Is the International Baccalaureate Programme Co-opting Your Child?
by Laura Rambeau LeeThe International Baccalaureate Programme was founded in 1968 in Geneva, Switzerland, by Alec Peterson. According to the IBO.org website Alec Peterson “was born in Edinburgh in 1908 and entered the teaching profession in 1932. During the Second World War Peterson was deputy-director of psychological warfare (writer’s italics) for South-East Asia Command, serving on Lord Mountbatten’s staff; and from 1952–54 he was director general of information services during the Malaysian emergency. This military background was to provide him with contacts at the highest levels—contacts that greatly assisted the acceptance of the IB by ministries of education and governments.” Its mission is to create a better world through education. In 2010 it implemented a five year strategy to establish its leadership in international education.
Although IB began as a secondary level education program, they now have three programs: the Primary Years Programme (PYP) beginning with children aged 3 to 12; the Middle Years Programme (MYP) for children from 11 to 16 years old; and the Diploma Programme (DP) for students from 16 through 19 years old.
The IB has been recognized as a non-government organization (NGO) of UNESCO since 1970 and currently has the status of “formal consultative relations as a network” with UNESCO. Representatives from IB participate regularly in UNESCO meetings and comment on UNESCO proposals in education in their Education for All initiative. Although the IB programme initially began in private schools, today over half of all IB World Schools are state schools.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) was established on November 16, 1945. The goal of this organization is to work “to create the conditions for dialogue among civilizations, cultures and peoples, based upon respect for commonly shared values. It is through this dialogue that the world can achieve global visions of sustainable development encompassing observance of human rights, mutual respect and the alleviation of poverty, all of which are at the heart of UNESCO’s mission and activities.”
Today the IB has over 940,000 students in 3256 schools in over 140 countries. In the United States, the Primary Years Programme is in 280 schools, the Middle Years Programme is in 445 schools, and the Diploma Programme is in 751 schools.
According to the IB website
“The International Baccalaureate aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect”. In addition, “these programmes encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.”
Students in the IB Programme experience a rigorous course of study, with a focus on the global community and their responsibility to the world as a global citizen. Their education focuses not only on the basics, but on the cultivation of the “international-mindedness” of the student. The IB espouses the principle of educating “the whole person for a life of active, responsible citizenship.” The core philosophy of the IB Programme is the “Theory of Knowledge” (TOK). This theory essentially questions everything, starting with the basic “How do we know?” It encourages a child to question prior core factual knowledge. If, for instance, a consensus agrees that 2 + 2 = 5 then it must be true.
Students participating in the IB Programme are not assessed by their local schools. There are over 10,500 examiners and moderators who assess their work and are located all over the world.
The current Chair of the IB Board of Governors is Carol Bellamy. Prior to this position she was President and CEO of World Learning, a private, nonprofit organization promoting international understanding through education and development in over 70 countries. She was an executive director of UNICEF from 1995 until 2005 and was also the first former volunteer to become Director of the Peace Corps, appointed to the position by President Clinton. She had also worked at the financial institutions Bears Stearns and Morgan Stanley. She was elected as New York State Senator in 1972 and was elected as the first female president of the New York City Council in 1977. In 2007 she was elected Chair of the Board of Directors of the Fair Labor Association, which protects workers rights and working conditions based on international labor standards. On February 18, 2011 Bellamy was named Chair of the Alliance for Ethical International Recruitment Practices, a non-profit created to ensure that recruitment of foreign-educated health professionals to the United States is ethical, responsible and transparent.
The International Baccalaureate Programme is selecting our best and brightest children at the most impressionable time in their lives to indoctrinate them into becoming good “global citizens”. It should be of great concern to all responsible and caring parents that the IB program does not recognize their child as an individual who may possess a special talent or ability. The program appears to be a well organized attempt to mold the child into becoming a good global citizen, impressing upon them that they are a part of the greater global community, or collective. The primary focus of an IB education is on the environment, sustainability, economic justice and sharing our humanity.
A call to the local school district to inquire about the IB programme directs you to another regional number. When asked about the curriculum for IB, the school board states that they do not have any of that information. They do not oversee the program nor do they have any knowledge of what our children are being taught in IB!
The Global Engage IBO site quotes Nelson Mandela, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” Odd choice of words, don’t you think?
Students have made many videos for their International Baccalaureate projects that can be found on youtube. Watch a few of them. What our children are subjected to in IB is absolutely chilling.
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233 Comments
Advice for Socialists everywhere. Keep your sick ideas out of my child's mind. We are taking our educational system back!
Ayn Rand laid it all out for us to see in vivid detail in her essay THE Comprachico's. If you have yet to read
it you are cheating yourself. Bottom line, the entire US educational system is designed to remove the skill
of thinking/reasoning from our children's capabilities… They're almost there!
.
Get the U.S. out of the U.N. and kick the U.N. out of the U.S.!!!
Folks will be surprised if they take the time to see how close this garbage is to them right this second. Learn about this, and PBIS if you care what is going on in your local schools. How do you like the idea of kids walking down halls with their hands behind their backs like little criminals? How do you like the idea of them being indoctrinated as to how bad America is and always has been.
I hope folks do not dismiss this article because this is serious stuff. IB is a clear and present danger in the here and now.
For anyone interested, here is a link to piece I wrote just short of a year ago on this subject.
http://centralillinois912project.com/?p=6774
Make no mistake, this is not a coming threat, for it is already here and established.
And make sure we take our 22% of the UNs budget with us.
Interesting, isn't it, that the acronym has the meaning NOT?
Maybe that is a hint, ya think?
Our kids need to be taught to be US CITIZENS, rather than globalist eco-fascists… this story U.N.-made my day!
Fer Chrissakes!
I just wasted 3:20 watching this video.
"The International Baccalaureate Programme is selecting our best and brightest children at the most impressionable time in their lives to indoctrinate them into becoming good “global citizens”.
If that boy represents one of the best and brightest, that just elevated me to a genius.
At first I thought it was a joke, or a spoof.
Then I thought the kid was pleasantly retarded.
Whatever the case, I can guarandamntee you one thing.
That boy shouldn't wait for a Mensa Invitation……….
WTF? This is so ludicrous it seems fake. Seven oceans??? The difference between a sea and an ocean??? As someone who teaches geography, if you don't know, go enroll in second grade!!!
I stopped after reading 'UNESCO'.
The UN means the United States of America funds the project.
The USA funding the project means the U.S. Taxpayer pays for the project.
The U.S. Taxpayer needs to stop paying for it.
Then the project will go away.
The progressive's definition of a global citizen is the wealthy western world citizen giving money and brain power to the poor, pagan rest of the world.
I minored in philosophy when I was in college. This is the type of drivel that studying philosophy outside the context of reality promotes. The fool believes he is thinking deep thoughts, instead of making a fool of himself. Half his questions could be answered with a google search instead of "deep" introspection.
To sum up, this is what happens when an idiot tries to be a philosopher.
Corn,
FYI http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/12/us/12drought.ht...
Amigo, you are on to something.
I thought this moron in the video sounded familiar.
I was right http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSrXpFb7jFo .
Same thing with NATO, disband it, pull our resources, money and the weapons we "loan" the mooching countries.
The only countries we should be protecting right now is the U.S. and our closest allies. Our Closest allies not fair weather friends.
Is this video for real? I get the impression that the kid may have reasoned out that if he wipes his butt with news paper it will make his butt smarter. WTF
Evidently he has been using the New York Times.
It is obvious he needs to buy a different Newspaper.
I was really hoping it was a joke. They are basically turning children into absolute morons.
"The best thing since sliced bread" is just a folk saying for God's sake and they are taught to dissect it like it really means something deeper than it does?!?!?!? WTF?!?!?!?!
I guess in Moron 202 they discuss "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth".
~facepalm~
Hm. Reminds me of Boulder in the 70s, and you know what they say: "If you can remember Boulder in the 70s, you weren't there."
Just found out my local high school – the one my girls will go to if we stay in this general area – offers this stupid, asinine, phucked up "programme".
Yeah, if we're still around here, I'll be making sure MY kids don't have anything to do with it and perhaps even bring it up to the school before it even becomes an issue and once they are enrolled. Just to let them know that if my kids start coming home spouting this "Theory of Knowledge" stuff, there'll be hell to pay.
For our colleagues, here's the essay: http://www.scribd.com/doc/51894820/Ayn-Rand-The-C...
Reason #1,463 I did NOT enroll my kid in an IB program.
It's interesting to note that a lot of IB programs in the US are now being opened in "at-risk" schools.
I live a few miles outside the Republic of Boulder. Not much has changed there since the 70s.
Du-u-uh, hey George, can I pet the bunny?
I think it's kind of a stand-alone program, so your kids might have to be enrolled in it (e.g., parents' permission).
There's an IB program at one of the middle schools in my town. Thank God, not my kid's middle school–otherwise I'd probably be doing time for being a pain in the ass.
Thanks TP1234, the last one I offered didn't work. ; )
Ah, Handey Jr. The differences are subtle, but important. Handey the elder can come up with answers to his inane questions, and his bitterness at life has made him a bit cruel. Handey Jr. has yet to realize the emptiness behind it all, so he maintains a frustrated innocence that hasn't been converted to the cruel self-delusion we'll see in his later life.
FYI http://www.pioneer.com Search out the July 2011 newsletter for my area written by Rod Carpenter.
I read your link… they have no clue how thoroughly and completely the $#iT is about to hit the propeller…
This is dire with a capital D!!!
.
Well, thank heavens. And at least if I know about it I can prevent my kids from beinge exposed to such nonsense.
This kid sounds like he should be on the short bus. Do they drug these kids? It sounded like the ramblings of a junkie.
" The core philosophy of the IB Programme is the “Theory of Knowledge” (TOK). This theory essentially questions everything, starting with the basic “How do we know?” It encourages a child to question prior core factual knowledge. If, for instance, a consensus agrees that 2 2 = 5 then it must be true."
This is John Galt Speaking:
“We, the men of the mind, are now on strike against you in the name of a single axiom, which is the root of our moral code, just as the root of yours is the wish to escape it: the axiom that existence exists.
“Existence exists – and the act of grasping that statement implies two corollary axioms: that something exists which one perceives and that one exists possessing consciousness, consciousness being the faculty of perceiving that which exists.
“If nothing exists, there can be no consciousness: a consciousness with nothing to be conscious of is a contradiction in terms. A consciousness conscious of nothing but itself is a contradiction in terms: before it could identify itself as consciousness, it had to be conscious of something. If that which you claim to perceive does not exist, what you possess is not consciousness.
“Whatever the degree of your knowledge, these two – existence and consciousness – are axioms you cannot escape, these two are the irreducible primaries implied in any action you undertake, in any part of your knowledge and in its sum, from the first ray of light you perceive at the start of your life to the widest erudition you might acquire at its end. Whether you know the shape of a pebble or the structure of a solar system, the axioms remain the same: that it exists and that you know it.
“To exist is to be something, as distinguished from the nothing of non-existence, it is to be an entity of a specific nature made of specific attributes. Centuries ago, the man who was-no matter what his errors – the greatest of your philosophers, has stated the formula defining the concept of existence and the rule of all knowledge: A is A. A thing is itself. You have never grasped the meaning of his statement. I am here to complete it: Existence is Identity, Consciousness is Identification.
“Whatever you choose to consider, be it an object, an attribute or an action, the law of identity remains the same. A leaf cannot be a stone at the same time, it cannot be all red and all green at the same time, it cannot freeze and burn at the same time. A is A. Or, if you wish it stated in simpler language: You cannot have your cake and eat it, too."
“Are you seeking to know what is wrong with the world? All the disasters that have wrecked your world, came from your leaders’ attempt to evade the fact that A is A. All the secret evil you dread to face within you and all the pain you have ever endured, came from your own attempt to evade the fact that A is A. The purpose of those who taught you to evade it, was to make you forget that Man is Man."
No matter what you try to tell yourself – Philosophy DOES matter…
On the southside of Tucson they have started a school program that is for newborns and up. They go to school from 6am – 6pm. I have questioned just what is really going on, newborns? I first thought that they where trying to replace the family unit, but maybe it is a part of this IB. The children have to speak in spanish. LaRaza is a part of this new program.
I don't know how things are down in your country, but it has been brutal here. Life threatening. A month ago, it wouldn't stop raining, and we got a years worth of water in two weeks. Now the snowmelt is coming off the mountains still fast and furious. It has been well over a hundred every day for the past week.
I have been leaving by midnight to check water in my pastures, and try to be back in by 9 am, and then go back out in the evenings for several hours.
I have been shorthanded, and can catch a few hour naps in the mornings and mid-afternoon during the heat of the day. It doesn't do much for my normally unpleasant demeanor, but I have had the luxury the past few days of getting online more than I had in the past month.
As to the NYT's article I posted to you, correct me if I am wrong, but I think this might be the first time since the Big Dry back in the 1950's that all of the 254 counties in Texas have been declared a disaster area.
If you know any folks out of grass, who want to sell good cattle cheap, let me know. I'll haul them north to Montana and South Dakota. Two things I have plenty of, are grass and water.
Top sirloin today, costs what Ribeyes did a year ago.
Bacon is up 40% in six months.
By the time Obama is run out of town on a rail, folks will be eating Pinto's and cornbread, seven nights a week for their main course and be lucky to afford them.
This sumbitch Obama is making Jimmah Carter look like an economic wizard.
Good choice of words for your first post.
The reason you had to sign up as "John Galt_Speaks", is the original "JohnGalt" was already chosen.
At the time, John Galts speech was posted in its entirety over several threads.
Folks weren't ready for it then.
They are now.
Good luck, and welcome……….
Geez guys, this article is vague with no substance. So LRL picked one blockhead's video to demonstrate what? That at least one of the graduates of IB is a mush head. So what? Ms. Rambeau Lee doesn't even pretend to know what is the actual curriculum offered through IB, let alone what real and measurable results come from the program. Do you really think that the top diplomats and businessmen of the world are sending their own children to international schools to be brainwashed? "A call to the local school board . . . ". A call?! Talk about shoddy journalism, if one even dare call it that. I suggest Rambeau Lee read a book or two.
Din't you hear?
The libtards have come up with a new "genius" organization that makes them feel so smugly superior…and feminist to boot…
It's called Menstra
I usually stay out of these types of arguments, but I feel as if I must speak on this issue. For the record, I teach/ have taught IB and AP subjects for years successfully, so I'm going to be a little biased here because I have experience and knowledge of these programs, and you've distorted some of the facts (and left out the learner profile!).
1. IB grades are made from Internal and External Assessments. Internal means that the classroom teacher marks his/her own students. External Assessments are graded by OTHER TEACHERS! We don't ship our tests to some secret Soviet cave. We have other teachers mark the exams, which means that a 7 given in Japan is worth the same as a 7 given in Texas.
2. TOK is one of three cores, meaning you have to pass in order to get a diploma. The other two are CAS, which is directed community service and the Extended Essay, a full research paper. TOK is a philosophy course not an indoctrination course. It encourages the student not to take what they are told blindly. They SHOULD be taught how to evaluate sources and think critically. Isn't that what we want in a student? We want intelligent voters and citizens who are willing to be convinced, not sheep, correct? However, TOK has guidelines and can be taught in the manner that the teacher feels is best. That's where your little disaster comes from. Some teachers will use the TOK classroom as a bully pulpit. So be active in your child's classroom. Who is the teacher? Because unlike scripted public school standards, the success of IB depends on the classroom teacher.
3."They do not oversee the program nor do they have any knowledge of what our children are being taught in IB" This is a ridiculous statement. How can it be in public schools without the administration aware of the subject? This is not your Shrine's secret meeting. The guidelines and subject criteria are available to the general public, but you will find it vague because it places most of the teaching power with the teacher. In Florida, IB candidates still have to take (and pass) the FCAT and meet basic requirements for graduation. As an IB teacher, I still have to fill out weekly lesson plans with links to scope and sequence. If admin doesn't know what's going on in the classroom, then IBO is the least of your concerns.
I have seen the benefits of IB, but I can see your concern. I would point you to the State of Florida where some Catholic, Episcopal, and Jewish schools are using IB to help their students. Because of the freedom given to teacher, IB's curriculum is tool. It is a hammer. You are accusing the hammer of being destructive while purposefully ignoring those who wield it well.
I'll be happy to take questions and provide the author with materials if they are having issues.
And that is one of the reasons I am doing it… New ID (disclosed in the description) so it is not jumbled in with my other comments… I hope to make them all like this – and better…
The first thing we country kids is taught, that when looking a gift hoss in the mouth, be sure you know what end to stand on.
I never claimed to be smart.
I do know what end to shovel feed into, and what end to shovel poop out of.
It is ludicrous, because it is written from a non-teacher. Basically this article is a very smart attorney explaining brain surgery. She has the basic facts, but her interpretation is flawed.
So you're the one…
Yes, I got here a few months before signing up was required. I may have made 2-3 comments before I created an account – with my ego and (poor) memory having an archive was the only way to go. John_Galt was my first attempt, and you obviously know what happened.
I had thought to "reverse post" all of it on cold threads and then make the last few on more active ones, but that may have been problematic on several fronts. It is a huge "index" and I am still trying to properly subdivide and organize it for easier access to the parts relevant to the topic at hand. I added a paragraph after I posted, but before you replied, so it may read a little different now.
I have wanted to do this for a long time. I hope people get something positive out of it…
"LaRaza is a part of this new program."
You just asked, and answered your own question.
OK!
That is the bloody, militant group that Whoopi belongs to.
"Do you really think that the top diplomats and businessmen of the world are sending their own children to international schools to be brainwashed?"
Yes.
Probably because I talk to myself a lot. LOL : )
Thanks for the info, but if "TOK is a philosophy course, not an indoctrination course," then I'd appreciate your illustrating the claim with some specifics. What are the course objectives? What philosophers' works are read and utilized in the course? How do the students demonstrate their understanding of the philosophy(ies) taught?
Indeed it is quite an interesting note. Well, imagine that!
Gee, why do Democrats want to kill off all voucher programs?
Well nadeen11,
It is obvious you are a product of the publik skrewl system.
Myself?
I am past 50, went to a one room school for several years that housed eight grades. When I went on to complete my formal higher education, I never had the luxury of graduating.
One thing I do remember, from clear back in the First grade, was that if a person was to demonstrate self respect, that one must always capitalize their name.
You were obviously absent the day they taught that.
"I suggest Rambeau Lee read a book or two."
What tome would YOU suggest?
Red Saul Alinskeys "Rules for Radicals", or how about Barrack Obamas literary masterpiece, "Wet-Dreams of My Father".
Don't feel bad.
I am starting to do that as well.
I don't know if I am suffering from the heat prostration, or have formally crossed over……….
Is that a dead mouse in your pocket Lennie?
I am a pretty open minded man.
"You are accusing the hammer of being destructive while purposefully ignoring those who wield it well."
Excellent line!
I commend you for a well thought out post.
I have always been accused of being a hammer.
To a hammer, the whole world is a nail.
All pasture cattle have been moved out of here long ago CL. We were hitting over a hundred
degrees almost every day the entire month, and it has continued with some slight moderation
since Jul 1. According to agronomist corn yields in this area will probably be down by at least
30%. We can't pump enough water to keep the stuff from rolling up like an onion every day.
Some around here is beginning to tassel now, and I wonder if there will be enough humidity for
the pollen to get to the silk, before they fry in the sun. Of course the spider mites are exploding,
they always do in times of drouth stress. Spraying to control then is another expense I don't
need. I guarantee you one thing, these feedyards around here will be bringing 90% of the corn
they feed in from the MidWest year after next. This Panhandle/South Plains area is going to cotton
so fast it will give you whip-lash.
It's good to hear someone got some rain. Hell, there are storms roaming around here tonight,
but I'm scared to death of them having hail. Just as soon as they began developing the temps
here dropped like a lead balloon. I've been watching them on the radar at intellicast dot com
holding my breath and praying they go North away from me.
.
I live in the desert, the heat doesn't bother me. I live out in no-mans land, so I talk to myself or my animals. lol When they talk back all figure it's over. lol
One doesn't need to know the particulars when one understands the underlying philosophy.
Do you suppose that they are being taught about individualism and how to be good Capitalists when they grow up?
Seems more likely they are being taught "altruistic" global Socialism – and those children of the elitists will be taught that it is their right to rule…
Short answers are typically the best answers. Naturally – I agree with you…
I would be curious to understand more about the "questioning of sources." Why is it that progressive movements teach you to question your tradtional religion (and either dismiss it as primitive or adopt a more suitable modern equivalent which waters down the differences in favor of getting along- the whole point of the IB right?), question your economic system (capitalism accentuates the hierarchy of a meritocracy so it mustn't be fair right), etc. And then when you have discredited all of your traditions (and the traditional worldview which got us all here collapses), the progressive movement swoops in with a better way which teaches you that equalizing results across societies is the only way to fix the world that God is apparently not paying attention to (if He indeed exists).
Yeah, I guess the particulars don't matter. We can all tell from one sound bite what it's all about. No need for any facts or in-depth thought.
Thanks for the excellent question! First of all, let me document dump from TOK Teacher's Guide. This is from the 2006 guide regarding "the nature of the subject":
Taken from "the Nature of the subject" IBO TOK Guide, 2006, p. 3-4
It is a commonplace to say that the world has experienced a digital revolution and that we are now part of a global information economy. The extent and impact of the changes signalled by such grand phrases vary greatly in different parts of the world, but their implications for knowledge are profound.
Reflection on such huge cultural shifts is one part of what the TOK course is about. Its context is a world immeasurably different from that inhabited by “renaissance man”. Knowledge may indeed be said to have exploded: it has not only expanded massively but also become increasingly specialized, or fragmented. At the same time, discoveries in the 20th century (quantum mechanics, chaos theory) have demonstrated that there are things that it is impossible for us to know or predict.
The TOK course, a flagship element in the Diploma Programme, encourages critical thinking about knowledge itself, to try to help young people make sense of what they encounter. Its core content is questions like these: What counts as knowledge? How does it grow? What are its limits? Who owns knowledge? What is the value of knowledge? What are the implications of having, or not having, knowledge?
What makes TOK unique, and distinctively different from standard academic disciplines, is its process. At the centre of the course is the student as knower. Students entering the Diploma Programme typically have 16 years of life experience and more than 10 years of formal education behind them. They have accumulated a vast amount of knowledge, beliefs and opinions from academic disciplines and their lives outside the classroom. In TOK they have the opportunity to step back from this relentless acquisition of new knowledge, in order to consider knowledge issues. These include the questions already mentioned, viewed from the perspective of the student, but often begin from more basic ones, like: What do I claim to know [about X]? Am I justified in doing so [how?]? Such questions may initially seem abstract or theoretical, but TOK teachers bring them into closer focus by taking into account their students’ interests, circumstances and outlooks in planning the course.
TOK activities and discussions aim to help students discover and express their views on knowledge issues. The course encourages students to share ideas with others and to listen to and learn from what others think. In this process students’ thinking and their understanding of knowledge as a human construction are shaped, enriched and deepened. Connections may be made between knowledge encountered in different Diploma Programme subjects, in CAS experience or in extended essay research; distinctions between different kinds of knowledge may be clarified.
Because the subject matter of the course is defined in terms of knowledge issues, there is no end to the valid questions that may arise in a TOK course. This guide consists mainly of questions that have been found to stimulate appropriate TOK inquiry. It would not be possible or desirable to include them all in a course of 100 hours spread over the two years of the Diploma Programme, though it is expected that all sections of the guide will be covered to some extent.
….
No teacher can be an expert in every field, and the sheer scope of the TOK course is daunting. Students also can be awed by the size of the questions they are considering. Both teachers and students need the confidence to go a little—not too far—outside their usual “comfort zones”. Then, with a spirit of inquiry and exploration, they can begin to share the excitement of reflecting on knowledge.
-end of doc-
Now to give some specifics as to what happens in a classroom. IBO provides some big and vague questions. For example, "How are knowledge claims justified? Are the following types of justification all equally reliable: intuition, sense perception, evidence, reasoning, memory, authority, group consensus, and divine revelation?" (p. 11)
However, the guide leaves how you answer that up to the teacher. I have seen a host of TOK teachers and they all swear by different philosophers and approaches. I've seen my students reading everything from St. Aquinas, Plato, Derrida, Foucault, Shakespeare, Pirsig, Darwin, Confucius, Dalai Lama, and the Bible…. It all depends on the teacher! That's why religious schools don't have a problem with it because TOK allows them to teach high academics (look at their math and science requirements! Way beyond your basic high school education) while allowing the ideology to be introduced and studied. The main reason that the protestant schools in Florida can't have it is because of the cost of the program. It you want to get weird about IBO, it is very expensive.
Edit to clarify: The teacher is not supposed to instruct the student what to think; rather the process of thinking itself. In their papers, the students are marked by the process or how they argue a position rather than the position itself.
People who ask you to open your mind either want to get in for your benefit or theirs. The IB curriculum sounds exactly like a philosophy of indoctrinating into a new world order. But indoctrination is naturally under the guise of a superior scientific materialism perspective. So we are taught to respect "the other" and hate ourselves. It sounds like yet another example of a 5th column progressive movement. Merely suggesting that everyone getting along is a higher value than say your own religious values or American exceptionalism for example is a method for indoctrinating kids into an intentionally subversive way of thinking. It's time we returned to celebrating the traditionals who nurture the roots of our culture and stopped celebrating the subversives who chop them into splinters in impressionable minds.
Corn,
You have been around here for a long time.
You might recall back in the early days here, palmtree (or one of those goobers) made the remark "I hope your house burns down". It did.
Five years ago, this coming Wednesday http://www.co.yellowstone.mt.us/des/ruralfire/pic... .
My ranch burned for almost two weeks. Over one hundred fifty thousand acres burned in that one particular fire. A good bit of it was on me. We cut the fences and and drove all the cattle to the river. I couldn't get to my mare band in time, and lost 23 foals. It was the wild, wild, west for sure. I went eight full days without sleep. I have never fully recovered from it.
The wind was blowing 50 plus miles per hour, dead out of the west. Two county road graders were cutting firelines, and could not outrun the fire. The operators went in a circle, bladeing dirt, parked in the middle of it, and crawled underneath them in their "Shake-n-Bake" suits.
One of the townies down in the valley started it, by burning trash in a barrel.
"Thank for the brilliant insight."
You're welcome, Honey.
Thank YOU, for the brilliant insight.
One only has to observe the differences between home schooled kids and public schools kids to observe this. Public school kids are 'retarded' but not in the way of knowing facts because they know plenty of facts. They know that conservatives are evil, freedom is bad, and property rights were invented by rich white corporations (oh…those are evil to). They are taught to question the authority of every social institution in existence which is why kids question relligion, their parents, their upbringing etc, etc, and etc. They are never ever taught to question the authority of government. What child coming out of public schools would question the validity of the TSA? They would however question the existence of Jesus Christ. Isn't that sad…
Answers the question of why FEMA is buying up all the dehydrated products on the market, of course with our tax money. For bulk quantities, like say………a one year pallet of product, there is an 8 month backorder for it. Also lends credence to why Janet (the man) Napalitano told her buddy to stock 6 months worth of food.
The crisis (created or natural) which this Admin will use for advancement of "the agenda" is looking more and more like food will be the trigger. Lord help us my friend.
I would argue that the "questioning of sources" that you are referring to is a lip-service type of questioning that is rampant on left and right. Many people do not want true questioning of their sources. I believe source evaluation is the most important gift we can give our children. Who is making a claim? Are they worthy of belief? Upon what evidence are they making this claim. Heaven-knows that election results would be different if people started asking those questions. Debate sharpens the sword of the mind and keeps the "What do I believe?" and "Why do I believe it?" in the forefront of one's actions. Remember the old song, "Jesus loves me, this I know…?" The old theologians had more than gut feelings at their disposal. They were constantly questioning what they believed and why they believed it. Read Cotton Mather or read the anguish of Calvin and St. Paul the Apostle, and St. Augustine.
That's a long and convoluted way of saying: "Don't be afraid of those questions, but know and keep watch over who is guiding your child in answering them."
It's so important that parents watch and know who holds the hammer over their children. Curriculum and good intentions can ruin a child if not used properly.
LOL!
"with their differences, can also be right."
This is how people on the left seem to think that two opposite opinions can be correct. I used to have long philosophical arguments about this with lefties and thought that this was just some kind of game but then I realized that the minute you dissolve truth it becomes impossible to say anyone is incorrect. In their minds supply side economics is just another opinion equally as valid as central planning simply because someone has that opinion. It is an example of two opposite opinions over the same issue being correct. It is like saying the sky can be both blue and red at that same time.
If the young man in the video is an example of the world's future intelligentsia, the world is in one mell of a hess.
This kid wouldn't know … like, you know … the difference between an apple and and orange because, like, you know, what is frui?. And if it fruit, are there baby fruits? And the oceans and the seas have to fit in there, somewhere … like, you know.
Pitiful. The poor fellow will be at the mercy of anyone with an agenda, for the rest of his life. I raher suspect this is the purpose of the "education" …
Honey, you ARE stupid! One sound bite? Have YOU ever bothered to study Philosophy? Do you even know the meaning of the word? If you understand the principles one operates from, their actions are very predictable. Reading philosophy is difficult enough, UNDERSTANDING it requires in-depth thought. I have invested many years on just such a venture.
The fact that you entirely missed my point in my initial response leads me to believe you are are either incapable of "in-depth thought" – or more likely, too lazy to engage in it…
No problem, cow BOY.
You and your "knee-jerk rants"… Do I have to report you or something? Will you ever learn?
Because stupid, lazy people such as yourself defaulted on the issues of rights and proper morality… Thanks idiot…
Not very original, are you, Darlin'?
That old line has been used by persons of far superior intellect. You fell flat.
As I told the Ex, you sure can't be first Honey, but you can be next.
"I raher suspect this is the purpose of the "education" … "
Precisely.
Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder both could see through that, even with their shades on.
The source is only irrelavant if you believe the source to be a liar which is why most people are questioning this program. The source usually is a left winger which has all sorts of implications. You can see it all over this video which is why the entire program should be counted as false? Does that make sense? Of course not. Their are all sorts of motives behind what people say but those motives do not make what they say as false. Again where is the objective of truth in all of this? That is the only thing that really counts because I can come up with all sorts of reasons why and how but those ideas would be wortless if they are completely false. I can have long philosophical discussions why the god Thor makes it rain on sundays. They may even sound good and intelligent on some level but in the end they would be all invalidated by the fact that Thor doesn't exist and therefore can not make it rain. He can not make it rain on sunday. He can not have any motives about why he makes it rain on sunday. He can not simply because he is not.
Me?
Knee jerk?
You know me better than that.
I just bait my hook with chum and go trolling, jerk the line the first time it bobs.
You'd be surprised what pops to the surface at times.
As a graduate of this program I can actually tell you its a big waste of time for many reasons. 1) Schools do receive money for every kid who passes an IB test – which once again leads to teaching and administrating for the result – I myself was refused the right to leave this so called "voluntary program" simply because I could pass a test.
2) It also means in classes such as theory of knowledge, you end up teaching philosophy according to a laughable international standard instead of exploring a concept so a student can build a…..philosophy
3) The IB classes arent any more recognized in most colleges than an AP course, but yet they are twice as hard which leaves kids half the time to explore extra curriculars, sports, you know things that actually do have a payoff.
4) In many cases IB forces kids to choose specialize tracks, meaning 1), no electives 2), a bare minimum of physical education, if any at all (possibly the most under apreciated class in high school), 3) 14 year old kids who cant comptently plan the next week of their lives are put into a situation where they have to plan their next 4 years of language and science courses.
Taxpayer, I've spent a large portion of my life teaching philosophy, and … for the most part … philosophy IS indoctrination. By its very nature, philosophy is intended to persuade.
My puspose was to teach the student ONLY what the original philosopher had to say in his particular system of thought. However, I can personally guarantee you that I was one of a small group of professional philosophers. Most use philosophy to push one ideology/agenda or another.
When your kids get to college, try to persaude them NOT to take any philosophy courses. Even the examples in Logic courses are intended to push them to the Left.
I respectfully disagree with you, but I may be misunderstanding you. Can you please define what you mean by "a good Capitalist"? I teach individualism in IB Psychology because it is a standard in the IB Psych subject guide. So, that one I can give a "yes" to. Give me a definition of "good Capitalists" and I'll check it along side what the guide states for IB Econ.
Then you will remember what Nietzsche said about staring into the abyss, and fighting with monsters.
One ought be careful not to fall into the abyss, or become a monster………….
Poor kid. Doesn't he realize that he has two legs? If he bought a "pant", it would cover only one of his legs. Accordingly, he buys a "pair of pants" because both of his legs need to be covered. Conversely, if he buys a shirt, he has only one torso that needs to be covered. Therefore, he does not need to buy a "pair of shirts".
He doesn't understand, because HE ISN"T BEING TAUGHT. However, he is being GUIDED.
Someday, he will gladly sell his freedom for a sense of "global consciousness".
And the good life is marked by the dogged pursuit of Truth, is it not? However, we have a generation of Pilates who are asking "What is truth," but we give them little means of finding it. IBO, even with its flaws, sets aside time for the student to explore these questions. So, as a parent, I would open up the communication at home. What/who do you believe is Truth? Why? It's a great time for a young adult to nail down a firm philosophical foundation that can stand the strains of the ivory tower faculty.
I don't usually comment on my articles, but I have done a lot of research on this, including the books the children have to read. I have several friends whose children have gone through this course, and they developed behavioral problems. One book, for an example, that they read was The Poisonwood Bible. Here is a link for a summary of the story http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/poisonwood/summary…. Also, teachers in Florida get $50.00 for each child that makes the grade, up to $2000.00 a year, and if they are in a "bad" school they can make an additional $500.00 if a certain number of their kids "pass". Every state has a different compensation package for the teachers. Personally, I looked at a lot of the youtube videos to get a feel for the theory of knowledge, and they all seemed quite manic! It's like they have no solid base of understanding ANYTHING ANYMORE!
Exactly. If one gazes into the abyss long enough, the abyss begins to gaze back at him.
I won't say that you're completely wrong, because there are some teachers who use TOK as an indoctrination course, but let me provide you with evidence before you emotionally invest in your opinion. What would you like to see from the IB guidelines and standards? I'd like to help you build an argument that has more than "it sounds like" and that way we can have a much more well-informed debate.
They have been exploring the questions, Defender. Unfortunately, when all you do is explore the questions, you never find the answers. That is, you never find the answers until the "facilitator" comes along to tell you what they are. And then, these children who have been taught to question all facts accept the "answers", gratefully. Why?
After a lifetime of confusion, they are grateful to finally find answers in this process.
1) Merit pay of teachers is a school district/ state thing, not IBO. Palm Beach SD used to pay $50 to for each passing AP-IB test up to $3000. They cut that 2 years ago. One of the first things to get cut.
2) depends on teacher un/fortunately. Like the free market, you can get really good ones, but you also run the risk of your experience. I apologize on behalf of my colleague.
3) VERY TRUE! VERY, VERY TRUE!
4) Again, depends on state and district requirements. I apologize for your experience.
That is why I wrote the article, so people would pay attention to these kinds of programs and to the education their children are receiving in general. It has just come down that Florida is not teaching American History before the Civil War. I guess that way they don't have to discuss those messy documents like the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. I wonder what they meant by the Laws of Nature and Nature's God? just kidding. I would rather have them reading Cicero, Ayn Rand, Shakespeare, Milton, the Bible…but then…those are the tomes I read in junior high when I was trying to find myself.
I teach college-level writing using the process method. It's good to help kids figure out what their tools are and how to use them more effectively. But without an explicit, specific academic target, students' learning will be scattered, error-filled, and incomplete–no matter how much you love on their "process." So, what specific skill and knowledge outcomes are expected for all students who take TOK?
Frankly, I'm not impressed by your list of what you've seen kids reading. Derrida and Foucault are babbling postmodern hacks in the "Western civilization sucks" school of thought. (BTW, both of these progressive paragons signed a petition to eliminate the age of sexual consent in France. So much for rational thinking.) Shakespeare was a storyteller, not a philosopher. Darwin was a scientist. Last I checked, evolution was a scientific theory, not a philosophy. How can any philosophy teacher worth a damn assign Plato without also assigning Aristotle? Aquinas but not Augustine? The Dalai Lama without the Pali canon or Agamas? And Pirsig?–geez. Might as well add the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" books to the IB philosophy canon.
Whether it's philosophy or math or medicine, a basic standard of knowledge must be met in order to truly learn and to move on to higher levels of learning. Would you let your 16-year-old learn to drive by figuring it out himself? Probably not. So why is it OK to let kids learn philosophy by figuring it out themselves?
What is there to misunderstand? Philosophy is the basis for ethics. Know a person's philosophy and you have a great insight as to their ethics. If the U.N. is even remotely pro-Capitalist, I have not seen one shred of evidence to support that notion.
What is a "good Capitalist"? Since almost nobody understands the true meaning of the word I will not act surprised that you are among them. A "good Capitalist" invents a product or service, or provides an existing one (in most cases) on a purely voluntary basis with his/her customer(s). No fraud, coercion, special "favors" or unearned rewards. "Profit" is not a dirty word – it is a moral concept.
As a teen I got to look at a tax return for an "event planner" in my metro area. Revenues were ~$650k, and "costs" were about $65k – a $585k profit… Was it immoral to earn so much on that cost basis? None of the clients thought so – and it was their free choice to employ that person… That was a "good Capitalist." Know who another one is? Me. I work for somebody else, but I capitalize on the skills learned in school and on the job. I provide a service and create a value for both my employer and his customers – and I get paid for it… Everybody wins, nobody loses and nobody gets "ripped off".
Don't bother to "check your guide" – your "guide" should be your own mind, not some convoluted crap from a manual written by a bureaucrat…
Now… Can you tell ME what a "good Communist" or a "good Socialist" is? Besides non-existent…
Collectivism and "altruism" are evil…
Exactly. As a college English instructor, I've found that my students just want someone to tell them where the freaking target is so they can learn to hit it. They're tired of being praised for shooting arrows at nothing.
You'll get no argument from me about Derrida and Foucault, but students need to be exposed to them before their college professor "razzle-dazzles" them. We lose too many free-thinking children in the universities, because they think we've hidden "the truth" away from them.
I would argue that mathematics is a type of philosophy as is the scientific method. And I share the same sentiment that children need to guided, but they must come to their own conclusions and beliefs. Does that make sense?
By guide, I mean the standards that IBO demands that I address. It doesn't tell me what to think, but instead what topics are addressed. As for economic, we've had enough people trusting their own mind. That's why there are concepts such as the Laffer Curve.
I'm not trying to be disrespectful to you at all, but I do feel that IB has been given the MMFA treatment by the people who are against that type of tactic. I willing to debate using evidence.
Yes, I realize that. I teach college English, and I'm in a tiny anti-indoctrination minority as well. My field has been usurped by cultral critics prosletyzing the rhetorics of otherness and victimhood. Bleh!
"the entire US educational system is designed to remove the skill of thinking/reasoning from our children's capabilities"
Critical thinking isn't nice, you know – if we really thought about things, we might notice DIFFERENCES between people or cultures, and then we might be tempted to -GASP- make JUDGMENTS!!! Which is just so so mean.
There are other, less critical, ways of thinking, though. If you try hard enough in school, one day, you'll come to learn that implementing communism (properly, this time) is the only way we can really be fair to each other – because being rich is unfair! I mean, think about it!
[I dunno about IB, but if my honors/AP courses were any indication, I'd say the author of this article could be correct.]
Frankly, a proper grounding in rational philosophy will arm the children against the babbling boobs in college. That's why a lot of kids with a religious background get through college relatively unscathed. They've learned a philosophical and moral system based on not just faith but reason.
One can look at mathematics and the scientific method from an epistemological POV. But placing them in the ethical realm has led to the idiocies of "2+2=5" and "Raising taxes will stimulate the economy."
Wow CL, how sad. Only folks who have made a living in agriculture could suffer these
kinds of trials and remain sane, even optimistic. My cousins have a ranch out West
of Clovis NM that burned late last Winter. It's out near a bombing range that Cannon
AFB used to use for practice training. They told me recently the bare-grass is coming
back to life, and they are actually glad, since it at least will help prevent the ground from
blowing into sand dunes like a damn desert. They said every time some little grass
sprouts up a windy day or two leaves it covered up in sand. I guess us folks who make
a living from the land can always find someone who has it worse than us, can't we?
.
I am so glad you have joined the conversation! I do have a couple questions and clarifications that I'd love to discuss with you (and if you request to take it to email, I can do that). I've taught in FL as well so this should be an Apples to Apples discussion.
As a Conservative and a teacher, I'm doing this as respectfully as possible.
1. They haven't paid teachers in FL for years for passing IB scores (2009?). They don't even pay National Board teachers extra anymore. Also, your writing makes it sound as if IBO pays teachers (at least to me) which has never been the case.
2.Your sampling seems a bit skewed for your research of TOK. Searching youtube videos is like the Chicago Tribune telephone polling the Truman election. Would you like the IBO teacher's guide for TOK? it will let you see where the structure is, because there is very little in TOK. It really rests in the hands of the teacher.
Please, understand that I'm not trolling or being mean, but I do think that this article smears a good program that allows free thought which has slipped into the public schools.
Don't expect anyone here to trust anything the U.N. does. We are aware of the fraud of the IPCC and the attempt to grab power and steal wealth to redistribute it based on a scientific hoax. We are hostile to a body that wants a "small arms treaty" in violation of our natural right to self-defense. We are morally offended by a "human rights commission" populated by representatives of the worst dictatorships on Earth. The U.N. is not a moral institution…
Most of us here (rightly) view the U.N. as a vehicle for International Socialism – a movement that IS real, and would destroy our rights at the whim of any bureaucrat ambitious enough to seize power there.
Again, if you understand the underlying philosophy of a person or an organization, you have gained a key insight as to their understanding of ethics. I do not like what I see there…
I don't and I don't expect anyone here too, but that's where I'm confused with your argument. While it may approve of it, the UN doesn't vote or approve the curriculum from my understanding. Am I incorrect?
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