To IB or not to IB ... That is the question

xiggi
Sat, 23 Sep 2006 20:33:54 +0000

2dsdad, feel free to reinvent the history of this thread as you please. As far as I am concerned, I’ll stick to direct quotations.



By Dad
Given that you have taken shots at every argument advanced in favor of IB and similar programs and offered many arguments against it, you will have to forgive me if I am left with the impression that you do not see any value in it.

and my reply

2dsdad, it is your prerogative to read selectively, and it is mine not to discuss every single point in a Socratic way. However, for one who is seemingly wrapped up in the virtues of a program that purports to have a “global” scope, you may want to shed a few provincial views.



As I said in my earlier reply, you reached a conclusion that was solely based on your selective reading, and deliberately tried to make a point that was not there. In addition, while you quoted from my reply to Marian in post 28, you also stopped short of the … next sentence:

"As it is with almost every issue worthy of a sound debate on CC, it’s easy to get sidetracked or lost in the complexity of the issues. As I wrote in the other thread, there is a lot of good parts in the IB program. My biggest problem is not that it is offered, but that it is adopted by schools for motives that are --in my view-questionable.



A statement that echoed part of my post #25, “While the numbers of Stanton in Florida are worthy of kudos, what is happening here in El Paso, Texas is very, very different.” and in post #56

The IB program has many great attributes, and might be the best thing ever for students who have Ivy League ambitions. But, why is it introduced at schools that will not see 10% of the students entering its buildings ever graduating with a college degree … including a vocational degree or a two-community college degree.



Yet, you opted to simply declare that I “do not see any value in it.” As far as my provincial “ad hominem,” I am afraid that it seemed appropriate to rely on the–inaccurate–contents of your posts rather than simply accept your statements of implied knowledge at face value.

For what it is worth, you may want to compare my early statements about the potential dangers of introducing the IB in underperforming schools that do not have adequate faculty and resources to the position expressed by Marite in her last post.

Have a nice day!