I generally avoid blogs, podcasts and the like. But I was drawn by the text version of last week’s print Gadfly to the The Education Gadfly Show, and couldn’t help but notice the over-representation of my home state of Minnesota. Controversy over the International Baccalaureate (IB) program, good grades on our state history standards, and a 92-year old inmate in a Minnesota state prison now getting her GED—all in the same podcast. Wow!
Of particular interest was reference to a recent Minneapolis Star Tribune article—reporting claims that IB is both insufficiently rigorous and “un-American”—that also quoted a couple of IB student sources including my youngest daughter, Helen.
Counting Helen’s two older siblings, I’ve been an IB parent for 13 years now. And I can absolutely guarantee you that, contrary to what right-wingers here and elsewhere are claiming, IB is a highly rigorous and very worthwhile program
The authors of Fordham’s State of State World History Standards 2006 will also be pleased to know that Helen has both studied and traveled in Latin America and will begin a Latin American Studies major this fall in the Honors Program at Northeastern University. She’ll be continuing her studies both well-prepared and highly motivated.
On the other hand, I’m taking no credit or responsibility for the 92-year old Minnesota inmate now getting her GED!
Jon Schroeder, Coordinator
Education/Evolving
St. Paul, Minnesota