11 replies to this topic

[Sandwich]

http://www.edwatch.o...1907-terror.htm

In short (amongst various rantings & ravings), the guy who wrote the article above proposes that by promoting the idea that there is no objective knowledge/there are no objective truths, the IB denies terrorism.

What do people reckon? Does the denial of objective knowledge and the idea that we should accept all different opinions and views equally mean we ought to be okay with terrorism? Does the IB actually promote this through Theory of Knowledge?

[Panserborne]

Ha, well, the IB has neither convinced me that knowledge can't be objective, nor that all opinions are equal... nor do I feel that it has tried to. But anyway, the guy is a class-A nutjob. He's trying to convince us the IB learner profile is some sort of doctrine? I finish school in a week and a bit, and I can't name one of these "learner profile" things.

I think if I were American, I'd be getting really sick of these people who decide they have the authority to dictate what "American values" are. As if there can really be such a thing in such a diverse place. And I'm certain the majority of Americans would be (certainly should be) deeply offended by his assertion that the Declaration of Human Rights is somehow anti-American. Yeah, torture's patriotic!

[purple]

I haven't yet taken Theory of Knowledge, but I scanned through the website and he seems like one of those fundamentalist nutcases, if you know what I mean. I wouldn't pay him any attention.

[Irene]

Someone's bitter.

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Freedom Fighter or Terrorist?

Honest disagreement is often a good sign of progress. [Mahatma Gandhi]

Whenever two good people argue over principles, they are both right. [Marie Ebner von Eschenbach]

That's not even meant to be taken literally. It's more along the lines of... when one questions one's beliefs instead of blindly following them, there's progress. Of course two disagreeing oppositions are both right, but to an extent. To imply that they are either 100% right or 100% wrong is just ridiculous.

There's another thread about some anti-IB organization/group. We live in a global society right now so if some 'patriotic' group has religious or whatever issues against the IB, they can GTFO until they come up with a good argument. Sure, IB isn't perfect, but what is?

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This means that IBO agrees to promote and teach all the activities of the UN including treaties and documents America has not signed such as the UDHR, the Treaty on the Rights of the Child, Kyoto, the UN Treaty on Biodiversity, the Earth Charter and the treaty establishing the new UN Criminal Court, to name just a few.

Oh no, the horrorrrrr

Edit: this guy's funny

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In order for IBO students and faculty to become world citizens, they are required to memorize the ten learner profile values of world citizenship. The Ten Commandments have been replaced with the 10 values of IBO-UNESCO.

Edited by Irene, May 09, 2009 - 23:40.

[sweetnsimple786]

What. The. Heck.
This guy is out of his mind. His logic is so thoroughly flawed! He says one thing, adds a semi-relevant, out-of-context example, and concludes something that he has no foundation for! And now that I think about it, he uses false dilemmas throughout (like morton's forks)

  "The big question is which has greater standing and authority--our God-given, inalienable human rights or the policies of the UN? The Declaration of Independence, the philosophical foundation of the United States, insists on the former. The UDHR insists on the latter. Let us be perfectly clear on this: Our Declaration view is the foundation of liberty; the IBO--UN view is the foundation of tyranny."

What makes me mad is that some semi-literate people will read this and completely buy into it.

[Chesire_Cat]

This guy is completely crazy.
We discussed the whole "Terrorist or Freedom fighters?" issue when we talked about language and how it's used to manipulate people's minds.
I really don't see how talking about the different points of view of people is promoting terrorism...

I am just glad that, thanks to IB, we will never end up like this guy.

[Angelos13]

I am absolutely sure that if this guy hears Albert Einstein's famous quote about Quantum Physics ("God does not play dice with the universe."), he will be convinced that Einstein was a die-hard Christian. His opinion and commentary is flawed no matter what way it is looked at. As Chesire_Cat said, we must be grateful that through Theory of Knowledge (which is an invaluable subject in my opinion), we will become better people than he is.

[y.v]

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will we welcome our own destruction by allowing our children to be indoctrinated in the worldview that is diametrically opposed to everything we believe in?

Imagine what the world would be if humans had always refuted ideas different from their own.

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Indoctrinated

I think that it's very interesting that he used the word 'indoctrinated' as compared to 'taught'
The only difference between the two words, as I understand them, would be that when one is indoctrinated, one is not allowed to question what one is told or that one does not have access to any other information that what one is taught.
There is, by no means, a restriction on questioning beliefs or access to other information for IB students. That it would be is quite a ridiculous notion.
Internet, TV, family, friends, the community?

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Honest disagreement is often a good sign of progress. [Mahatma Gandhi]

I do not understand how this quote remotely proves his point about IB leading towards terrorism.
Disagreements can often lead us to understanding a view-point different than the one we've always believed in - this, in turn, leads to one either believing in one's initial viewpoint even more strongly or changing one's mind.
That, is progess.

It is for that reason that we actually bothered to read his article and consider it.
If we followed his ideas, we wouldn't even bother reading his article: "Ofcourse, no one can have anything valuable to tell us..."

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Our Declaration view is the foundation of liberty; the IBO--UN view is the foundation of tyranny.

Overall, he gives me the impression of being a very insecure individual... quite typical of someone who has no idea what the hell he is talking about.

Edited by y.v, May 18, 2009 - 13:04.

[Bishup]

Ib students have the cunning ability to partake in internationale crime organisations to a world wide scale.

[CocoPop]

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This means that IBO agrees to promote and teach all the activities of the UN including treaties and documents America has not signed such as the UDHR, the Treaty on the Rights of the Child, Kyoto, the UN Treaty on Biodiversity, the Earth Charter and the treaty establishing the new UN Criminal Court, to name just a few.

Lol. Facepalm right there.

This guy makes me laugh.

Personally, I feel that the IBO treats us as responsible independent learners who are give the freedom of what to accept and what not to accept. The IB isn't injecting us with propaganda like some crazy nazi regime, but that's what this guy seems to make of it. He's got to get over it because he's overanalyzing the whole situation.

[x1283956x]

i havent read this article, but from i read maby hes doing this for fun/sarcasm?
edit
nvm, this guys an idiot

Edited by x1283956x, May 19, 2009 - 09:59.

[Taigan]

I actually laughed at this article. The IB offer us knowledge but they never forces us to believe anything. Maybe this guy was just trying to get attention... or maybe he's literally nuts. I'm just relieved that the IB will teach me to be an open-minded person and I'll never end up like this guy!