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| NUMBER 239 | THE NEWSPAPER OF EDUCATION RIGHTS | DECEMBER 2005 |
| Social Change and IB World Schools | |
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Despite conflict with American ideals, the U.S. Department of Education offers taxpayer funds to help with the higher costs for IB, and the National Governors Association (NGA) promotes the program. Stated in the NGA's High School Reform: Aligning Secondary and Postsecondary Education Policy: "Congress . . . should support state efforts that encourage more students to enroll in Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) coursework . . ." (2-27-2004) Prior to the 2004 NGA high school reform policies, UNESCO held an International Conference on Secondary Education Reform (Dec. 2002). Among the topics presented was "International Baccalaureate programmes: Curriculum model for National Secondary Education in the 21st Century" by Dr. Ian Hill from the International Baccalaureate Organization. In "Study, Work, Rifle," reporter Damarys Ocana wrote: "When Castro took over [Cuba] in 1959, he considered education a key tool for his dream of creating a New Society, where a New Man would be molded to be devoted to the causes of revolution and Communism. . . . (The Miami Herald, 8-6-2000) With a focus on "the whole person," what New Society and New Man is the IBO seeking to create?
A new worldview Quist explains: "IB themes taken together constitute a worldview — an overall philosophy of life. According to UNESCO, the worldview taught by IB includes the promotion of the Earth Charter (a religious/pantheistic document), the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (which views human rights the same way Communist countries view human rights) and multiculturalism (which is based on the ideology of Italian Marxist, Antonio Gramsci)." (EdWatch, 6-30-2004).
Cultural appreciation? One such book is Cracking India — suggested in IB teacher training. PABBIS identifies it as "A Typical International Baccalaureate Program Book, A Typical Curriculum Book Challenge." PABBIS explains: "Shortly after school started this fall, the parent of an 11th grade IB program student in Florida got upset about a book, Cracking India, that her child was (supposedly) required to read. This book had explicit language, a description of a 9-year old girl's encounter with her teenage cousin's genitalia and being propositioned by him for oral sex, and the girl later having sexual fantasies. . . . " (11-9-2005) Another PABBIS review: The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With the Sea. Required for IB 11th grade, this "is about a 12-year old Japanese boy who is able to spy into his widowed mother's bedroom through a hole in the wall. He is able to see her having sex with her sailor boyfriend. The mother makes plans to marry the sailor. The boy and his friends discuss how much they hate 'fathers' and they plot to kill the sailor. They experiment on a kitten, torturing and mutilating it. By the end of the book, they have drugged the sailor, brandished a knife and are donning rubber gloves to kill him. The book is full of graphic and vulgar descriptions of sexual acts and violence. (PABBIS News, 3-8-01) Such books prompt one to wonder what kind of appreciation IB students gain by reading literature steeped in violence, murder, torture, vulgarity, sex, incest, prostitution, molestation, rape, and drugs, etc.
Creativity, Action, Service Is it the province of schools to mandate activity that includes community service? According to the U.S. Constitution - which IB students do not study - the 13th Amendment states: "Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."
'Theory of Knowledge' |
