How Capitalism Ruined American Education

We're all familiar with PragerU. The billionaire-funded conservative media outlet has become a household name with their easily digestible 5-minute propaganda videos. But now they've got their sights set on American schools. Come learn about how PragerU weasels its way into your child's classroom, and what the future of American education could look like.

American Education vs The Far Right – Second Thought

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Citations and Further Reading:

YTP bit

Alienation at school

PragerU in Florida

PragerU in Oklahoma

PragerU in Texas

Zoe Bee’s Video

John Adams Lesson Plan

A Nation At Risk

Post reporting on A Nation At Risk

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About Second Thought:
Second Thought is a channel devoted to education and analysis of current events from a Leftist perspective. Welcome!

[Bookhart]

“Gutted public education” and “teachers are the scapegoats” are exactly why I left that profession even though I loved being a teacher.

[LonkinPork]

I like when you say PragerU has "Charismatic hosts, " and then it cuts to Jordan Peterson looking somewhere between hungover and zombified

[Fredy_carreño_MD]

“when education is not liberating, the dream of the oppressed is to be the oppressor.”

paulo freire

[tatiana]

Because if school was good and interesting, people would grow up to have critical thinking skills, aspirations and self worth.

[strakkenpalladium]

It's insane that blaming teachers is a tactic. It's even worse that it's effective.

[orahpalmer]

As an educator and a union member fighting for a fair contract, for disclosure of the school budget and accountability from the board on how funds are allocated, I am grateful for your coverage of this topic.

[Praisethesunson]

When the rich get to choose how to fund schools(instead of paying taxes like us common poors). This propaganda is what the kids will get.

[monsieurdorgat]

As a teacher, I can add that the common idea that education should be meritocratic (i.e., that those who succeed should be afforded more resources while struggling students are abandoned and shamed) is a huge problem that has always existed in worldwide education.

[rickb]

They abandoned the social contract by claiming that there never was a social contract.
I'd also point out that the people who financed our devolution had already squeezed funding out of education at the federal level for a couple of decades before pushing reagan's agenda through in the '80s, by using the same methods we see today. Racism, mythology, and ignorance, in addition to downplaying the value of education in general.
Every problem we face today is the direct and deliberate result of the push back against post-war social activism that demanded we finally live up to our rhetoric as The Nation where consent of the governed is the source of power.

[Goodoldpal_]

I had 3 different teachers show PragerU videos in high school… I can say without a shadow of a doubt that this was the gateway to radicalization for several of my classmates. Myself included, in many ways. It took some amazing professors, a lot of patience, and self reflection to finally realize how duped I’d been. I also lost some “friends” in the process

[katecoffee]

I’ m a native Oklahoman and I still live here. I am watching my friends who are educators die inside. It hurts and it makes me very angry.

[BunkerSquirrel]

It’s hard to believe that people actually believe Prager’s content. It’s incredibly depressing and really speaks volumes about the trajectory of our country.

[gabrielmaroto]

When you realize your government has investment in your failure and not your success

[charlieposton]

my teacher in my world history class used PragerU as a resource for a video about Christopher Columbus and i was so taken aback that i emailed my teacher AND the principal about it. no one did anything.

[tatianastarcic]

We Are in Unchartered Financial Waters! every day we encounter challenges that have become the new standard. Although we previously perceived it as a crisis, we now acknowledge it as the new normal and must adapt accordingly. Given the current economic difficulties that the country is experiencing in 2024, how can we enhance our earnings during this period of adjustment? I cannot let my $680, 000 savings vanish after putting in so much effort to accumulate them.

[einstwareinlicht]

As a resident of a poor Balkan country, I was profoundly shocked when I saw how American schools are in even worse conditions than ours.

[ProductionsFromBeyon]

We use Prager U videos in my ethnic studies classroom all the time. They are great tools to have students point out logical fallacies and inaccurately portraying history.

[henryhardfoot]

In my eyes, Reagan is clearly in the highest echelon of "worst presidents this country has seen, " but I don't think Milton Friedman gets enough flak in public discourse for the role in ~economic~ theorycrafting he played behind the scenes. I feel like a video on him is needful

[Fentboy_underscore]

I love how in the “totally unedited video” of Prager, the original video is still horrifying.

[roberthornack]

The American school system is designed to teach you what to think, not how to think!