To the editor:
Your June 12 editorial countering EdWatch's criticisms of International Baccalaureate (IB) programs should have dug beneath the cheerleading to learn why the ranks of IB critics are growing.
For example, former IB student Liam Julian of the Fordham Foundation states, "Literary merit wasn't in the mind of those who created the reading lists in my IB English classes; multiculturalism and gender concerns were. ... Literature that had stood the test of time was sacrificed for contemporary works that addressed immediate cultural or feminist struggles."
IB standards are set in Geneva, Switzerland, and in some cases they are in direct conflict with Minnesota's new academic standards. IB states that it "promotes" the United Nations, while only teaching "appreciation" for our nation's founding documents.
One New York school district opposed IB because it competes directly with Advanced Placement classes, which are much more cost-effective and whose credits are accepted at the college level. Thousands of colleges do not give credit for individual IB classes.
Julie M. Quist, Chaska
Vice President, EdWatch
[I'm still working on my AP/IB post. As Mr. Strickland would say, "Slacker!"]
EDUCATION
