What should schools be teaching students?

Have you thought much about the curriculum children are being taught? Tax dollars help get the teachers and the resources for the education your children receive, so thinking about what your children are learning might be important.
Who should decide what that curriculum should be?
If you home school, parents choose the curriculum. A few might be transporting their children to a private school.
In our area, probably many would quickly say local school boards should have the final say about curriculum.
Since most schools rely upon funding from sources other than parents for providing the education, people might say the state gets the final say in exchange for funds.
Since the federal government also bestows tax dollars for education, others might say the feds have the right to determine what our schools teach, though of course, tax dollars come from taxpayers.
That being so, we might have to allow the state to have some say in what is taught.
Because most public schools, and sometimes even the increasingly popular charter schools, receive not only local taxes, state dollars, but also federal dollars, is it surprising that a few years ago, the federal government “needed” to create the Department of Education so children would become “smarter”?
Test scores have fluctuated, but who wants their child to get the 50 percentile? New, more promising education programs have come and gone. Scores improve little.  Dropouts continue to be a problem.   
By accepting tax dollars, measurable outcomes are expected, and curriculum is often either adapted, improved, or changed, in hopes of shining the next time around.
Who supplies the new programs, new ideas?  
If I had children in school, I’d go over their books to see how closely materials fit with American values. I’d check to see what those educational materials said about our founding fathers, civic responsibilities and opportunities. Does the material come close to my family’s philosophies, faith, my understanding of what it means to be a good citizen?
I would frequently ask, probably at our dinner table, “What is something new you learned in school today?” and I would listen, really listen, for an answer.
There is a movement within education to adopt the International Baccalaureate Curriculum (IB). From the internet research I did, I do not believe our three local schools are using it, but President Obama’s Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, helped bring IB to failing Chicago schools when he and President Obama lived there. Within 10 years, Duncan managed to get over a dozen schools to adopt the IB curriculum, partly due to funding from the Annenberg Found-ation of which Obama and Bill Ayers were members. U.S. IB schools, now several hundred, use tax dollars, too.
It looks IB schools will be promoted by this administration’s staff. IB test outcomes are not very impressive, and according to some reports, most often fall below the public school’s scores, where the “norm” is 50 percent.
So who likes IB schools besides Duncan and Obama? Why, the U.N. of course. The IB is an international curriculum designed to train students to become world citizens.
Check out websites and comments about the organization. See if the U.S., Christian-ity, and other values important to you are compatible. Read comments of students, teachers, critics and supporters. See if you think IB offers education or indoctrination.
Marge Warder is a freelance reporter for the Red Oak Express. She can be contacted at mwarder@yahoo.com.