Florida officials have chosen conservative platform PragerU to provide classroom materials to schools in the state, sparking a scandal over PragerU content, in particular a cartoon in which Frederick Douglass allegedly says slavery was a necessary evil.
Excellent piece. Something about the PragerU cartoons I find misleading is the use of various historical figures to narrate a hyper-simplified (and usually ideological) take on some aspect of history. Douglass (and Booker T. Washington in the other video) might have held a view that aligns with a version of part of these videos' message, but putting these words in their (admittedly animated) mouths rubs me the wrong way.
Not only are some of the messages oversimplified but they are at the same time too complex. The PragerU website say the animations are for elementary kids but some of the moral questions they touch on are a bit much for that age, and even if you did want to engage kids about such things you'd need to do so carefully, breaking it down into simple terms for them, but often these videos mention the issues in passing.
Great article. Thank you.
Excellent piece. Something about the PragerU cartoons I find misleading is the use of various historical figures to narrate a hyper-simplified (and usually ideological) take on some aspect of history. Douglass (and Booker T. Washington in the other video) might have held a view that aligns with a version of part of these videos' message, but putting these words in their (admittedly animated) mouths rubs me the wrong way.
Not only are some of the messages oversimplified but they are at the same time too complex. The PragerU website say the animations are for elementary kids but some of the moral questions they touch on are a bit much for that age, and even if you did want to engage kids about such things you'd need to do so carefully, breaking it down into simple terms for them, but often these videos mention the issues in passing.