There is a new on-line financial literacy course coming to New Hampshire. On Sept. 14, the NH State Board of Education unanimously voted to approve the course being offered by Prager U. This half-credit course will be available through NH’s “Learn Everywhere” program and is free of charge.
What is "Learn Everywhere"? Well according to their website: “Learn Everywhere is a program designed to build on existing New Hampshire educational philosophy, law, and rule. At its most basic level, it is simply seeing and understanding our existing public education system and the learning that engages students, from another perspective.”
Learn Everywhere isn’t a “place” per se, but is a belief that students gradually acquire successful abilities by work-based and hands-on learning. It is an educational program that is unique to NH and was initially approved in 2020. The program allows for students to earn credits outside of the traditional classroom and submit completed certificates to their respective schools. All schools are required to permit students to earn up to one third of the required graduation credits through this program. Schools are not required to accept 100% of credits towards high school graduation, but they can.
Learn Everywhere was founded as a way to increase educational opportunities for public school students in NH. Which means, only those students attending public schools earn those credits.
A small sample of their approved programs: North Main Music in Nashua; Seacoast Science Center in Rye; Friends Forever International in Durham; Seacoast United in Hampton; Neil Stone’s Karate Academy in Hollis.
What is Prager U? According to THEIR website: “We promote American values through the creative use of educational videos that reach millions of people online. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Prager University Foundation (“PragerU”) offers a free alternative to the dominant left-wing ideology in culture, media, and education. Whether you’re searching for a deeper understanding, a new perspective, or a way to get involved, PragerU helps people of all ages think and live better.”
According to Prager U, their friends at The Daily Wire had put together a documentary praising their first ten years in the “mind changing business.” They promote themselves as an “educational, media platform” dedicated to advancing pro-American values. Their website states their “videos educate, inspire, and entertain millions of online viewers. Serving audiences of all ages, our informative content offers a free alternative to the dominant left-wing ideology in culture, media, and education.” Their political mission is a desire to produce kid-oriented “edutainment” that combats so-called “woke agendas” in the classroom.
Oh, and donations are tax-deductible . . .
The videos or podcasts offered run anywhere from five to more than 60 minutes on a variety of topics such as:
Former Dept. Secretary Betsy DeVos Says Teachers Unions Destroy Education
Dennis Prager on porn, the sexualization of kids and gotcha moments
Annabella Rockwell: I Entered College Happy. I Left Angry.Hurricane Idalia Hits Florida
N95 Masks May be Toxic, Man Gets to Stay in Sorority:
BLM Settlement, China Bans Clothes That Hurt Feelings, Private Gun Safe Code Given to FBI?: 9/8/2023 C J Pearson
As an aside, Rockwell is an heiress to an (unknown) pharmaceutical company in Manhattan and Pearson is a 21 year old conservative, freelance journalist who is the executive director for Young Georgians in Government. He describes himself as an anti-establishment populist and campaigns for Republican candidates. These are just two of the contributors.
This controversial and strongly opposed decision to bring the financial literacy videos came through anyway, in spite of the opposition from teachers unions and educators themselves. The decision brought praise for Frank Edleblut, NH’s head of the Education Dept. from Marissa Streit, the CEO of Prager U. She claimed permitting their program would assist in putting an end to “gaslighting” by also allowing parents to watch these videos with their children. NH is different from Florida and Oklahoma where the programs were approved for use in the classrooms. Here, the approval was for only the financial literacy course, also known as “Cash Course.”
Prager U is receiving no taxpayer money nor a contract with the state. The course is not a requirement for any student in NH. A former public school teacher from Concord, Mary Wilke, feels this course lacks rigor and is not aligned with the intention of Learn Everywhere’s program. The Prager U course consists of memorizing fifteen five minute videos followed by a multiple-choice assessment rather than anything hands-on.
Make of this what you will and remember, voting has consequences.