a vast array of important societal issues.
Thanks to the BOE for approving the videos.
