Did you know that the Hot Springs School District has bought into programs sponsored by the United Nations? Yes, we have a “World School” in Hot Springs. I took the above picture of the school sign at the World School located on Main Street. I’ve watched hundreds of parents drop their kids off at the school in the morning. Do those parents know what their children are being taught?
I have to admit that I don’t know what is being taught on Main Street. It is my intention to eventually find out what the HSSD is paying for. It is called “The International Baccalaureate (IB) programme.” I have read more than a few articles about the IB and many of them are unfavorable. In fact, many school districts have dropped the IB curriculum because of concerned parents.
Have you ever heard of UNESCO? If you haven’t, UNESCO stands for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
One of UNESCO’s many NGOs is the International Baccalaureate programme.
A non-governmental organization (NGO) is a legally constituted organization that operates independently from any government.
The IB headquarters is located in Geneva, Switzerland. The Curriculum and Assessment Center for IB is located in Cardiff, Wales. The Center will soon be relocated to Amsterdam.
According to the IB website:
“The International Baccalaureate (IB) does not own, operate or manage any schools. Instead, we work in partnership with 3,076 IB World Schools in 139 countries who offer our programmes. These schools:
- share the mission and commitment of the IB to quality international education
- have been authorized by the IB to offer one or more of our three programmes
- play an active and supporting role in the worldwide community of IB schools
- share their knowledge and experience in the development of the IB programmes
- are committed to the professional development of teachers.”
Why would Hot Springs buy into a program that has its headquarters in Geneva and its Curriculum Center in Wales?
What exactly is a quality international education?
Why is it so difficult to pin down specifics about an organization that has over 3000 schools in over 130 countries? I’ve spent several hours searching the internet for specifics of the IB programme and the most of the information I found was at sites discussing the dangers of the IB programme.
I will continue to research the subject and publish what I learn. I think that Hot Springs residents should know about their “World School.”
Chris Reimers
Wings of the Wind 
When you resume blogging (which I hope will be verrrry soon) I would be interested to know what you come up with in this investigation!
No doubt, an emphasis on globalism and the collective good, which is already a mainstream belief just about everywhere you turn. Maybe the greater thrust at this institution is to not only indoctrinate, but direct the graduates into positions to further accelerate the agenda. I dunno…
Hurry back!! You are greatly missed.
You are so kind, Pearl. On the blogging front, I’m probably behind you on the resume curve. At this point, it is way down on the list.
I say that folks go to your blog and listen to the wonderful sermons that you have posted. (Anyone reading this should go to Be Thus Minded on my blogroll.)
I don’t see myself getting to do much more investigation on this issue anytime soon. Some towns have asked the I.B. “programme” to leave, but the last I heard they were gaining more schools than they were losing.
Your assumption is on the nose. The “smarter” students are slated for the “programme” in the schools here and I’m guessing it’s no different elsewhere. This would fit your guess about accelerating the agenda.
The four I.B. schools and the curriculum that comes from outside of the U.S. has received little notice from the locals. There have been only a few of us who have made any “noise.” Apathy seems to be the word of the day. Most schools seem to be more interested in the success of sports teams than the success of the student in the classroom…except for how well students perform on certain “achievement” tests that put a school into a certain “passing” category.
I was never great on tests but if I knew ahead of time what I was going to see on one I would have had a great amount of confidence. Our students are being taught the test and schools are still finding themselves on “academic distress” lists. Something is very wrong.
Maybe this is why some think a global solution is the answer.
This is where Jesus’ quote “Apart from Me you can do nothing” comes to mind.
No wonder we’re in trouble.