On Thursday morning, September 14, the State Board of Education held a public hearing regarding a proposal to use an outsourced “Financial Literacy” program. This would be from PragerU — an organization run by a rich person — not an accredited University. Two rooms at Granite State College were filled with attendees. The overwhelming majority of people spoke out against PragerU.

Students could replace hours of classroom instruction, that allows interaction with a qualified teacher and fellow students and appropriate testing to measure their comprehension, with 15 five-minute videos and a multiple-guess test. Some students, given the choice between classroom education and five-minute videos, will choose the latter. Kind of like being given a choice between kale or ice cream.

When I went to their website, I immediately started getting unsolicited emails from PragerU spewing their hateful rhetoric. The Board of Education starts with the innocuous program for Financial Literacy, but I’m sure they can’t wait to add more catchy videos about how slavery taught people useful skills, or that climate change isn’t real. 

Education is so critical to students so they can become successful in life. Let’s let teachers TEACH.