PragerU’s Jill Simonian told Breitbart News editor-in-chief Alex Marlow that the organization’s new “Trailblazers of America” series features the virtually untold stories of America’s legendary pioneers that children do not typically learn about in school, noting that this is needed today more than ever. “Our boys and girls need heroes,” Simonian said.
“We’ve created all these different video series, book series: values, civics, financial literacy, U.S. history, world history — and to be totally, brutally honest, I myself previously did not know the full, fascinating stories of these frontiersmen in the Trailblazers Series,” Simonian told Marlow during Thursday’s episode of The Alex Marlow Show.
Watch Below:
Simonian added that PragerU’s new series for kids “talks about history” and “the expansion of America.”
“But what it really talks about is that grit and American spirit and perseverance that these men [had],” Simonian continued, citing, “Bass Reeves, a lawman who escaped from slavery.”
“He allegedly arrested hundreds and thousands, some people say, of criminals in the wild west. He was a fascinating character,” the PragerU host said, before asserting, “Our boys and girls, they need heroes.”
During the interview, Marlow brought up PragerU’s new “Trailblazers of America” book series for kids, an action-packed series designed for young readers, bringing America’s legendary pioneers to life.
PragerU said:
Through dramatic stories perfect for a family read-aloud and bonus content like maps, timelines, and hands-on activities, your kids will uncover the courage, curiosity, and resilience that fueled westward expansion and shaped the American spirit while learning key history, social studies, and geography.
Marlow noted that his 6-year-old “lit up” when he saw the series, adding, “I don’t know if these are designed exactly for 6-year-olds, they might be aimed at a little bit older, but he just dug right into them.”
“And these are real histories that you can trust,” Marlow added. “That’s what PragerU does, it is no woke BS, just trying to give you the facts.”
Simonian explained that after working as a TV host, a reporter on Hollywood red carpets, and a commentator for CNN on entertainment news and pop culture, she joined PragerU after “seeing very clearly what was happening in our public schools” amid the coronavirus-related lockdowns.
“It was absolute garbage,” Simonian said. “And I say this as a once fervent advocate, supporter, cheerleader of public schools — my husband and I had our kids in public school, and we were happy with everything up to that point.”
Simonian elaborated:
Particularly because I think I was very blinded to what was going on: how the unions had severely hijacked our system without any of us regular parents knowing, and when I saw the lack of education that was happening on Zoom — now mind you, I know that everyone was trying to do their best at that time — but the thing that really struck me was… all of these DEI initiatives were being infiltrated and forced through our district, and there were a lot of us speaking up and saying, “Hey, what is this state sanctioned racism? We don’t like this.” Of course, we were knocked down, told that we were all racist at the time.
But I also saw when my kids were “in class” on Zoom, one teacher in particular, it was during a lesson about September 11th. One of my daughters was in the fourth grade at the time — and I fully recognize that you are not going to tell all of the details of September 11th to fourth graders — however, what you should be teaching them, as American citizens together. We should be teaching that America was attacked by radical Islamic terrorists, and that Americans unified afterwards, because we are a strong nation that are bound together by our shared American identity.
Well, this teacher did nothing of the sort. There was a child on screen who literally asked, “Who attacked us?” and the teacher’s response was, “Well, it was a mindset,” and I witnessed that in real time, and I poked in my head — and my poor daughter at the time — mom pokes in and says, “Radical Islamic terrorists,” and I went on to say how Americans united.
Simonian said “from that point on” she was in disbelief over something like that actually happening in U.S. education.
“I started speaking out online for the first time,” the PragerU host continued, adding that her venting her frustration with the quality of public school systems prompted PragerU CEO Marissa Streit to reach out to her.
“So that’s how I ended up here,” Simonian said, noting that PragerU Kids started in “the spring of 2021,” adding that they started with a “little Storytime show” called “Otto’s Tales,” which “has about 75 episodes now on our website — all about our American values and our folktales.”
“And those evolved into books,” she added. “We now have three different series — about 30 books about landmarks, and American holidays, and the people who keep our communities running: police officers, teachers, all of the things that the youngest learners should know about.”
Marlow also praised PragerU’s “Otto’s Tales,” noting, “I have younger kids, so we do a little more ‘Otto’s Tales’ reading in the household, and it’s just such a comfort to be able to pick up books designed for kids that you know you’re getting positive values.”
“And it’s not, like, right-wing, it’s just honest, and it doesn’t crap on our country,” Marlow added. “It makes our country seem kind of cool.”
The Alex Marlow Show, hosted by Breitbart Editor-in-Chief Alex Marlow, is a weekday podcast produced by Breitbart News and Salem Podcast Network. You can subscribe to the podcast on YouTube, Rumble, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify.
Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
Read the full article here