Does anyone know anything about the Int'l Baccalaureate Program?

[PCIntern]

The Mission Statement seems peculiar and reminds me of recruitement by Agencies.

Just curious...

Thanks in advance...

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

1. Kids are actively recruited. The best and brightest.

From my personal experience only, I'm not aware of the content of the MS. MKJ

[Demeter]

2. It's In the Same Vein as the Advanced Placement Classes

Setting a higher standard for a select group--without the SAT people involved. The idea is a program that is in many countries, with a similar curriculum, I believe.

[PCIntern]

3. The Mission Statement

seems to imply that the curriculum will prepare kids for international relations work.

Where I come from that's screening for postions in foreign services of some sort.

[rockymountaindem]

4. What do you want to know?

I wouldn't know where to start, although I have a positive opinion of it as a graduate.

[PCIntern]

6. Thank you...

it seems to me that it's an initial screening for potential future employees for government service. Not that there's anything particularly wrong with that.,..one of the truisms when I was young was that only the best and brightest lawyers from the top law schools need even APPLY to the Justice Department - things have changed obviously (Regent U.)

I was thinking that it was in interesting way to identify loyal, patriotic, government employees for future work in interesting jobs. In your experience, do you think that this might be possible? OR am I just a bit too paranoid?

[rockymountaindem]

15. Hi. Sorry, I got called away for awhile

Well, I think the source of your concern is that IB was developped by diplomats so that their children would have a continuous curriculum as they moved around the world. So, since it was concieved and originally developped by people who were involved in public service, diplomacy, etc. it isn't surprising that its founding statement would reflect the ethos of those people. In my particular school, however, I think it attracted people who wanted to work hard and have a comprehensive system, instead of the a la carte system of Advanced Placement, which was another popular option. In my personal experience, public service etc. wasn't emphasized, though that might be different in another school. Of the slightly over two dozen IB grads in my class, only a few are heading down anything resembling a diplomatic corps path.

Edit: Punctuation. Oy, it's been a long day.

[Traveling_Home]

5. Here's some info about

United World College - it's located in Las Vegas, New Mexico and grants the IB degree.

http://www.uwc-usa.org/

"Mission Statement
UWC makes education a force to unite people, nations, and cultures for peace and a sustainable future.

Introduction
The United World College-USA was founded in 1982 in Montezuma, NM through the philanthropy of the late Dr. Armand Hammer and is part of an international movement that now includes eleven two-year pre-university residential schools worldwide offering the International Baccalaureate Diploma curriculum plus a three-year tertiary college of rural development and agriculture in Venezuela.

The UWC-USA enrolls just over 200 students. Of these, 150 places are offered to students from more than 90 countries outside the U.S. The remaining 50 places are offered to students from the U.S. who are successful in the Davis Scholar competition conducted nationally with the help of volunteers from the U.S. Selection Committee and the UWC alumni network. The Davis Scholar competition also selects the U.S. students who are placed as America’s ambassadors to the other United World Colleges.

Atlantic College in Wales, the first United World College, opened in 1962 and was instrumental in the creation of the International Baccalaureate, the world's first and most widely recognized international curriculum. The strength of the UWC movement is evident in the volunteer leadership of Her Majesty Queen Noor of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the President of the United World Colleges and Nelson Mandela, former President of South Africa, the honorary President.


While the UWC schools share a mission statement and a common philosophy, individual characteristics shape each college into a distinct community. Volunteers organizing as National Committees in over 100 countries select their most promising students through national competitions and nominate them for places and scholarships to the colleges. In many other nations, government or other non-governmental agencies oversee the competition to nominate their best students. These national competitive selection procedures assure that the student population at each college is comprised of talented, highly motivated, richly diverse young people committed to the ideals of a united world. For more information on the other UWC schools, please see United World Colleges in the Related Links box."

[Orangepeel]

7. you mean for high schools?

it is a magnet program that is supposed to ensure that students meet world class standards. I know people whose kids have gone through one and it was very rigorous. It is supposed to look good on college applications.

[PCIntern]

8. Yes, thank you.

[Orangepeel]

9. I read your post #6

The only IB program I know about is in Winter Park, FL. It's just a type of honors program. It has nothing to do with government service.

[PCIntern]

10. I understand...

it's just a sense I had. there's a story from the 70's that I don't feel comfortable posting but it was a similar situation for the kid involved. He was identified thru a program and then contacted for service.

thanks for the help.

PC

[Orangepeel]

13. well, it is full of very studious kids

so it is certainly conceivable that an agency looking for smart, hardworking kids would troll there.

Like I said, I only have secondhand knowledge of one program. But for what it is worth, none of the kids whose parents I know were indoctrinated into anything.

[grasswire]

11. gee, this could be kind of creepy

"...assure that the student population at each college is comprised of talented, highly motivated, richly diverse young people committed to the ideals of a united world."

The Moonies aren't involved in this, are they? My nephew is a high school junior in an IB program.

[PCIntern]

12. See what I mean

Weird...

[Lydia Leftcoast]

14. Lots of school districts have IB programs

There's no ideological component, as far as I've heard, but the students get the equivalent of a European university prep program, which is supposed to qualify them for admission to European universities. It actually originated in Europe.

Minneapolis has the IB program in a couple of high schools, as does Portland.

Armand Hammer is a suspect character, but I think his schools adopted the IB program rather than inventing it.