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EdAction
Maple River Education Coalition PAC
105 Peavey Rd, St 116
Chaska, MN
55318
952-361-4931
http://www.EdAction.org
E-mail
Printer Version
September 20, 2004
International Baccalaureate Seminar Presentation
A.C. Flora High School in Richland County, Columbia,
South Carolina has an International Baccalaureate (IB) program like other IB
programs around the country. Most parents and school board members are convinced
that the IB program is a top-notch curriculum. But what does IB actually teach
our children? EdWatch has previously revealed some of the an anti-American
foundation of IB -- see http://edwatch.org/updates/063004.htm.
The IB
Seminar printed below describes the IB program at A.C. Flora high school as a
model for other schools that are offering or want to offer IB. To understand the
description below, the terms must be defined. As examples, we begin with
definitions of three terms that are used generously in the IB Seminar
description.
Since IB now operates in partnership with the United
Nations UNESCO, all of the terms used in the IB program will need to be
consistent with UNESCO terms.
1.) Definition of Environmental
issues
Both UNESCO and the IB program use the Earth Charter approach to
environmental issues (see http://www.earthcharter.org/). IB is a
signatory of the
Earth Charter. The positions of the Earth Charter are:
- Earth worship (pantheism).
- Evolution, broadly defined.
- Socialized medicine.
- World federalism.
- Animal rights (animals are seen as our brothers and sisters).
- Income redistribution among nations and within nations.
- Eradication of genetically modified (GMO) crops.
- Contraception and “reproductive health” (legal abortion).
- World-wide “education for sustainability” which includes spiritual education.
- Debt forgiveness for third-world nations.
- Adoption of the gay rights agenda.
- Elimination of nuclear weapons and elimination of the right to bear arms.
- Redefining the media so it will support the environmental agenda, not report on it.
- Setting aside biosphere reserves where no human presence is allowed.
2.) Definition of Multiculturalism
David Horowitz, founder
of the New Left movement in the 1960's and today's chief critic of that ideology
defines multiculturalism this way
--
"[Multiculturalism] is two lies in one word,
since it is neither multi- nor cultural. It is, instead, fundamentally political
and
3.)
Definition of Globalism
The UNESCO pamphlet published in 1949 stated it
clearly:
"[Children should be taught] those qualities of citizenship
which provide the foundation upon which international government must be
based if it is to succeed."
Along the same lines, the first
Directory-General of UNESCO, Sir Julian Huxley said:
"Specifically, in
its educational program it [UNESCO] can stress the ultimate need for world
political unity and familiarize
The IB Seminar description below is quoted
in its
entirety.
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IB
Seminar Presentation
http://www.richlandone.org/acflora/IBprogram/ibseminarpresentation.html
Danvers, MA October 26-27, 2002
The following report will be
used by the presenters at the International Baccalaureate Introductory Seminar
in Danvers, MA, on Oct. 26-27. This workshop is designed for schools from around
the world interested in becoming part of the IB Program.
A. C.
Flora's Plan for Integrating Global Concerns into the
Curricula
Global concerns will be addressed in the curriculum of each
course in a variety of ways, depending on the type of course.
For
instance, the Math Studies curriculum explores problems concerning the weather,
environmental protection, conservation, and energy.
Students will learn
the conversion of world currencies as part of the financial studies unit and
will be expected to focus their research project topics on global issues.
In HL Math the students will investigate a variety of problems with an
international emphasis. For example, in studying exponential growth and decay,
they will look at the global population problem, regional population problems,
and models for the spread of disease, using data from problem areas such as the
African AIDS epidemic.
The statistics unit will examine a variety of
problems from a global perspective, such as the disparity of wealth distribution
between first and third world countries.
The IB Physics curriculum will
integrate global concerns and perspectives in the following ways:
- when studying electricity and magnetism, students look at power production and the third world, the control of emissions from power producing plants, control of emissions from automobiles, non-point source pollution and countries right to defend against it (for example, Canada’s right for compensation from the US for the production of acid rain);
- when studying the law of conservation of energy, they will examine the oil reserves on earth and the rights of OPEC countries to control the production of oil;
- when studying scientific research, they will explore the need for scientific research and the need for advancement of science. The IB Chemistry SL course will include a study of the historical perspective of chemistry by learning about the discoveries of chemists (such as Lavoisier, Bohr, Haber) who are a part of a much larger geopolitical tapestry.
Students will delve into
some of the more pressing international pollution concerns, such as global
warming, fossil fuels, heavy metals, and other waste products of an increasingly
industrialized world.
Because science is an international discipline,
many opportunities exist for integrating global issues into the lessons. Some
examples include :
- environmental concerns (presently the honors level biology classes, which are pre-IB, are researching the Galapagos Islands oil spill from an Ecuadorian tanker. The students are writing persuasive letters to government officials. Worldwide environmental issues will always exist and can be integrated into the lessons.),
- medical initiatives (The Human Genome Project was recently completed, and multiple global avenues can be pursued on this topic. Students in IB Biology will investigate the faulty genes that will be targeted from the Human Genome Project and stay abreast of the initiatives that result from this new frontier.),
- global concerns (presently, mainland Europe and Great Britain are confronting two mysterious pathogens that are causing a global epidemic in the livestock populations: Foot and Mouth disease and Mad Cow disease. Both of these topics and other current ones will also be studied in biology.),
- athletics (the contextual area of athletics is international, as well as interesting to students. The Pre-IB and IB Biology classes will pursue studies involving the human body and performance, linking international sports and sports issues in this area.).
In Theory of Knowledge, students will
frequently address issues from a multicultural perspective. For example, ethical
topics must always be discussed from the perspective of different cultures, such
as Muslim, Native American, Western European, African, and so forth. Also,
students will seek to identify and examine the validity of cultural stereotypes
for example, the common assumption that Europeans use primarily linear rational
thought, while people of the Far East think in non-linear, mystical ways.
IB Theatre Arts will integrate the consideration of global concerns and
international perspectives through a learning environment that utilizes inquiry,
ethics and an exploration of non-western theatre traditions. Students will be
expected to become deeply engaged in reading, research, writing and performance
while exploring the relationships between theatre arts and real life within the
historical and current contexts of cultures outside their own. Potential areas
for in-depth inquiry are Sanskrit drama, Noh drama, Kabuki, Bunraki, folk drama,
storytelling, and Russian theatre and its influence on the West. Current global,
ethical, and social concerns will be researched through print media and the
Internet.
Students will develop thematic units that explore how
individual and community perceptions are influenced by the biases associated
with cultural diversity. These units will be given intellectual and creative
priority through the development of artistically engaging original scripts, song
lyrics, choreography, and conceptual theatrical designs. IB Language A1
(English) will study world literature through genre and thematic units that deal
with universal themes. The students will research and explore how these themes
are understood by the different worldwide social and cultural societies and how
they relate to current global issues.
Students will write critical
essays, both original and researched, on topics on the universal themes that
deal with global issues.
Students will look at languages in translation
and how misperceptions can arise from translation and social and cultural
biases.
IB History of the Americas will include journal writings on
worldwide current events and how events that originated in the other countries
of the world will affect the countries of the Americas and how events that
originated in the Americas will affect the other countries of the world.
Speakers from the community will address relevant issues, and students
will attend university and community events that emphasize plurality and
multiculturalism.
In Latin SL, an ancient language, students will
examine the ancient world as a sounding board to measure and compare the global
issues in a modern world. Students will discuss the impact on the Roman world,
as well as their own, of such topics as women’s rights, slavery, and national
imperialism.
Spanish SL will emphasize communication and the cultural
knowledge of different Spanish-speaking countries, the differences and
similarities between cultures. Students will become more tolerant and
understanding of different ways of living and viewing the world.
Students will be exposed to a variety of experiences with the language
and culture through films, songs, lectures, news broadcasts, readings,
conversations with native speakers, field trips, and future trips to places
where Spanish is the primary language. Through their knowledge of the language,
they will discover practices and products that are similar to and different from
those in their own culture.
Realizing that they have a new tool for
communication, students will become active participants in the globalization
process.
At A. C. Flora the French classes have continuously integrated
global concerns, such as pollution, endangered species, health issues (obesity,
aging, AIDS, cloning), space research, human rights, and the death penalty.
Students have read the unabridged version of the Petit Prince and the
abridged version of La Chanson de Roland. They have watched and discussed the
movies Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources, both based on novels written by
the renowned French writer Marcel Pagnol. The IB classes will continue in and
expand on this tradition.
In IB French classes, when discussing issues
in class, students will be given open-ended questions that allow them to
exchange ideas freely. They will write papers in which they discuss issues that
concern them on a very personal level and then expand these concerns to France
where they are allowed to see the French point of view and then expand this view
to the worldwide view.
The students will be required to identify global
concerns in writing and in oral presentations. When they fully understand the
issues, they will be required to develop solutions for these problems. Students
will use their creativity in the target language.
As is evidenced in
this report, the global concerns and perspectives in all the IB classes overlap
or are similar, which will help students realize how the different disciplines,
as well as all issues, are related and should not be addressed in isolation.