In my little hamlet, we fought the implementation of the IB program in our high school mostly on the idea that we believed that our students should be American students first and then be knowledgeable “the world”. But the biggest thing was the philosophy bias and that it would have meant a total loss of local control – use the SEARCH function with “IB” to see what we’ve written about the program in the past. Well, there is a bill is now being considered in Concord – HB 1403:
HOUSE BILL 1403
AN ACT relative to providing pupils with curriculum and instruction regarding state and national sovereignty and establishing a committee to study the implementation of the International Baccalaureate program in New Hampshire.
SPONSORS: Rep. Pettengill, Carr 1; Rep. Cohn, Merr 6; Rep. Cox, Merr 6; Rep. Hill, Merr 6; Rep. Kreis, Merr 6
COMMITTEE: Education
AMENDED ANALYSIS
This bill requires that school curriculum and instruction shall only meet school approval standards if such curriculum and instruction promotes state and national sovereignty and is not subject to the governance of a foreign body or organization. The bill also establishes a committee to study issues relating to the International Baccalaureate program in New Hampshire.
I am all about local control, but I also know that the Educational Establishment in a lot of towns start pushing it in their towns – and don’t always take the truthful, the ENTIRE truthful, road in explaining what’s what with the program to parents that trust them implicitly (that implicit trust is oft not the right thing to have – instead, a bit of cynicism would better serve them). Rep Seth Cohn, one of the sponsors, found out personally as he caught the “Educational Establishment” lying to him.
So in this case, I support this Act. I also support this petition process:
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Bedford students say issue is local control, reads todays’ Union Leader Headline. Over one-hundred Bedford High School students showed up at yesterday’s hearing to oppose HB 1403. Amidst cries of outrage over interference with, “local control”, leading the crowd was a young fellow named Michael Courtney, a Junior at Bedford High School. The young master Courtney has undertaken the yolk of political activism and created a YouTube Video advocating the opposition of this bill.