In Defense of International Baccalaureate

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No question that IB is academically rigorous and teaches critical thinking. No question either that it is an instrument of the UN designed to promote a global agenda, de-emphasizing the importance of the U.S. Why else would U.S. History be eliminated at the high school level? THe IB curriculum promotes "American Studies" focusing on the N. and S. American continents.
I have a great appreciation for other cultures. My grandparents were immigrants. I have lived and worked in Europe for an international exchange organization.
I have also worked for a major U.S. Fortune 100 corporation that grew from a garage operation to billions of dollars in revenue annually employing thousands of workers worldwide. This same, "global" corporation would never have gotten its start outside the U.S. It benefitted from the American enterpreneurial tradition,U.S. laws promoting a free market and U.S. venture capital. Probably not one of the IB case studies.
My children are citizens and future taxpayers of the U.S. (and those taxes support the world!) We are considering a charter high school, but if they go IB, forget it. As it is, their middle school teachers are too frightened to even say the pledge of allegiance. Yet citizenship is something that is taught -- arriving immigrants have to pass a test to qualify for it.
AP provides an excellent, rigorous program for high schoolers which includes U.S. History and Government. Students receive college credit by exam, the program is recognized by every major university, and the curriculum did not come out of the UN circa 1968. Unfortunately, many school administrators have already drunk the IB Koolaid and assume foreign is better.

Debbie of CA 4:25PM March 14, 2009

The poor state of American education is reflected in some of the ignorant comments I see here - people interpret personal opinion as fact without knowing what they are talking about. The person who keeps promoting their website regarding the "truth" about IB won't even put their name or organization down. They state they are "concerned citizens" which I would have to guess means one lone conspiracy theorist/keyboard warrior. After reading that site, I shake my head at the lies they promote as "truth."
My son is in middle school IB in the district in which I work as an assistant to administration. (I do not work at the school he attends) As a conservative and proud American, I would never put him in any program that would sway his mind against the US, and this program absolutely does not do that. Working for the district and knowing his teachers both personally and professionally, as well as his principal, assures me of this. Several of them, are, like me, conservative. Of course, I heard all the UN-run rumors and researched them completely before discovering there was nothing to it - and put my son in the program.
He has thrived. He is a conservative and worked on a conservative political campaign recently. This program link subjects together so they all relate to each other. There is a community service component - and they can choose to serve any community they wish, including a religious one. The students get a language beginning in sixth grade, which most students in this country no longer have. If learning a second language is some UN conspiracy, then I'm glad I'm part of it. Learning a language expands the brain the same way music does. As for taxpayer dollars: in California, we have stringent standards teachers must meet and curriculum they must use, whether in IB or not, and all standards are met. There are other programs in schools: AVID, ILS, IS, vocational tech, etc.
The IB students in my son's school are the ones who win the spelling bee, the math competitions, the science olympiad - graduates have become scientists and physicians. The emphasis in this program is critical thinking skills - not indoctrination. Challenging established beliefs leads to critical thought - not challenging them leads to indoctrination. If you fear IB, you certainly don't know what is going on in regular education.
In the high school my son will attend has both the IB and AP tracks and the IB students can (and do) take both. Mostly because they are over-achievers since most colleges accept the IB same as AP and it's given the same weight.
IB is just a rigorous program that gives our best and brightest a chance to do challenging work and think beyond the typical boundaries imposed by normal school culture. It's no more dangerous than Resource is for the underperforming student.
What it is NOT is a cult, an leftist indoctrination program, an anti-American UN-based curriculum or anything of the sort.

Ann of CA 2:19PM March 11, 2009

I read on the IB website where they encourage students to COMPLETE their health and physical education requirements early. No explanation was given so my assumption is that once one is enrolled in IB that there is no time for these subjects? If states have these as state standards, how can one complete them early if they are sequential and as we all know most districts don't provide enough time to even complete these requirements in the allotted time available now let alone early. If the assumption is that health and physical education are throw away subjects, I might question what IB is teaching if not that the physical self is separate from and not integral to the cognitive self (not that I suggest that they are separate as I do not). So the question remains, what about health and physical education or the real self that will carry into our futures and allow us to truly develop our total beings. Too much research is out there regarding physical activity and brain research to ignore this possible short coming.

Rick Swalm of PA 6:20PM March 06, 2009

It is 3/5/09 and I am currently attending an IB info session in McKinney, TX. The Imagine School (a charter school) is scheduled to open Fall 2010. The school will be a fully IB curicculum school grades 1 - 8.
The IB sounds very interesting. I am the product of the Texas public schools. And although it was a fine education, I don't think it would have prepared me for the world as it is today.
Pride in America does not mean that the emphasis on international mindedness is a bad thing. Also it seems to emphasize the learning process that will well carry a kid thru college and on into life.
We are seriously considering enrolling our kids after they finish 5th grade at Concordia Christian Academy (a private Luthern school in McKinney).

Daniel F. of TX 9:47PM March 05, 2009

Our school district added the IB program about 4 years ago. I currently have a student enrolled in the IB prgram, and I am very seriously considering taking him out of it. We are seeing the majority of the IB students, (Prior A+ students in AP and Pre-AP), barely passing the IB program. Many cases they are failing. In a class of over 100 IB students, 5 diplomas were given out last year. When I research specific graded instances where my student had problems, I see in other blogs that there is different ways to run the program. In our school, students do not get to review old assignments or tests that they did poorly on, because that would give the opportunity to the next years class to prepare. In many of the classes you cannot get tutoring before or after school to work an issue, and the teaching staff throws out the canned phase "we are teaching to the IB curriculum which is very strict".
What this is doing in our school is lowering the GPA and class rating of some of our best students for a goal, (diploma), that only 5% will gain anyway.
I found out that our school district like many others, is under budget constraints. So they cannot send as many people to training as they would like.
When I contacted the National office to verify the credentials of our teaching staff, they told me that schools are reviewed on a 5 year basis, and they really had very little authority over schools even if they found them not to be in compliance.
I think the IB program can be a good program. I don't think that the strategy that the National office employs to rollout a program at a school district is comprehensive enough or makes sure the schools are in compliance.
From our experience, I will be dropping my student from the IB program and back into the AP program. My other 3 Pre-AP students will stay the AP track and not bother risking scholorships or the ability to get into good schools based upon GPA, SAT and class rank.

Jim Rogers of TX 11:56AM February 27, 2009

IB may kick out bad schools, but isn't that a lot like what private schools do, kick out the "bad students" so the good students can learn? I think IB is the greatest thing that has ever happened. I'm a senior in IB, taking 4 HL's, 1 Sl, Theory of Knowledge and AP Statistics. I've worked harder than I think I ever have, but to me it is worth it. And we do need to become global citezens, because we live in a global society. Everyone lives on the same Earth and we all need to realize that and understand each other. I like IB because it's not about becoming really good in something you are already really good at, which seems to be what AP encourages. IB is about becoming a good well rounded student. I'm not saying IB can fix all the problems in education, because I certainly realize it can't, but I know that my educational experience has been greatly enhanced because I was able to be a part of the IB program.

Bridget of OH 2:08PM February 06, 2009

Not only is IB a trojan horse, but so is the rest of education since Goals 2000.
Sugar coat? How about globalistic bias?
Parents are sick of this nonsense and want real skills taught not social issues indoctrinated.
TOK is horrible.
How could anyone pay the worst group in the world, the UN, to bring this into your schools?
Do you realize what education is being used for? To destroy our government.

NH of NH 4:09PM February 04, 2009

Disclosure first: I'm a university educator whose child has expressed interest in both AP and IB programs. I stumbled upon this thread while trying to gather information regarding the IB program, because I'm already familiar with the AP side of things.
After plodding through these exchanges, I felt I should add my two cents' worth because my perspective appears to be different from those who have posted so far. AP and IB graduates populate my classrooms regularly -- I don't spot all of them, of course, but when a first-year student enrolls in an advanced course I typically ask whether she or he has come through one of the two programs. More often than not, the student has done so.
That said, AP and IB products alike do well in my courses. (Another disclosure: I'm in the arts and sciences area, so I can't speak to the whole engineering brouhaha that has periodically dominated this discussion.) These students are all motivated, well-organized, and a bit driven -- I usually cannot distinguish the AP students from the IB students, but they both tend to distinguish themselves from the general student body.
These students display a lot of diversity within their respective populations, from ethnicity to political background to extracurricular activities. One thing none of them demonstrates, however, is any urge to trash-talk the program in which they did not participate. All of them appear happy to have studied as they did in high school, and those to whom I've spoken directly about AP or IB issues insist that they owe much of their college success to their particular program of choice.
So why is this discussion full of -- as my students would put it -- haters? ObserverNY has thrashed about on these pages since last May and has also launched a website dedicate solely to the proposition that IB programs be pushed out of public schools. Yes, I've visited the website several times, because that seemed only fair -- but if anything posted there or here was going to change anybody's mind, we would have seen evidence of it sometime over the past nine months, right? Face it, Observer: your behavior is more than slightly obsessive.
To sum up: I certainly understand that folks sometimes don't like to support public programs with which they don't agree...but where does that attitude end? Should public schools stop installing or maintaining elevators because most students don't need wheelchairs? The proof of both the AP and IB puddings is that they produce good students and good citizens, two items of which our nation can never have enough. If we really must rant and rail at one another, let's please relocate to websites dedicated to the situation in Gaza or the newest economic stimulus package. In the meantime, I've said what I need to say and don't feel the need to post here again...and I'll be delighted when our child enrolls in either the AP or the IB program.

wheelhouse of KY 7:01PM January 28, 2009

I'm probably as conservative as it gets when it comes to politics, and probably one of the most patriotic people out there, but I had to laugh out loud when I saw the "IB is UNAMERICAN" comment.
I will not even begin to speak about how ignorant that comment is, because yes, we are American citizens, but seeing as how America is involved in the world's affairs, it would be in the best interest of America if her students were globally aware.
I was a student in the IB program in a school that was consistently receiving poor grades from the state. The only reason the school itself did not completely turn into one of the worst schools in the area was because of the IB program. One cannot POSSIBLY begin to argue against the IB program until they have been involved and have seen the results of the curriculum. I do not know anyone who works as hard as an IB student, or anyone who deserves more coming out of high school. I may be biased, but it is NOT about Image, it IS about substance. The material we used was the same material being used at top universities in the WORLD, not just the nation.
I don't know anything about school boards or reporting, but I do know that just because there is an issue with one school inflating numbers, it does not mean that there is an issue with the entire program at large. There is nothing wrong with challenging students to learn more, to try harder, to think outside of the box.
As for the comment about AP credits at Cornell...AP may get more college credits NOW, but does AP have service committments? Does AP encourage students to join clubs and hold leadership positions in their communities? AP doesn't have CAS, or ToK, or an EE, or unbiased grading. AP is a glorified honors course that is taught straight from the book. AP doesn't engage students in the real world. In the real world, colleges look at more than just grades.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I don't understand why everyone is up in arms about the IB program. If tax dollars don't pay for it, if it encourages high school students to grow and learn and want to be GLOBAL citizens, and if it boosts school scores (as it did in my school), THEN IT IS WORTH HAVING.

Epiphany Courrier of OH 1:22PM January 12, 2009