October 12, 2010 - On TAIB's Home page, we attempt to track the number of IB programs that are eliminated, as well as authorized, here in the United States. This is not an easy task as the IB numbers fluctuate throughout the year. Thankfully, one of TAIB's Texas watchdogs has created a program to identify which schools have been dropped. Over the weekend, five American high schools finally rid their schools of this program. They are:
Pinecrest High School, Southern Pines, North Carolina
North Augusta High School, North Augusta, South Carolina
Calhoun High School, Calhoun, Georgia
Bernards High School, Bernardsville, New Jersey
Hunter High School, West Valley City, Utah
If you want to know more about IB and its principles from the IB Watchdog group, you can find it here. You can also access the official IB site from this link as well.
What really caught my attention was the reference on the site about the Big Sky Tea Party and its fight in the sex ed curriculum which caused quite a stir this past summer in Helena. We wrote about this proposed curriculum in July. We wrote back then:
The arrogance of this board is astounding. I have been in written communication with a mother from this district who has a kindergartner. She confirmed to me that this curriculum was done "behind closed doors" for the last 2 years, and there was only one parent on this committee who had a student in the district. The other members were educational professionals with older children; children who would not be affected by these new standards.
The fact this was done behind closed doors reminded me of the health care legislative process. The secrecy was troubling. The idea that parents and taxpayers were not involved raised red flags. The Big Sky Tea party was concerned about these facts as well:
The Big Sky Tea Party has taken the position that the Helena School Board’s proposed ASCD Whole Child curriculum should be rescinded in its entirety on the following grounds:
- The process used by the Helena School Board is a direct violation of Montana State Constitution Article II Section 8 (Right of Participation) and Section 9 (Right to Know).
- ASCD Whole Child is directly associated with International Baccalaureate, or I.B., which is based upon United Nations’ established philosophies with an emphasis on development of “global citizens” while intentionally diminishing the importance of national heritage.
- I.B. education systems and the associated federal funding usurps governing control of the local school system away from local citizens and transfers it to federal agencies.
- The specific curriculum proposed by the Helena School District and the intent of I.B. systems violates individual parental rights and control to raise their children with the values and principles of their choice.
Therefore, the Big Sky Tea Party Association strongly urges citizens of the Helena area to insist upon cessation of any further attempts to implement the current health enhancement curriculum and also to remove any existing portions or segments of the ASCD Whole Child curriculum that may already be in place from the Helena School system.
Further, we urge the Board of Trustees to re-examine ASCD Whole Child and I.B. curriculum with an emphasis on researching and educating themselves on the negative impacts upon American heritage and culture. Should the Board of Trustees move forward with implementing the proposed curriculum, refuse to remove existing and terminate any plans for future expansion of I.B. style curriculum, the Big Sky Tea Party urges the citizens of the Helena area to use your power of the vote to begin systematically replacing the existing board members with candidates that will uphold traditional American and Montana rights, values and sovereignty.
You can find the rest of the article here.The Big Sky Tea Party refers to ASCD in its statement and here is a description of the educational organization:
Founded in 1943, ASCD (formerly the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development) is an educational leadership organization dedicated to advancing best practices and policies for the success of each learner. Our 160,000 members in 148 countries are professional educators from all levels and subject areas––superintendents, supervisors, principals, teachers, professors of education, and school board members.
It appears it consists of the same type of people who are creating curriculum and mandates like Race to the Top and Vision for Missouri Public Education. Did you notice who is missing? Parental input is not mentioned in these plans. You can access its website here and scroll through its intentions for your children.
There is a connection between IB curriculum and ASCD. It focuses on taking control from local and state boards and giving it to federal agencies.
Could this be the same focus we are seeing in the push for celebrating "International Education Week" in Missouri at the expense of the study of the US Constitution? We've adopted common core standards in English/Language Arts and Math in Missouri even before they have been developed. Montana now has (the school board voted to adopt these sex ed standards tonight) standards developed by professionals with an agenda to displace local and state control, and the school board chose not to involve parents in this agenda. This is an agenda which concerns one of the most personal aspects of their children's lives and impacts directly on parents' personal belief systems.
But remember, what we are seeing here is the belief pervasive in public education today; parents are "inconsequential conduits" that channel money away from public schools.
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