The days of having a school board that represents voters is OVER. Believe me when I tell you that behind the scenes the powers at be work in recruiting and maintaining board members that will not rock the status quo. School Boards do not want to be transparent. They are “NOT” forthcoming with parents, taxpayers or the community of their agenda’s or the progressive curriculum they are implementing. School Districts on a whole at the top are just another corrupt government bureaucracy run amok , sadly.
Magnolia’s ISD’s 2016 School Board election is this May and it appears they have roped another establishment candidate to replace Steve Crews for Place #1, local realtor, Kelly McDonald.Kelly will be the 3rd realtor to sit on the board which I find interesting. Have school boards now become a smaller version of the liberal “chamber of commerce”? Is serving on the school board truly about education any longer or business?
Kelly is a huge proponent in implementing the United Nations Marxist Curriculum, International Baccalaureate in Magnolia schools giving no thought to how or will effect our children and country. Kelly took to the podium the past fall at one of Magnolia ISD’s school board meeting to promote the program.
Kelly also served on the Magnolia ISD’s bond planning committee and starred in the following video to get voters out to vote in favor of the bond.
Magnolia ISD has been working quietly the last few years to implement the United Nations, International Baccalaureate Program (IB), paid for with our tax dollars. The IB program is promoted as a “prestigious & valued” program taken by students seeking college admittance and scholarships. Hidden is the history of it’s creation and mission of changing American Society. IB is no friend to the Christian faith or America’s western values.
Magnolia ISD is no longer an American School teaching American Exceptionalism, but a Global School with a Global Mission. You can read more about the history and mission of the IB program at the following post, Magnolia ISD Implementing “Marxist” Curriculum.
IB has a World Magazine which is published twice a year. The current issue promotes the practice of Buddhist Meditation called “mindfulness” by students and teachers. You can view this article in full on pages 11-19 of the March issue.
I have pasted a few excerpts from the article below. Please take the time to read the above mentioned blog post and the IB article.
If you are a Christian and value America and it’s freedom please make your voice heard and call the
Magnolia ISD Administration office and tell then we do not want this in our schools. Phone: (281) 356-3571.
As a Mom with a student in Argyle ISD, I am very concerned about the direction our school district is heading. As our schools embrace 21st Century Learning and the College and Career ready standards, we must ask ourselves as parents and adults; are our children being harmed by this?
As Moms and Dads, we need to step back and start asking “ourselves”…….
1. If our children graduate from high school or college with the attitudes, values, beliefs, behaviors and a worldview that we oppose and we know it is because their teachers have been trained to believe it is their responsibility to be the devil’s advocate and teach our children ‘Critical Thinking’ and to question and even oppose the foundational beliefs of our family; is that really a solid academic education that will serve our children and their future well?
2. Is our child getting college credits in high school more important than protecting our child’s mind and their soul?
3. If your child graduates from college, gets a great high paying job but no longer respects, much less believes, they are worthy of a strong marriage, a free and prosperous country, and that by the grace of God anything is possible; have we done our best to give our child a strong foundation for a happy joy filled life?
Let me give you a personal story from right here in Argyle ISD. This is what “21st Century Learning” also known as getting students “College and Career Ready” looks like in the classroom.
For a little background, my daughter is the only student in her class whose parents have refused to allow her to use a district issued chrome book or google student account.
One day she texted me screen shots of a quiz her AP/Dual Credit English 3 teacher asked the class to take. Because my daughter did not have a chromebook her teacher told her to take the quiz from her cell phone. The lesson plan for the class shows that they were working on group presentations on philosophy (in an English Class) and these quizzes were a part of the research each group was to do. Each group was assigned a Philosophy and after their research, each group gave a presentation to the class. The Philosophy’s the groups were assigned were….
1. Utilitarianism
2. Objectivism
3. Civil Disobedience
4. Existentialism
5. Categorical Imperative
6. Hierarchy of Human Needs
7. Social Contract
Parents!! Would you want your child taking a quiz called ‘Philosophy Experiments,’ in high school, much less on their district issued Chromebook, that grades their answers, compatibility, and then gives the student a “tension score” on a bar graph. Whatever two answers contradict, it plays devils advocate and makes the student question their beliefs.
Here are just some of the questions asked:
* There are no objective moral standards; moral judgements are merely an expression of the values of particular cultures. Agree or Disagree
* So long as they do not harm others, individuals should be free to pursue their own ends. Agree or Disagree
* It is always wrong to take another persons life. Agree or Disagree
* The right to life is so fundamental that financial considerations are irrelevant in any effort to save lives. Agree or Disagree
* Homosexuality is wrong because it is unnatural. Agree or Disagree
* It is quite reasonable to believe in the existence of a thing without even the possibility of evidence for its existence. Agree or Disagree
* There exists an all-powerful, loving and good God. Agree or Disagree
* The second world war was a just war. Agree or Disagree
* There are no objective truths about matters of fact; “truth” is always relative to particular cultures and individuals. Agree or Disagree
* Atheism is a faith just like any other, because it is not possible to prove the non-existence of God. Agree or Disagree
* To allow an innocent child to suffer needlessly when one could easily prevent it is morally reprehensible. Agree or Disagree
* The holocaust is an historical reality, taking place more or less as the history books report. Agree or Disagree
As I said, where there is a conflict with two answers, it analyzes the two and scores the student.
Here is an example……
Statements 5 and 29: Can you put a price on a human life?
28% of the people who have completed this activity have this tension in their beliefs.
You agreed that:
The right to life is so fundamental that financial considerations are irrelevant in any effort to save lives
But disagreed that:
Governments should be allowed to increase taxes sharply to save lives in the developing world
If the right to life is so fundamental that financial considerations are irrelevant when it comes to making decisions about saving human lives, then that must mean that we should always spend as much money as possible to save lives. If it costs £4 million to save a cancer patient’s life, that money should be spent, period. But if this is true, then surely the West should spend as much money as possible saving lives in the developing world. You may already give $100 dollars a month to save lives in the developing world. But if financial considerations are irrelevant when it comes to saving lives, why not $200, or $1000, or just as much as you can afford? If you do not do so, you are implicitly endorsing the principle that individuals and governments are not obliged to save lives at all financial cost – that one can spend ‘enough’ on saving lives even though spending more, which one could afford to do, would save more lives. This suggests that financial considerations are relevant when it comes to making decisions about saving lives – there is a limit to how much one should spend to save a life.
______________________________________________
28% of the people who have completed this activity have this tension in their beliefs.
You agreed that:
There exists an all-powerful, loving and good God
And also that: To allow an innocent child to suffer needlessly when one could easily prevent it is morally reprehensible
These two beliefs together generate what is known as ‘The Problem of Evil’. The problem is simple: if God is all-powerful, loving and good, that means he can do what he wants and will do what is morally right. But surely this means that he would not allow an innocent child to suffer needlessly, as he could easily prevent it. Yet he does. Much infant suffering is the result of human action, but much is also due to natural causes, such as disease, flood or famine. In both cases, God could stop it, yet he does not.
Attempts to explain this apparent contradiction are known as ‘theodicies’ and many have been produced. Most conclude that God allows suffering to help us grow spiritually and/or to allow the greater good of human freedom. Whether these theodicies are adequate is the subject of continuing debate.
Do you realize these responses and their data can legally be tracked for research purposes by 3rd party contractors? President Obama changed the regulation on the FERPA law? A student’s private data can be collected without parental consent in the name of “Education Research”. Here is a link you can take the quiz yourself. http://www.philosophyexperiments.com/health/Default.aspx
After taking this quiz herself, Clinical Mental Health Counselor Joan Landes stated….
“It’s a classic psychological deconstruction technique to put a person in a double bind and collapse his cognitive framework. Then the “leader” picks up the pieces and reassembles them to order. This is an inappropriate use of psychological force on impressionable minds and unformed identities.”-
Now, you might say, what public high school teacher would think this is a good quiz to give and blame it all on the teacher, but…..
That local superintendent is ultimately in charge of curriculum, and you the locally elected school board are ultimately in charge of approving funding for the professional development of both the teacher and the superintendent. In addition, you are in charge of funding technology used in the classroom that allows for our student’s data to be collected. It has been stated to me that this is an AP/Dual Credit class, therefore it is a college level course and okay. To that I have to ask. Why is this okay in college? It is certainly not appropriate for high school age students.
The challenge with 21st Century Learning/Common Core/College and Career Ready Standards transformation of education, is how teachers are being re- trained to teach. It is their professional development. In addition, administrators are being trained, through their professional development, how to deal with parents who complain. It is actually the teacher who is in danger, because they are many times used as the fall guy. Education is no longer about reading, and writing in a 21st Century English classroom. It is about the 4 C’s Creativity, Communication, Critical Thinking and Collaboration.
In Texas we said NO to the Common Core National Standards, but we’ve said yes to our teachers being re-trained for 21st Century Learning using the InTASC Model CoreTeaching Standards; Learning Progressions for Teachers. The Copyright for these standards is owned by the Council of Chief State School Officers, who as you will remember own the copyright to the Common Core National Standards. They are all aligned to a collectivist philosophy of education. Check out standard #5. When you begin to research what is happening, you will see, this is NOT 21st Century Learning it is simply another push for OBE (Outcome Based Education).
“The teacher understands how to connect concepts and use differing perspectives to engage learners in critical thinking, creativity, and collaborative problem solving related to authentic local and global issues.”
Clearly worded in the InTASC paper is states; “these standards differ from the original standards in one key respect: These standards are no longer intended only for “beginning” teachers but as professional practice standards.”
The College Board’s SAT and AP (Advanced Placement) assessments and conceptual frameworks can be described as “Transdisiplinary” in their purpose.
Transdisiplinary is when the function of the subject matter, concept themes in the syllabus, and course frameworks are all used to guide how a student views the world. The technical term most commonly used is lenses. Effectively these lenses become the values, attitudes, and beliefs the students are to be taking away from the curriculum.
Therefore my question is, are you okay with this? As parents are you okay with your child in Argyle ISD being taught using these learning theories and teaching strategies?
Argyle ISD is not an isolated incident. Nor is it isolated to AP/Dual Credit classes. This is happening in school districts across Texas. (RISD) Richardson ISD held a meeting for angry parents speaking out against (PBL) Project-based learning. In the audio clip below you will hear Tabitha Branum, Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Education (formerly Coppell ISD) describe how teachers are no longer teaching as they did in the past and are being re-trained. She goes on to explain that the STAAR exams no longer ask questions about facts, such as “can you identify this organ” and or “what is the function of this organ?” Then the biology lead teacher explains why they are shifting away from learning facts in exchange for building “social skills”.
I would also like to let you know that my children are NOT allowed to take any surveys online or for the school district, state or federal government. If their grades suffer because of this I would like to let you know about this federal law.
Limits on Survey, Analysis, Evaluations, or Data Collection (United States Code, Title 20 1232h)
(b) Limits on survey, analysis, or evaluations
No student shall be required, as part of any applicable program, to submit to a survey, analysis, or evaluation that reveals information concerning—
(1) political affiliations or beliefs of the student or the student’s parent;
(2) mental or psychological problems of the student or the student’s family;
(3) sex behavior or attitudes;
(4) illegal, anti-social, self-incriminating, or demeaning behavior;
(5) critical appraisals of other individuals with whom respondents have close family relationships;
(6) legally recognized privileged or analogous relationships, such as those of lawyers, physicians, and ministers;
(7) religious practices, affiliations, or beliefs of the student or student’s parent; or
(8) income (other than that required by law to determine eligibility for participation in a program or for receiving financial assistance under such program), without the prior consent of the student (if the student is an adult or emancipated minor), or in the case of an unemancipated minor, without the prior written consent of the parent.
UPDATE
In preparation for the Argyle ISD school board meeting on Tuesday Jan. 19th, 2016. Here is a link to my public testimony at the Jan. 19th meeting.
Last week the World witnessed the United Nations 70th Anniversary Assembly in New York. The United Nations is notorious for promoting a Globalist Marxist ideology. We saw Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stare down leaders from around the world that would love nothing better than have his homeland of Israel obliterated from the earth.
You would think that here in Texas we would steer away from promoting the UN agenda but sadly that is not the case. We have local Texas School districts implementing the Marxist ideology with the International Baccalaureate Program (IB). Those of us that have actually researched the IB program know that is bent on changing our society.
At this moment, Magnolia ISDis promoting and implementing the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IB) (11&12th grades). Why would a local Texas School District that supposedly has a “conservative” school board, sit idle by while the administration implements a Marxist program and give up local control of any of their students education to a foreign entity, such as Switzerland? Unbeknownst to parents and taxpayers, the administrations applied for the program in the spring of 2014. Board members and some progressive leaning parents as well others will say “Well it is an optional program.” Seriously? Having an optional globalist program that supports “international numbness” and not American Exceptionalism that is bent on changing society is ACCEPTABLE? Are we forsaking what the Greatest Generation, as well as others, fought to protect our way of life from abject tyranny at the end of the day?
Magnolia High School signed their application March 31, 2014.
Magnolia West High School filed their application on
January 4, 2014.
As you can see, the administration filed for the “candidate phase of the IB” program before ever officially presenting the program to the school board on September 8, 2014!! There was NEVER an official school board vote allowing the district to purchase and implementthis Marxist program. You would think a school board would have a say on what their students are taught, right?
One parent called me recently asking “What use is a School Board”? My answer is NOTHING! As you can see in this situation, school boards for the most part are just “Rubber Stampers” for the administration. Thhttp://www.redhotconservative.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=4610&action=editey rarely have any real knowledge of the Administration’s agenda. One will rarely find a a school board member that will represent those that elected them into office. Why? They have businesses in the area and need to maintain a positive image by not making waves, or they have kids in the district and fear they will be retaliated against, or they just promote the same “liberal” ideology.
The Diploma Program has a required course called “Theory of Knowledge” (TOK) that all students must participate in. The TOK has no academic value. It is a “brainwashing” class using Hegel’s Dialectic Theory having students questioning all they know that is “TRUE”. Reminds one of the scripture in Genesis when Satan deceived Eve into eating the apple.
The Magnolia ISD administration states that the IB program is not affiliated with the United Nations. That is a LIE!
#1 The IB program is a registered non-governmental organization of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). This is a snapshot from the UNESCO website.
5. Assessments are graded and scored on the fact that a students minds can be shaped toward globalism and socialism, rather than toward capitalism, democracy and pro-Americanism. If you don’t “cave in” to the globalist/socialist way of thinking on these assessments, you won’t get a high score, or get in to the elite colleges controlled by the same type of people that promote the IB curriculum to parents.
7. Supports UN Treaty on the Rights of the Child where if adopted a government’s right supersedes the rights of parents.
8. Should there be arbitration regarding scores or any other matter with the IB program it is handled under Swiss Law. NOTE….Arbitration under Swiss Law is handled by a United Nations Company.
9. The IB Program is very Expensive. Fort Bend ISD got of the program due to the expense. IB requires that all IB instructors be certified by IB–these costs include the IB fee for the seminar, travel, lodging and sometimes car rental expenses. Magnolia ISD has already spent over $50,000 to implement the program and the program is not being implemented until the Fall/2016. More on the cost of the IB Program. Why would Magnolia ISD agree to such astronomical costs to the district for only 2 grades?
Please make your voices heard. Here are the dates for the up coming school board meetings. The next meeting is Monday, Oct 12th, 6:30 pm @ 31141 Nichols Sawmill Road, Magnolia, TX 77355.
Our government run public schools are working fast at indoctrinating America’s school children. You can call it Out based education, Project-based learning, Common Core, Cscope (Texas) or the United Nations International Baccalaureate (IB) Program, it is all based on Marxism. Parents,grandparents and taxpayers need to start paying attention!
International Baccalaureate is another arm of U.N. Agenda 21 indoctrination of our children into “global citizenship, social justice, intercultural understanding and respect,” submission to one-world socialist government, using American taxpayer dollars. IB programs are devoted to the “radical transformation” of America’s classrooms and unfortunately most parents have no idea what it is.
These children are our future!
Texas states that Common Core is illegal in Texas but it is all smoke and mirrors. Believe me the philosophy behind Common Core (collectivism/Marxism) is in every public school in Texas, they change the name to protect the guilty. Schools districts are masters at deception.
Texas has lost its way when it comes to educating our children properly thanks to our Texas legislators. Unfortunately, for students and our country Texas school districts have been implementing the Marxist teaching philosophies with the use of Cscope, Common Core (though illegal in Texas the Math Teks prove otherwise) and the International Baccalaureate Program. The names may change but the philosophies remain the same, MARXIST. For the purpose of this article we will focus on the International Baccalaureate Program which Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD has implemented with a hefty price for taxpayers .
The United Nations, International Baccalaureate is listed as a non-governmental organization with consultative status under United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The International Baccalaureate program is the brainchild of Fabian Socialist, Marie Maurette. Ms. Maurette, did not want students receiving an education in History until after the age of 12 in hopes of creating global citizenship and international-mindedness. “We are all ONE”, Good Bye America!
UNESCO’s mission is promoting a one world government while promoting HUMANISM (no God).
The International Baccalaureate Program is promoted as a high achieving program for students to accumulate college credit. What is not told is the program is “inclusive” open to all students high achieving or not. Not all students who participate in the program will be able to get an IB diploma. IB examines are graded under international law and if there is to be any arbitration in regard to a students exam and diploma it is held under Swiss law. Why are we handing our education over to those with no allegiance to America?
The IB program is very expensive. There is an annual per school fee to be part of the program. HEB ISD paid an annual fee for the two high schools @ $10,820 per school. The fee will go to $11,090 for the 2015/2016 school year. The district also paid over 200,000 just for registration and exams for the 2013/2014 school year. There are other fees and expenses that go along with the program, material, teacher development (they have to teach the IB way), district IB Coordinators, etc.
The high school Diploma program consist of a mandatory course called “Theory of Knowledge” (TOK). TOK has NO academic value. This course uses Hegel dialectic manipulation leading students to question any and everything their parents have taught them as “truth” even their faith in God. Below you will see a couple of activities in an older version of the “Theory of Knowledge” IB text book.
Why a school district thinks it is their duty to place students in this environment where everything their parents have taught them is questioned is beyond me. Could the intent be to indoctrinate and wash away any allegiance one may have to God and America?
You bet it is!
To learn more about the International Baccalaureate and why you should be concerned.
I had the opportunity to address the Magnolia ISD school board in relation to their implementation of the Marxist International Baccalaureate Program and my concerns. Below is my speech. I was not able to finish it due to a 5 min time limitation.
In 2012 my mother and I discovered the Cscope curriculum that the Education Service Centers had created and then leased to Texas School Districts. I may not be a public educator but as an American I knew something was wrong when I realized the material portrayed the Boston Tea Party as a terrorist act, asked students to draw a new communist flag, taught that Allah was the Almighty and portrayed communism as something to be achieved. My concerns were increased when teachers admitted to having to sign a non-disclosure statement stating they would not release the contents or say anything negative the about the Cscope material. Students had no textbooks and parents were forbidden from viewing the material. I contacted school administrators in numerous Cscope school districts regarding the content. Unexpectedly, administrators took to marginalizing my concerns, calling me names, from conspiracy theorist to a liar and then some. Their reactions strengthened my resolve and caused me to dig deeper into what was happening behind the scenes. Thankfully my concerns started getting statewide attention with the help of TV personality Glenn Beck, local radio hosts and the national media. At the beginning of the 83rd Texas State Legislature I met with Lt. Gov Dewhurst and as a result of our meeting, he called for a Texas Senate Hearing on Cscope which eventually led to a House hearing and bills being passed reigning in this rouge program and the ESC’s. A state audit of the program was then requested and performed, and as of today there is still 6.1 Million unaccounted for from the Cscope debacle. In light of this it is surprising that Texas Schools continue to fund the ESC’s. Texas has over 1000 school districts and it took me some time to realize the reason that 900 plus school districts would be so deceptive in their implementation of such a program. It was the ideology behind it. A Marxist one based on Social Constructivism. I then realized our education industry had becomes masters at deception when it comes to implementing programs that will attract public criticism. Terms have been redefined: “Rigor,” once associated with knowledge, has come to mean the ability to grapple with something that doesn’t have a defined answer. “Critical thinking” now means the ability to be critical (usually of traditional ideas and values), instead of the ability to analyze. Students are taught to question everything, even what they have learned from their parents which may include personal values, and Absolute Values are no longer taught. This brings me to my concern about the International Baccalaureate (IB) Program that Magnolia ISD is planning on implementing. Just like Cscope when criticism begins on a prescribed program, studies are then showcased in hopes of proving what a wonderful program the IB is. You have placed on the Magnolia West website a study by IB- Graduate, that sings IB’s praises which is based in London. Will Archer is the CEO of that company and he travels the world promoting International education and the data mining of students. Magnolia ISD has also placed a Myth and Facts document about IB that really twists the facts around only to mislead the reader. IB was initially funded by the UNESCO and as per this UNESCO document IB is a NGO arm of UNESCO. The IB Organization explains that IB and Common Core Standards share the values and beliefs of the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights with emphasis on Article 26. These are values America does not support, such as surrendering the United States Constitution, national sovereignty, complete disarmament and individual rights where students then become members of the “world community. The district states anyone can enroll in the IB program which only proves it has nothing to do with high academic achievement. One required course for the IB program in the Theory of Knowledge class. This course has no academic value. Students are to learn what “Knowledge” is and are required to do an oral presentation and essay based on a “knowledge issue”. In this IB document some knowledge issue example questions are given for students to choose from. EXAMPLES…Is it reasonable to believe in God? What kind of knowledge is Math? Is religion necessary to have a good moral center? Should gay marriage be allowed? Is homosexuality a choice? Are there real differences in the sexes? Magnolia ISD has not sought community input or board approval in purchasing and implementing the IB program. A feasibility study is required and as far as I know there has not been one. The district has not performed a cost analysis as to what the program will cost the district? You have spent 4,000.00 per high school to apply for the program and 9500.00 per school for annual candidacy fee. This fee for Sept 2015 will increase to 11,090 per school. Does the district know what it will be in 2016? This does not even touch what it cost to train the teachers and the other fees associated with the program. Why would our school board approve funding a program when you have no idea what this is going to cost the district? I am asking Magnolia ISD school board to do due diligence in investigating this program and its agenda. My question to you is what are you going to say to your children when they realize you could of stopped a program that is detrimental to not only our students but our country as a whole. The program is not needed and should be stopped. Thank you.
What we have learned about International Baccalaureate
(IB)
by Duncan and Aileen Koler
We have three children who have attended public schools in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. We have been thrilled with the education they received here – until IB was introduced. In January we made the difficult decision to withdraw our two youngest from public school and began home-schooling them. The main reason for this was what we discovered through our research about IB: political indoctrination has replaced good academics in our local public schools.
We will refer to the International Baccalaureate Program (IB), its related Middle Years Program, (MYP) for middle schools and Primary Years Program (PYP) for elementary schools collectively as “IB”. All three are “curriculum in a box” programs created and sold to individual schools by the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) in Geneva, Switzerland, in cooperation with the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). These programs are now being used in the Coeur d’Alene School District. Every child at Hayden Meadows Elementary School is now being taught this curriculum – there is no “opt out” opportunity.
Our introduction to IB came at Coeur d’Alene High School’s 2006 orientation assembly for incoming freshmen and parents. They announced that CHS had been accepted as an “IB School.” They excitedly told the assembly that the IB Program meant: (a) academic excellence; (b) guaranteed college credits for IB classes; and (c) preferential college admissions. They told us that IB was far superior to the successful Advance Placement (“AP”) program already in place. We were excited for our academically-oriented freshman son, and he decided to take IB courses that were going to be offered starting his junior year.
We began to question the IB curriculum when we learned significant classroom time in our son’s supposedly hard-science IB chemistry and math courses was being devoted to environmental and cultural topics such as global warming and human overpopulation, and the slant that came with the classroom discussions.
We decided to do our own research regarding the IB curriculum. We were shocked by what we discovered about what IB teaches, and the strategies underlying the curriculum. In addition to being extremely controversial in other parts of the country, we discovered IB is extremely expensive, that very few students ever obtain the vaunted “IB Diploma” and that colleges prefer AP over IB for class credits and admissions.
Our research left us with the impression that we had been sold a bill of goods by our school administrators, who never said anything about the controversies surrounding the IB Program, whose stated goal (as shown below) is to produce good “Global Citizens.” We believe an honest public discussion about these issues should have occurred before the IB Program funding began using taxpayer dollars.
Our research focused primarily on materials available directly from the International Baccalaureate Organization’s own website: http://ibo.org. In particular, we took the time to read the posted speeches given by IB administrators at its annual conferences, to learn how IB really sees itself and its mission. We found that IB’s mission is about pushing a UN social, economic and environmental agenda upon our children.
The IBO was formed in Geneva, Switzerland in 1968 under the guidance and funding of UNESCO (1). Today, the IBO is an “NGO” (Non-Governmental Organization) with formal ties to the UN (2). IBO works hand-in-glove with the UN to implement the UN and UNESCO’s educational objectives (3). To understand IB, you have to be aware of the overarching UN education campaigns that IB works to implement.
UNESCO has created a series of rolling/overlapping world-wide education campaigns. For example, 2001-2010 has been the UN’s “Decade for Teaching a Culture of Peace.” Peace is a worthy goal, but the UN (and consequently, IB) has its own ideas as to what teaching “peace” means. In its paper, “UNESCO – Mainstreaming the Culture of Peace,” UNESCO states its view that peace “is not simply the absence of war,” but requires equal distribution of economic and social resources (4). One of the “Action Areas” for the Decade for Teaching a Culture of Peace is to focus on teaching “sustainable economic and social development.”(5) This UNESCO paper presents redistribution of resources rhetoric at its best. It is apparent from reading it that “teaching a culture of peace” means teaching the UN’s viewpoint on all social, economic and environmental issues.
The IBO has been a major player in implementing the UN’s “Mainstreaming a Culture of Peace” campaign and this is reflected in an IB curriculum which strives to push the UN’s viewpoint in every one of its courses, even those such as math, chemistry and foreign language courses, which academically have nothing to do with these issues. Evidence: the IBO’s “Mid-Term Report on the International Decade for a Culture of Peace…,” addressed to “NGOs maintaining formal relations with UNESCO.” (6) On page 4 of this report, the IBO states its key difficulty in implementing the UN’s Culture of Peace program was, “realizing that peace education is not an add-on but an integral part of the curriculum at all levels.” (In other words, peace education concepts are injected in every course. This was our experience with our son’s IB math and chemistry courses at CHS.)
“Peace” and “Sustainable Development”
Overlapping both conceptually and time-wise with the UN’s Decade for Teaching a Culture of Peace, the UN has announced 2005-2014 as the “Decade of Education for Sustainable Development.”(7) This UN education campaign carries forward the UN’s concepts of economic and social justice through resource redistribution and environmentalism. Again, IBO is on the front lines of implementing this campaign’s goals. This conclusion is supported by looking at recent speeches and presentations given at annual IBO world conferences.
IBO’s Director General George Walker gave the keynote address at the Biennial Conference of IB Nordic Schools on September 9, 2005 (8). He confided that an “IB education” is not simply about a good academic education, but rather an education process geared toward creating the “true global citizen, the person who has the necessary intellectual skills, the cultural understanding and both the ability and the attitude that wants to shift another’s position as well as their own.” Dir. Gen. Walker goes on to speak glowingly of Marie-Therese Maurette, who was involved with UNESCO’s early efforts in the 1940’s to create a world educational framework, resulting in publication of a series of handbooks. Ms. Maurette’s views are revealing and echo those found in another UNESCO handbook, “In the Classroom with Children Under Thirteen Years of Age, Toward World Understanding-V,” (9) which contains the revealing quote at p. 44:
“As long as the child breathes the poisoned air of nationalism, education in world-mindedness can produce only rather precarious results. As we have pointed out it is frequently the family that infects the child with extreme nationalism.”
Dir. Gen. Walker winds up his remarks noting, “But the IB can only do so much and within each element of the curriculum, and particularly in creating the hidden curriculum that determines the school’s values, it will be the teachers and administrators who have an overwhelming influence.”(9) This statement helps explain why there is costly and continuous teacher training/indoctrination that is part of the IB Program.
In 2006, the IBO held an International Conference in Hanoi. Keynote speaker Dr. Peter Vardy spoke on the topic of “values education,” noting the need for IB to balance its focus on moral relativism with appropriate values teaching, begging the question, whose values? (10) Dr. Vardy labeled as “dangerous” any viewpoint that would teach good vs. evil, right vs. wrong, and specifically, the “American Way.” Conversely, while Dr. Vardy characterized Western Ideas as “confused,” he praised “Asian values,” including Chinese Confucianism, as the kind of “Universal Values” that should be taught. Dr. Vardy equated Christianity as a kind of “fundamentalism” on par with Islamic Fundamentalism (11).
As part of its implementation of the UN’s “Decade of Education for Sustainable Development,” the IBO held a regional conference in Singapore in October, 2007, with a presentation entitled: “Education for Sustainable Development: A Framework for Educational Reform.”(12) This presentation effectively communicates that “ESD” (Education for Sustainable Development) is based more on redistribution than conservation of resources. It notes that “values education” principles of peace and human rights are to be included in an integrated “ESD curriculum,” and aims for “integration of SD into all relevant subjects.”(13)
It is apparent from IBO’s own materials that Director General Walker was being absolutely candid in stating that IB education is not simply about getting a good education. IB’s goal is to indoctrinate our children with UN-Globalist values that are often at odds with American values and interests, and Judeo-Christian values. Although issues such as climate change, redistribution of wealth, the environment, global management of resources and disarmament are all hotly-debated political issues within our society, by allowing IB into our schools we are effectively allowing the UN free-reign to indoctrinate our children to their viewpoint. Thus, while we may reject many aspects of the UN’s agenda at this point, through our local schools and our children they are currently undermining the foundation of our future as a nation and a society founded on individual freedom and inalienable rights.
The above information was more than enough to cause us to withdraw our two youngest from public school, and motivate us to step well outside of our “comfort zone” by taking a public position that is contrary to the people and institutions we have placed our faith and trust in over the last 12 years. However, there is much more information available. We encourage you to educate yourself through your own research, to ask questions, and to insist on direct answers. (Also, be aware of what school programs you support financially, such as IB/PYP through “Extreme Raffle Baskets.”)
Additional Practical Reasons for Rejecting IB
First, the IB Program is expensive. According to figures obtained through a public information request, the program at CHS and LCHS alone has cost us $1,168,438 through 2008 and continues to cost taxpayers close to $150,000 per year. (This does not include the PYP costs.) Yet, out of only 411 students enrolled in IB classes at CHS and LCHS combined for ‘08-09, only 4.5% of IB students actually completed the Program (14). Instead of cutting teacher positions and/or salaries, we should be discussing ending an IB program that is more concerned with propagandizing our kids on political and social issues than teaching good academics.
Second, IB is not a good academic program. Every minute of class time in your child’s biology class (and other classes) spent on the need for resource redistribution or blaming mankind for Global Warming is time taken away from the core subject. At the primary school level, time spent developing the UN’s “true global citizen’s” proper social conscience is time not devoted to the basics. Perhaps that is why Fernan Elementary School’s principal Warren Olson recently suspended the school’s PYP program, noting that since its implementation, students’ test scores had “flat-lined.”
Third, the promise of college credits for IB courses and easier college admissions for IB students has proven doubtful. IB tests are graded with scores of 0-7. University of Idaho, Gonzaga and North Idaho College have all indicated they require a score of 5 or better for receiving college credit, and they often require students pass an oral interview to receive credit. Out of 103 total IB exams given at LCHS prior to this school year only 9 scores were 5 or better. Thus, less than 9% of the IB grades were eligible for college credit.
Fourth, there have been indications that some of our teachers may not be happy with the IB regime and curriculum. There has been a turnover involving well-respected teachers from Hayden Meadows moving on to other schools which coincided with Hayden Meadows’ implementation of PYP this past fall.
We feel strongly that it is time to start asking questions about our children’s education, and especially IB. Many of us came to North Idaho because of our relatively traditional and conservative values, or were raised here in North Idaho with such values. We have been astonished by the results of our research into IB, shocked that it is replacing quality education right here in our local schools, and frankly outraged that this controversial program was introduced without public discussion of the controversies.
For more information, please visit www.truthaboutib.com.
ENDNOTES
See, “Founding Donors” at the IBO’s website, www.ibo.org.
Apparently this low program completion rate is not unique to Coeur d’Alene, and signals that the IBO is less concerned with students actually completing the IB program than it is with exposing as many of our children as possible to UN Globalist doctrine.
Texas Associati0n of School Administrators (TASA) along with Texas School Districts and Texas Education Service Centers (ESC’s) are implementing what they would call a “Necessary Revolution” a plan to Transform Texas Education. TASA’s “Creating a New Vision” for public education has been working within Texas School districts by implementing a “Marxist” constructivist philosophy of teaching called “Student Centered Learning” or “Project Based Learning”. Teachers and Students hate it. Unfortunately, teachers are silenced out of fear of losing their jobs.
District Superintendents that have signed onto this TRANSFORMATION are called Future Ready Superintendents. Has your district signed on.. check HERE. This transformation is not only hurtful to students and teacher morale but it cost taxpayers thousands of dollars.
TASA has sought the help of Shannon Buerk and her company “Engage2Learn” to help implement this “new revolution”. School districts will contract with Engage2Learn and have them hold a community “consensus” meetings. They already have their agenda and plan in place and want the community to have the impression that their input is needed. With the use of the DELPHI TECHNIQUE public input is controlled. These meeting are a waste of time and taxpayers money. Learn how to diffuse the Delphi Technique here.
Now who runs Engage2Learn. Husband and wife team Shannon & Clark Buerk. Shannon worked for Coppell ISD and worked with Keith Sockwell @ Cambridge Strategic Services. More on Mr. Sockwell HERE.
Shannon’s goal is to transform Texas Education to a progressive/liberal one with Project Based Learning (PBL). PBL implement a collaborative learning style where absolute truth and American Exceptionalism isn’t taught. Students work on computer and in collective groups.
Despite the controversy and public outrage surrounding Cscope, the Texas Education Service Centers (ESC) continue to lease Cscope to many Texas School districts. Due to Cscope getting a bad name they have changed the name to Teks Resourse System. What I want you to understand Cscope is leased to school districts yearly costing taxpayers thousands. From my perspective it keeps a job opening available for superintendents in the future, kind of like scratch my back and I will scratch yours.
Cscope is a Marxist curriculum management system bent on having all school district across the sate on the same page daily. It eliminates the creativity a teacher can bring to a class. Science Author Janice VanCleave asked the Cscope director Becca Bell from Region XII “What if I wanted to bring in a butterfly cocoon in teaching metamorphosis or bring in the fall leaves that are changing colors, with Cscope I am not allowed to do that, correct? ” Becca Bell confirmed that those would not be allowed to be taught in the classroom unless the Cscope Scope and Sequence called for it at that time but may be taken to another grade level that may be learning about that subject. Seriously? Many good experienced veteran teachers have left the profession due to the control Cscope has.
Cscope was and has not been a SBOE reviewed curriculum. Lessons were part of the leased product until is was found it was riddled with controversial material. Though they have removed the lessons from the password protected website we know that the ESC’s called from teachers to download the lessons before they were removed and ESC’s have sold USB storage devices with the lessons on them. To give you an idea of the mindset of those responsible for implementing this in our Texas Schools you can view some of the lessons HERE.
Parents and taxpayers need to wake up as to what your school district is purchasing and using to teach your children. A radical leftest turn has taken place with the funding from the federal government.
Dr. Brent Hawkins was the assistant directors from ESC VI in Huntsville. In a conversation with Dr. Hawkins regarding Cscope he told me I would not tear apart something they had implemented. Well 2 years later Cscope has become a huge controversy and Dr. Brent Hawkins has left the ESC to become superintendent of Livingston ISD. On the districts superintendent page I was surprised that Mr. Hawkins in going to phase out the product he was 100% supportive of. Why a change of heart? Don’t be fooled though I am sure Livingston ISD will write another curriculum management system bent on the same progressive/Marxist philosophy as Cscope.
Texas Education Service Centers (ESC’s) , once anonymous to most parents and tax-payers is a tax funded state agency. In 2013 it was discovered the ESC directors had created the Marxist curriculum system, Cscope aka “Teks resource System” leasing it to over 850+ Texas School Districts. Texas Senator Dan Patrick called for a state audit of the of the ESC’s financials in relation to the curriculum. It was no surprise to to find that the ESC’s accounting practices were abysmal.Despite the millions are uncounted for school districst still are funding these agencies by signing multiple service contracts and holding various professional development courses. You can view the state audit report HERE.
The ESC’s thorough Cscope and other programs have worked on transforming our education system to a more progressive one. Students will no longer be graded on their individual achievement but as a collective group. The teaching philosophy is a Marxist one based on the collective and is called Project Based Learning. There is not a school district in the state of Texas that is not implementing Project Based Learning with the help of their local ESC’s. Cscope was discovered to share vast similarities with Common Core with it’s”collective” teaching philosophy and data mining. In a nut shell Project Based Learning is meant to level the playing field amongst students. Below you will find a chart detailing the vast difference in a traditional education and a progressive/collective one. Unfortunately for our students the transformation has been taking place for about 7 years unbeknownst to parents and taxpayers. It will only be when parents and taxpayers start showing up at their local school boards and demand transparency and accountability as well asking their teachers and administrators Can I See what you are teaching my child and who is profiting from it will things change.
There are 20 ESC’s across the state of Texas. In 1967 the Texas legislature along with the Texas State Board of Education created 20 ESC’s to assist local district with media services and instruction-related services for teachers. The ESC’s have evolved into a big business making millions through our local school districts. Parents and taxpayers need to be involved in your local school district researching the amount of taxpayer money funding these agencies.
The progressive radical transformation of education today is called Project Based Learning. It is a teaching philosophy where the teacher is no longer as the progressives say “a sage on the stage” She/He becomes more like a coach, facilitator, and friend within this learning environment. PBL is being implemented in Common Core states as well as those that did not adopt common core such as my home state Texas. Project Based Learning is a Marxist teaching philosophy based on the collective. Texas Parents need to wake up as to what is going on in your local school. Texas school districts have been implementing PBL with the use of CSCOPE and other curriculum tools for some time.
Students are not beginning to voice criticism about Project Based Learning on Social Media. We need more parents and students to voice their criticism of PBL as well using the hashtag #HATEPBL.
Comparison Chart between a Traditional Education and Project Based Learning
I have been warning you about the Texas Association of School Administrators (TASA) and their agenda of Transforming the Texas Education System. School Administrators across the state of Texas are spending millions of tax dollars that could be utilized to hire teachers or help students but instead they are funding this liberal/progressive organization. It is imperative that YOU (children or no children in the school district) get involved and find out the amount of money your district is spending on TASA and Texas Association of School Boards (TASB).
CSCOPE, unfortunately laid the foundation for project based learning (PBL) in our Texas schools. TASA now has lessons on I TUNES to help teachers further implement PBL. The first I Tune lesson I read is titled “A Question of Faith” which was developed with The Learning Network of the New York Times. (YIKES). The lesson is out of the High School Government course and instructs students to discuss and ultimately decide individually and collectively if prayer should be aloud at an upcoming school event. They also are to engage in other questioning which put students on the spot as to their faith and beliefs.
Below is an excerpt from the lesson where students are perform a school-wide survey regarding other’s opinion on school prayer.
Students are also asked to
I find this totally unacceptable! GET INVOLVED NOW!!
Below is a snap shot from TASA’s website on their I TUNES online lessons. Believe me this group is not about children they are out to implement and agenda and indoctrinate our kids. They want to TRANSFORM TEXAS EDUCATION with a progressive/marxist ideology. (more…)
It became apparent to me that CSCOPE was part of a bigger problem and would lay a foundation for Project Based Learning (PBL). PBL is based on the teaching philosphy of Marxist Lev Vygotsky and Progressive educator John Dewey. The Texas Education Service Centers, Texas Association of School Administrators (TASA) and Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) are running full speed ahead to implement PBL Parents and Taxpayers need to be very concerned about PBL. Here is a comparison between a Traditional Education and Project Based Learning, The comparison is the same as traditional vs CSCOPE.
In reading the following statement copied from this webpage, makes you wonder why we have teachers go to school for years if the new goal is to have students teach themselves and teachers job is to become a facilitator.
May 9th, President Obama visited and praised Manor ISD’s New Tech High School which is has fully implemented Project Based Learning. (His visit speaks volumes to those who value a traditional education).
The Brazosport community has come out in droves over the last month against CSCOPE. Brazosport ISD administration and School Board had seemed to of dug in their heels in implementing the controversial Marxist Curriculum. The liberal school board liberal Ruth Ann Few, attempted to marginalize those that are CSCOPE critics. Read her comments in a prior blog.
I am so happy to announce that the Brazosport Community delivered a verdict against CSCOPE in the school board election. Joe Silvas ousted Ms.Few by just 56 votes. YEAH!! Jerry Atkins beat out incumbent Louis Walker. I have been informed that both Silvas and Walker are Anti CSCOPE.
Despite the fact that a Marxist curriculum called CSCOPE is now under the review of the Texas Attorney General, Brenham ISD school board votes to continue it’s use. Why? It is shocking to hear that school districts across the state continue to renew contracts, use, implement, or purchase CSCOPE. Does your district use it? Check HERE!! CSCOPE is based on a Marxist philosophy of education. There are so absolute truth in CSCOPE. Subject matters are all up for debate which is what “progressive educators” call “critical thinking”. Numerous lessons have been exposed revealing CSCOPE’S pro communist, pro Islamic content. CSCOPE has been hailed by Texas Senator Dan Patrick “If CSCOPE was an airline he have it grounded”.
Why are superintendents and school boards endangering your children? Why would they not lean on the side of caution? Parents need to wake up as to what is going on in your school districts.
The days of trusting school officials and trusting that their decisions are the best for your children are over.
There are millions of dollars surrounding this controversy that have not been accounted for.
The following is a list of CSCOPE lessons or excerpts that have been exposed over the last year that should concern any Texas parent, grandparent, or pastor. Feel free to make copies and educate your community of this progressive/marxist/communist indoctrination taking place in their local schools. Many of the lessons CSCOPE reps have now been altered or removed since making them public. My question is……………..
(this is the CSCOPE attachment used with the lesson. CSCOPE has cherry picked his words to fit their liberal agenda..) Read this blog and see the original journal entries and see CSCOPE’S bias.
13) Islamic Web links given to students through CSCOPE lessons
a) CSCOPE web link… The Islam Project – on this sight you children have access to the following info under the title Community Engagement, etc….CSCOPE LESSON
Brazosport ISD community came out in droves Monday night after becoming aware of their administration’s plans of implementing the Marxist, Pro Islamic, Pro Communist Curriculum,CSCOPE. CSCOPE has been implemented in over 875 Texas School districts under a shroud of secrecy. CSCOPE financials have yet to be disclosed.
Despite the fact that CSCOPE now is under the review/audit by the Texas Attorney General and the possible danger to students, Brazosport ISD superintendent Dr. Karin Holacka and the school board are still making plans to purchase and implement it. SHOCKING!! Our Children Deserve Better!
Ruth Ann Few
President of the Brazoria ISD School Board, Ruth Ann Few sent the following message in support of CSCOPE and stated that I and others that have exposed the CSCOPE corruption are not credible. REALLY? On what grounds Ms. Few? How could you after doing your “extensive research” still adopt CSCOPE when the Texas Senate Education Committee has called it a “MESS” and questioned their Marxist leanings, Communist leanings, Islamic leanings, and the chairman of the Senate Education Committee stated at the hearing he would shut it down immediately if he could. Some may have excused you if you claimed ignorance on the subject but due to your “extensive research” and still choosing to adopt CSCOPE, you have no excuse. You are at odds not only with me but the Senate Education Committee, State Board of Education, Attorney General Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, Governor Perry and a vast majority of our legislators in Austin. Are they credible? And I can assure you they have “extensively researched” it as well.
I think those facts speak for themselves, Ms. Few.?
Are you not the President of the Brazoria Federation of Teachers associated with the national union organization, American Federation of Teachers?
AGENDA: GRINDING DOWN OF AMERICA is documentary that every parent, grandparent and citizen needs to watch. After removing my children in their elementary years from the public/govt controlled school system, I unfortunately was no longer involved in the political process when it came to issues involving education. That all changed after watching this shocking documentary and finding out about the Marxist Curriculum in Texas Schools called CSCOPE. I rented a local room and showed the film to community members to inform them as the indoctrination taking place in their local schools. I have found CSCOPE lessons asking students to draw a new communist flag and found a CSCOPE lesson asking the teacher to hand out verses of the Quran to students.
CSCOPE was implemented under a shroud of secrecy by leftist educators at great expense to taxpayers. If CSCOPE and others like it are not removed the America we have loved will be gone. The days of trusting your superintendents who are controlled by the left organization TEXAS ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS (TASA) paid with your tax dollars are OVER! School board members after elected by the public become a trustee of the school district and are not accountable to those that elected them until the next election. The seem to serve the superintendent who for the most part cannot be trusted with protecting your child from Marxist indoctrination, if you look at all the school districts in Texas that have purchased and implemented it. Texas Association of School Boards is another leftest organization that millions if not billions of taxpayers money is funding and controlling your local school boards.
Please watch the following trailer of AGENDA: GRINDING DOWN OF AMERICA .. You can purchase them at HERE.
The days of having a school board that represents voters is OVER. Believe me when I tell you that behind the scenes the powers at be work in recruiting and maintaining board members that will not rock the status quo. School Boards do not want to be transparent. They are “NOT” forthcoming with parents, taxpayers or the community of their agenda’s or the progressive curriculum they are implementing. School Districts on a whole at the top are just another corrupt government bureaucracy run amok , sadly.
B
