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Jan. 21, 2021 - Dennis Prager Show
07:10
Max Eden: There is No Apolitical Classroom
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This week's video at PragerU.com.
There is no apolitical classroom.
So I left you with the question, what do you think of my recommendation to American parents that in the vast majority of cases, I suspect there are rural schools that are not yet indoctrination centers, but in most cases they are.
I suggest that they take their kids out of these schools and either put them in a good school or homeschool.
What do you say to that?
Yeah, you know, Dennis, for a long time and doing this for the benefit of the decade, I would have pushed back on that or resisted that suggestion.
I've tried to gear a lot of my work over the years towards ways that it's going to preserve and maintain the integrity of the American public school system.
Becoming increasingly persuaded of that perspective and kind of become more willing to say it directly to my friends and family members.
I think that what, you know, Americans need to realize is that we have this illusion or this belief.
It's not entirely true that our schools really are locally controlled, right?
I mean, we do have elected school boards.
There are elections.
They are, in theory, responsive to local preferences.
But over the years, the layers upon layers of state and then federal bureaucracy have given an opening for ideologues to push ideas and policies down on local school districts that they will really have very limited power in resisting.
And at the same time, we've seen this kind of rise of a...
Intellectually monolithic, critical race theory-infused non-profit world, but has strong sway over public schools as well.
So, you know, I'm not to the point where I'm prepared to say that as the opening gambit, but as I said in the video, the first thing you need to do is to talk to your principal.
And if you don't like what you hear, you have to realize that you and your friends, your fellow parents' power over the principal is a lot less than you might prefer it to be.
And if, when you have this conversation about...
What values are teaching my kids?
What messages are they being sent?
Are you doing what I believe to be indoctrination?
If you don't like the answer, then you have to be prepared to exit.
That's probably the only way to maintain the system now, is if parents can present a credible threat of exit to public school bureaucrats.
In my opinion, it's the most power Americans have right now, is exiting from schools.
By the way, you said public school.
When I speak about this issue, I constantly add, and most private schools.
Is that fair?
Many private schools.
You know, I mean, I obviously won't name names, but it's been interesting over the past few weeks and months.
The more I've written about it, the more emails I've gotten from people saying, basically, hey, I feel like I'm paying $50,000 a year to send my kid to a school to teach them that I'm a white supremacist.
That's right.
That's exactly right.
You know, I would like to think there's more power over private schools than public schools because it's a lot easier to exit.
You don't have to pay $50,000.
You don't have to pay $10,000 to send your kids to a school that will undermine you and your values.
But, no, it's not confined to public schools by any means.
And it's, for some reason, and we could talk about this maybe, but it's especially prevalent at the very high class, very expensive private schools.
Yes, that's right.
The more expensive, the more corrupt.
I agree with that.
I have a litmus test for parents.
Tell me what you think about it.
Ask them if they're teaching the 1619 Project.
Well, that's not a bad litmus test, but I think I'd have a better one.
Because there are a lot of school districts that have seen and understood after all the furor.
I mean, there has been a strong gossip about this.
I think public school administrators will recognize what that means very quickly.
And, you know, frankly, we have reports that there are maybe 5,000 schools across America using it, but we don't know precisely.
The litmus test I'd use is to ask, you know, the principal in a very friendly, open way, like, hey, is this public school committed to anti-racism?
Right?
Because that word, that buzzword...
If they say, oh yes, absolutely, we are committed to anti-racism, then I think that's a real test, because that's like a cultural signifier, a buzzword, that if it's regurgitated back to you uncritically, you know that there's an ideological problem in the school, regardless of whether they're teaching a specific curriculum.
Well, by that litmus test, it's hard to imagine any principle.
Saying, oh no, we're not committed to anti-racism.
Right, and that's the nefariousness about it, right, Dennis?
I mean, how could you not be?
How could these ideas not gain sway after a certain point, and how could they not become the reigning, dominant, operating ideology of an institution, all of whose members are, you know, in their hearts, committed to making the world a better place in the way that they are able to understand that.
And so...
It's a very alarming litmus test, but I think it's the truer one than just, you know, do you or do you not have this particular New York Times orchestrated curriculum in your schools?
How about this for a litmus test?
What percentage of your eighth graders know what an adjective is?
I don't know that they would have that data on hand.
But I think that's, for those who are not ideologically driven, And who don't mind that their child learns lies.
How about your child isn't learning anything?
Maybe that will shake up some parents.
One would hope, but that's been, you know, somewhat more obviously true for a long time, and it doesn't seem to have yet.
Well, listen, you're doing very good work.
So is the Manhattan Institute, and thank you for the terrific video.
Yeah, thanks so much for having me on.
My pleasure.
Max Eden, who presents the latest.
Oh my God, ask a principal, are you committed?
Obviously, everybody decent is committed to anti-racism.
The question is, is that what your curriculum stresses?
Okay.
That's the point.
Can you imagine parents in the 1970s, 60s, You know, the pushback against parents, if they asked, are you teaching anti-communism?
Right?
Communism and racism are both evil.
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