There have been several articles published in The Press lately about the International Baccalaureate program offered in the Coeur d'Alene School District.

A "My Turn" article published Feb. 2 from Duncan and Aileen Koler describes IB as "extremely controversial, expensive, and not well respected by colleges." The Kolers have had children in the Cd'A district for 12 years and last month withdrew their two youngest and began home schooling them after researching the "United Nations linked IB programs now in local public schools."

An article published Feb. 12 from Ben Cooper was in response to the Kolers and "serves to offer a second perspective on the IB program from somebody who has experienced its benefits firsthand." Ben and three other LCHS seniors share the valedictorian and salutatorian honors for the graduating class of 2010 and are enrolled in the IB Diploma Program.

The IBO was founded in 1968 in Geneva, Switzerland, and claims to facilitate the international mobility of students preparing for university by providing schools with a curriculum and diploma recognized by universities around the world. It consists of a Primary Years Program (PYP) for ages 3 to 12, a Middle Years Program (MYP) for ages 11 to 16, and a Diploma Program (DP) for ages 16 to 19, and is available to community schools that are geared to indigenous student populations such as the Cd'A School District.

According to the application procedure on the IB Web site, for a school to be accepted as an IB school, the school must be "committed to the promotion of international understanding through education, as expressed in the mission statement of the IBO, and it must accept the philosophy of the IB program(s) it wishes to teach, as expressed in the relevant documents describing the program(s)".

The focus of IB is a point of contention. The Kolers say that "IB works hand in glove with UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) to push the UN's social, economic and environmental agenda upon our children." Cooper writes: "The main point of the [Kolers'] letter was to reveal the connection between UNESCO (and the United Nations) and IBO. In fact, the IBO is an organization that is completely separate from the UN with its own unique mission and goals. Yes, IBO is recognized by UNESCO, but that doesn't mean they both represent the same values."

On the issue of indoctrination, the Kolers say "IBO's own materials state IB's goal to indoctrinate our children with UN-Globalist values often at odds with American values and interests." Cooper counters that "the IB does not cause any indoctrination of United Nations policies" and feels that the "issue with indoctrination might have come from a bad experience with an individual teacher ..."

In reference to teachers on the IB Web site, they are required to "have undertaken IBO approved professional development before teaching their subject." This requirement is in addition to subject-specific endorsements on their respective state teaching credential.

According to their Web sites, the UN was established as an international organization for nations to practice tolerance and live together in peace, and UNESCO "... to contribute to peace and security by promoting collaboration among the nations through education, science and culture in order to further universal respect for justice ..."

Under UNESCO, the IB is organized as an NGO (non-government organization), and NGOs that have official relations with UNESCO are encouraged to "continue to reproduce and distribute in their networks the contents of the UN Manifesto 2000 so as to help popularize the culture of peace and to disseminate its educational contents ..."

In Article XI of the UNESCO's constitution, titled "Relations with other specialized international organizations and agencies," the "organization (UNESCO) may establish effective working relationships ... to assure effective cooperation." It appears that IB does have a relationship with UNESCO and more than an organizational one. It is a program that the district has to pay for, and seems to be proprietary since schools must be committed to the IB mission statement, and teachers are required to have approved professional development.

A Press editorial published on March 7 refers to the Theory of Knowledge class in the IB program, and feels that it "has no peer in the standard high school curriculum. Nowhere else have we seen raw critical thinking made razor sharp. An IB education does indeed make the planet a little bit smaller."

Now begs the question: Friend or Foe? You decide.