Controversial PragerU to provide educational resources in South Carolina schools
State Superintendent of Education Ellen Weaver surprised teachers in Williamsburg County Tuesday. She visited educators who earned excellence in teaching awards. For the award, $255,000 will be given to 57 Williamsburg County elementary school teachers. (WCIV)
(WCIV) — PragerU is now officially an education partner of South Carolina schools, state Superintendent Ellen Weaver announced Monday in an interview with PragerU Chief Executive Officer Marissa Streit.
The conservative media organization, founded in 2009 by conservative talk show hostDennis Prager and screenwriter Allen Estrin, has been viewed skeptically for its well-known provocative YouTube videos such as “Make Men Masculine Again” and “Would You Rather Be Colonized by Aztecs or Christians?”
In the interview, Streit and Weaver stressed the content isn’t mandated, but will serve as an option for teachers and parents to use and engage with.
“We are so excited,” Weaver said in the interview. “They know when they are teaching these resources, our kids are going to be getting the content we know that they need in order to have a great education.”
Weaver continued: “We have an incredible country, an incredible state, and we want our students to know that history, be proud of that history and to know their place in that amazing story that we call America.”
PragerU is not a university. Instead, it is a nonprofit that produces short videos that push patriotism and conservative views of history, race, sex and gender, among other topics.
All the content approved in the partnership includes PragerU Kids content, age-appropriate “5-Minute Videos” and the Cash Course series, as first reported by WIS.
In response to the partnership, College Democrats of South Carolina expressed disappointment in Weaver, stating PragerU “introduces political bias into SC classrooms.”
“Allowing partisanship into our classrooms risks inviting the very indoctrination Ms. Weaver claimed to oppose during her campaign,” the statement continues. “For the sake of students who need space to develop their own opinions, for teachers across our state who seek to provide accurate and truthful education, and for all stakeholders in our public education system, we call for the immediate cessation of this partnership.”
CDSC stands against State Superintendent Ellen Weaver’s partnership with PragerU, which introduces political bias into SC classrooms. Education should be impartial, allowing students and teachers space for truth, not partisanship. pic.twitter.com/ard9dx3ff1
— College Democrats of SC (@CollegeDemsSC) September 16, 2024
South Carolina is one of several states the conservative media organization has partnered with in education. Others includeLouisiana,Florida, Oklahoma, Montana, New Hampshire, and Arizona, among others.
In 2023, The Washington Post reported that the organization is pursuing “every state in America” to counter what it sees asleft-leaning ideas in education.
Its official website claims itsgoal is to counter “the dominant left-wing ideology in culture, media, and education” by promoting “American values.”
