Mom-to-Mom Parenting: Israel, Education, and Resilience | Interviews

hi everybody Jill simonan from Prager you kids here today's video is a bit different than our usual parent alerts uh if you tune in the few times a month that I go online on Facebook and YouTube you know that we bring you up to date about what's happening in schools uh for teachers and parents but you will see that our CEO Marissa stright today is with me thank you for being here this conversation is you know we we always have very fun conversations about Prager you kids and what we're doing in schools now but this conversation is not fun at all and I really appreciate you being here because of course we're talking about Israel and the barbaric terrorist attacks and yes you are our CEO but I wanted to talk to you today as a mom and of course a former educator because you have such a unique Insight that I think would be really helpful and meaningful to so many of our parents and teachers so um how are you doing okay so thanks for having me um you know these are really dark times these are really dark times you're right usually when we have these conversations I'm kind of like this motivator um we always have to whether we're pessimistic or optimistic my my whole vibe is always we keep fighting we keep you know we we must be strong uh and and I still believe in that uh but it's hard not to notice that there is some darkness that is falling on the west right now yeah and I don't think it's just Israel I think that people who are living here in the United States are very much experiencing this Darkness it's in it's it's in our schools it's all over social media it's all over our culture and it it is impacting our children here in the United States of America and so you know I am walking around with a heavy heart I I'm still the warrior that I uh that I believe God has placed both of us um in this situation uh but there is there is quite a bit of darkness and I agree with you I've felt this Cloud I mean you know it's no secret for people who watch and listen uh I do not happen to be Jewish I'm armenian-american I'm Christian but this is this has been affecting me very emotionally and I can't even imagine how it's been affecting you we don't like to play the victim Bingo here I mean we always you know we we never play victim Bingo but are you scared right now so I I'm not I'm not about playing victim Bingo but we also can't bury our head in the sand and pretend that the evil that we're witnessing is not around right and so first of all you know I said this in confidence to you a few days ago and you know I'll share I'll share it now for the first time publicly this is the first time in for at least for me living in the United States of America that I'm afraid to be Jewish uh I had to drop off my kids at uh their Jewish school last week and we had to just ramp up on guards I mean there're it's it's scary you we we're we're driving into schools and you see multiple guards with giant machine guns you know what kind of message does that send to these young Jewish kids when they have to see that but I would say that it's not just Jews who are feeling this um anxiety I think everybody is experiencing this anxiety because the attack is not just against Jews really the attack is against western civilization and everything that America stands for the Jews have to happen to be yet again on the front lines uh this is so biblical I keep thinking to myself oh my God we're reliving the Bible and that's exactly what I think to that's the only way I can contextualize this whole thing yeah and I think it's it's one of the reasons why the Jews are not the only ones who are anxious about this you know you're actually seeing Marxist education play out right now like all of the brainwashing and the division that has been brewing and created in our education system is now actually coming to a point of you know explosion yeah I agree and I want to get to we've talked about the thousands of people who are in the streets rallying against goodness I'm going to put it that way I mean they're rallying for terrorist acts and and I want to get to that in a moment but before we do how much and how little do you share with your kids because your kids are very small are they all all of them are under the age of what 11 10 eight and five okay yeah so they're very young I've always believed and my mom did the same thing that the parents need to be the first to share difficult things because if they hear about it from anybody else it breaks the trust it breaks that important open openness and line of communication that we have with our children I think the the way we converse about things matter the type of language we choose and also the ability to make kids understand parents are there to protect them but to hide everything for them in my opinion doesn't work because kids are very very smart especially these days and if they have any access to Media whatsoever or even if you walk even if you take them to the mall right or if they're accessing other kids who have access to Media or have older siblings they will start hearing these things and so we are actually confronted with the choice of allowing others to explain the difficult things that are happening in the world to them or are we going to take it upon ourselves to explain it to them open that line of Comm of communication while making them feel that the parents are there to to say to keep them safe right right and I also agree I mean I wholeheartedly agree with that too you have to bring up these hard topics because if you don't someone else will and you don't know what they're going to say and so bringing these things up are you know Paramount importance I also think it's important though especially for the younger one like I had very different conversations with my 11-year-old versus my 13-year-old the 13-year-old is still young admittedly but I wanted to inform her about the horrific atrocities that happened while also not scaring her too much and I'm curious if you I I have not shown any videos or you know obviously nothing like that but I'm curious how many and she asked questions how many questions have your kids asked you about this that they perhaps heard from something else or somewhere else yeah so my kids have noticed the armed guards the additional armed guards at their schools uh and they have noticed that people are walking around with a long face uh they have also noticed that some kids who have made it actually from Israel who evacuated from Israel are now joining their schools here because you know they kind of have nowhere to go right now uh so my kids are very aware because they go to a Jewish school uh I would say that kids who don't go to a Jewish school may not be as aware but I am pretty sure that they are aware I mean especially if they're in high school we're hearing about uh on high school campus is all kinds of walkouts pro Palestine um uh initiatives that are happening over there including protests and sometimes even riots on campuses so I I think that Young Americans who are not in Jewish schools are still very much aware and probably have a lot of questions I think one of the things to to to understand even in the development of a child so I have a 5-year-old 5-year-olds they see life in black and white good and evil uh it's a little hard for them to understand Nuance War has a lot of nuance in it right a you know of course we are sad when all children are are are attacked right they can't really develop the Nuance to really understand well why why are certain people getting attacked what is the story behind it so when speaking to uh a child that is maybe under the age of eight it it it's hard to really develop the different nuances in understanding in understanding war is like and and what this good versus evil really looks like and so a conversation with with a an early development child is more more in the line of there are bad things that are happening the world has evil and the world has good uh you know God wants us to be good God wants us to treat everybody equally your parents love you and we're here to protect you we live in the greatest country on God's green earth America is a wonderful place and we should keep protecting in and we should honor those who protect it right that that is kind of how I'll speak to to my 5-year-old where your 13-year-old is actually that is a developmental stage where they enjoy Nuance they want to feel like they're an adult they want to start understanding kind of like the different um pieces of information that the grown-ups get to hear and and they strive for that it excites them and so I think in in when you're speak to a 13-year-old you can lean into it a little bit more and just say well let's talk about the history let's talk about why the Palestinians are upset let's talk about why the Israelis are afraid let's talk about why there are some Jews here who who are on alert look you can actually lean into that with a 13-year-old you don't have to scare her and say you need to be afraid but I actually think it's a great time to have those kinds of conversations specifically the conversations that help develop the the understanding of of how humans are right there is evil in humanity there's there is huge evil in humanity and how do we combat that I think one of the problems that we're seeing on college campuses right now is this concept of moral relativism or this concept that violence is sometimes Justified yes and that that's one of the most terrifying uh byproducts of this whole thing I think and I want to share something with you that just reaffirms Med you know we've been talking for years about how our education system has been overtaken by Marxism and how people's like just like you said people's moral compass is relative and children have been brainwashed not to understand that there is one truth one good that we should follow they have been brainwashed to think that oh everyone has their truth their truth their truth their truth and if one thing has been revealed to me through this is how severely some of these kids that we now see protesting how severely they have been brainwashed to not understand that there is one truth as horrible as all of this is I am trying to really you know as a mom I'm really trying to see okay where is the I hate to say Silver Lining I hate to say that but I think you understand what I mean when I say that I want to see I want to say the one good true thing is that perhaps everyone's eyes that were not open before now recognize how severely our children have been brainwashed in my social media feed I've personally seen a lot of people I used to work with who admittedly aligned with leftism and and you know Marxist leaning ideas who are now not understanding why people are not condemning Hamas they're not not understanding why people are silent about the atrocities on the Israeli people do you do you see that as well so when you when you use the term S Silver Lining it Mak makes me think a little bit about this thing that you've probably heard me say many times and that is most people don't fight until it's too late yes and most people rely on others to do the fighting for them right it's not until it really hits home that people suddenly wake up and say oh my God what is happening here but you and I could have had this exact conversation about moral relativism and um social justice rather than real Justice or even excusing excusing violence because right somebody is oppressed and so violence is okay we could have had this conversation two years ago during the BLM riots and it's the same Marxism right only it really is is it has given birth to another agenda but it's the exact same agenda and that agenda is a Marxist agenda that you know those who are successful are the bad guys no matter what right there is this moral relativism where it's okay to burn down people's businesses it's okay to loot it's okay to Riot it's okay to destroy Target because there is a group that is oppressed violence is okay immorality is okay when you feel that you are oppressed and and here we are we take that same exact concept right that same Marxist concept and you apply that in Hamas right Hamas is okay Hamas is Justified because it's a resistance group right so it doesn't matter if they rape and if they behead babies and if they destroy towns if they directly attack families children Holocaust surv that is all okay why is that okay because they feel like they're inferior they they feel like they're oppressed and in many cases they are inferior and like living in Gaza is is is a terrible situation but the reason they're in this terrible situation is because Hamas terrorizes them and uses them as human Shields but all of the details don't matter just like it didn't matter that America is not institutionally racist that America has made all of this progress that if you actually you know succeed on your own Merit it is a good thing right and and so that whole Equity versus equality it's all within the same realm of Marxism and we have told America we have told our kids that it's okay it's okay to behave immorally it is okay to behave violently if you feel that you are oppressed and you're upset and so they they take the same exact mold and then they apply it on this Israeli Palestinian or really Israeli Hamas conflict and people are wor wondering oh my God how could this happen I'll tell you a quick story I interviewed a Columbia Professor last week and I said to him professor I know you're very emotional you're very upset about this can I ask you a question are you surprised are you surprised that this is happening because they have been teaching this Marxist anti-west anti-colonial propaganda on campuses for years right right that's what pru has been fighting against and you right now are in shocked I'm I'm upset I'm sad I'm heartbroken but I am not shocked and I agree with you I am not shocked either I you see all of the I didn't think it would manifest like this so quickly admittedly but you see all of this and we are not surprised as you know people who like you say are fighting from the belly of the Beast here in Los Angeles and you know the only the only thing that I go back to when I whenever I think what can I do what can I do the only thing I go back to is the Jordan Peterson phrase when he says take care of your own house first and take care of teaching your children truth and history and that's the one small little thing it's a small thing but it's I think it's also a big thing that I think every single parent can start with when we feel so helpless when things like this happen no matter what background you are um I want you to put your educator hat on now you were former educ you're still an educator but you used to run a school and you used to be in the classroom a lot of schools and districts now are sending email notifications out to parents whenever a geopolitical issue like this happens a lot of times we disagree with it saying why are they making activists out of why are they trying to make activists out of children in this case should school districts be sending not notifications about this in my opinion no oh that surprises me uh in my opinion no I don't think it's the job of the teacher or the school district to you know really meddle in that issue uh the problem is that they've already taken the stance that supports the terrorist group and the Marxist group and so what do we do right if we TR we believe that schools should be reading writing and arithmetic and it should stay at that our side keeps advocating for that and so we remain silent about our values and so we say well we believe it should be just reading writing and arithmetic and so therefore let's keep our ideology out of it our ideology which is what has made America what it is today and so we don't show up but the problem is that the other side doesn't believe in just reading writing and arithmetic and so they actually push away the Reading Writing and arithmetic and fill it up with their values and our in their ideology and you see that on the transgender side and you also see that on the you know defund the police Stuff Etc I mean if you actually pick up the nea's agenda the national Educators Association the teachers union agenda from 2022 you can read that every single one of their issues of business that they're speaking about has nothing to do with Reading Writing arithmetic or or lit scores or Matt scores it's really all about politics do you know what nb1 was the the number one issue that the that the national Educators Association decided to take I should know this but I don't the number one issue was the Israeli Palestinian conflict in support of Palestine number one issue of the largest this 2022 the largest teacher teachers union in America took on that issue so then we ask ourselves well do we not show up at all do we not not show up at all when they gobble up every hour of of our kids time in school and spend it on their agenda right on their ideological brainwashing that's the issue that we're in right now so if it was a perfect world and we lived in an ivory Tower I would say okay you know let's just reading writing arithmetic you want to get your values go to church and you talk to your parents that's where you get your values yeah but we are in a situation where they have turned our kids into political tools they have create they they have so infiltrated into our schools that it's as if the terrorists actually have sells in our very own schools right and so when when we're seeing these kids March and Riot and behave violently it's not because of any other reason than the fact that the schools have manufactured this yeah and so then what do we do so to your answer would it make me feel better if the school sent an email saying we condemn Hamas maybe would it solve our bigger problem here in America of what is happening in our education system no because we know that this leftist Marxist ideology is so embedded in our education system that an email is not enough that no I agree with that yeah I do agree with that I want you if if you don't know Marissa already anyone who's watching in the comments tell us where you're from I forgot to ask that in the beginning tell us where you're from uh but if you don't know Marissa already you should know that she always offers some kind of Hope okay I got to turn this around because it is it is very dark days and I'm I'm not laughing to make light of any of this because this is all very serious but like you say we must continue to fight Marissa is very good at offering hope no pressure but I want you to offer some kind of Hope for parents and teachers who might be struggling right now with everything that's happening regarding what to tell kids what to not tell kids what is the hope that we can offer children so I'm not sure if I can offer hope directly but I can give you some pragmatic advice on what I think we should do right now with that's that's it well I'll take it pragmatic is always pragmatic advice so hard times make resilient people MH and I think that one of the things that we've been lacking in America is bravery and resilience and so these are amazing times to sit with your children and build resilient families right the social media has tried to tear our families apart the Marxist agenda in our schools has tried to tear our families apart but when we go through these very difficult times we actually can come together there you can actually build familial resilience out out of this by spending more time with your children by having some of these really hard conversations with your children your children will feel closer to you because they they they will feel like you trust them in their ability to comprehend obviously it has to be at the right level but there's a real opportunity in bringing the family together and becoming closer and so I think that those are one of the kind of like golden nuggets that we can find through these very dark times you the other thing is it is a great opportunity to finally get off social media I know many of you listening are have been saying to yourselves you know what I should really spend less time on social media and I should get my child off of social social media but one day goes by and another day goes by and it's hard and it's hard and for some reason you couldn't get yourself to do so right but this time where social media is such an ugly place it's such a Cess pool you can actually use that as that excuse to actually just say to yourself you know what I am going to put that phone away I am going to lean in more and spend more time with my family or Outdoors or take my whole family outdoors and and just put that phone away you don't have to be a social media Warrior all day long I call it the brain blender I see what it does to some of our staff members here at prageru who you know have taken on the fight on social it it it is exhausting and it's it it it just erodes your I mean your soul in some ways right it does and so like use this use these dark times as an opportunity to bring in light into your family and and put the social media and the screens away to just you know tighten up those those relationships and have those conversations uh with your family members and with your children letting them know that the world can be an ugly place right I don't think that we need to pretend that the world is all perfect the Bible doesn't pretend that the world is all perfect you pick up the Bible and you can read these stories about how every generation has faced ugliness and every generation has survived the ugliness because we had hope we had values we understood what morality is Right have conversations about morality with your children they will grow so much out of that experience and in in those ways we will raise more great kids who will have that resilience and will have the appetite to fight against evil and that is the greatest lesson we can teach our kids I love math I love academics I love literacy but you know what I love the most I love resilience and tenacity because those are really the SE that is the secret sauce for success in life of course these hard times do contribute to that secret sauce and there is a reason why they call the greatest generation of Americans the ones who lived and fought and were resilient through those uh terrible uh world wars um thank you so much you I really appreciate it you her she's not sitting around all day doing nothing everyone okay she's super busy and I really appreciate you coming here with us for you know 20 minutes just to shed light as a mom and an educator and as the fearless leader who we call CEO here at prageru lighting the fire and keeping us going thank you thank you thank you all God bless everyone stay strong and stay resilient and um thank you for all of your support always