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   myrmepropagandist (futurebird@sauropods.win)'s status on Tuesday, 11-Jun-2024 07:37:32 JST myrmepropagandist

   Zoe has been making some important content about PragerU's effort to creep into public schools. Her main point is an important one: It's not just that this content comes from an extremist right wing group with extreme views: it's also just not very good. It's all videos and multiple choice questions-- none of it very thoughtful.

   But what would you expect? These people don't really like education or think it's important.

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLKMW1LII7c

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     myrmepropagandist (futurebird@sauropods.win)'s status on Tuesday, 11-Jun-2024 07:37:29 JST myrmepropagandist

     in reply to

     The most important thing I do as a teacher is decide what my students should encounter next based on where they are.

     I've had lessons I've spent days developing... only to throw them in the trash when I see what the students might really need.

     I try to reuse material every year, but every year I write new lessons and skip others because every class is different.

     I just don't think ANY canned program can offer all that much. Sorry.

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     myrmepropagandist (futurebird@sauropods.win)'s status on Tuesday, 11-Jun-2024 07:37:30 JST myrmepropagandist

     in reply to

     But I take education and course design pretty darn seriously. And I think education and well designed courses are valuable.

     The work from PragerU shows that they do not share this essential value common to educators.

     They even use garbage AI graphics in the economics course that's just a bunch of emails. To me that's just a benchmark of not really caring.

     But the other issue here is just how much of a course can you have without a teacher anyway?

     Can a book be a course?

     Bill repeated this.
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     myrmepropagandist (futurebird@sauropods.win)'s status on Tuesday, 11-Jun-2024 07:37:31 JST myrmepropagandist

     in reply to

     If I had to design an economics course despite being a pretty left leaning person, I'd feel an obligation to include everything you might find in a "Econ 101" courses at high schools or colleges. I'd want primary sources, interesting experts, questions that illustrate the central questions.

     I'd insist that the students do something creative with what they learn to gain ownership of the material.

     I don't consider myself qualified to design an economics course but I could easily do a better job.