I am a proud graduate of Southwest High School and a recipient of the IB Diploma (1993). I can honestly say that this is the first time I�ve ever encountered the mission statement of the IB program. Judging by the posts I�ve read, it seems like people are getting confused about the word �International�. This is NOT an international studies magnet. IB is a program developed by diplomats so that, as their children moved from country to country, they could stay on a consistent and extremely ambitious academic track. IB is about academic rigor. To receive the diploma, a student must demonstrate � through internationally standardized assessments � excellence in their native language, a second language, history, mathematics, a science and either studio art or music. In addition, diploma recipients complete an extended essay which is basically a college level research paper and are required to engage in a specified number of hours of athletic, creative and community service oriented activity.
After IB, I attended one of the top private colleges in the country and I found myself far better prepared to deal with the academic challenges there than students from expensive east coast prep schools.
So, let�s talk instead about how Minneapolis can continue to provide excellence in education while meeting the challenges of serving all of the families in the city. I don�t know how we meet those challenges, but I know that we can�t hope to do it if:
1. The district is unable bring in new teachers without having to lay them off a year or two later due to budget shortfalls.
and
2. We continue to look at �failures� in academic achievement as though they exist in schools surrounded by a vacuum.
Good schools and great teachers cost money and we need to be willing to pay. No state function is more essential. Also, students can�t be expected to be students if the job market, housing market and lack of transportation options for their parents cause them to move once, twice or more each school year � let alone if they are coming to school with empty stomachs, without warm winter clothes or from homes with substance abuse or violence.
C�mon folks. Let�s stop whipping the schools and start looking at what we as a city are doing to get Minneapolis� children ready to learn each day.
-Paul C. Rohlfing Powderhorn Park [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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