Until I read George Archibald’s piece, Learning Globally in the Washington Times, I was unaware there was a European-based International Baccalaureate (IB) program being implemented in middle schools. These schools are to become "feeder schools" for the IB's high school diploma program which has already been established across the United States. This is a United Nations-sponsored school program that aims to become a "universal curriculum" for teaching global citizenship, peace studies and equality of world cultures.

It would seem that the United Nations has proven itself, as of late, not to be trusted with the welfare of our country yet we are entrusting it with the education of our citizens. Because this made no sense, it immediately raised a red flag in my head and I read on. The goal of United Nations Educational, Cultural, Scientific & Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has been to devise a curriculum to teach "a set of culturally neutral universal values to which all people aspire," based on human rights, equality of the sexes and "open-mindedness to change and obligation to environmental protection and sustainable development."

The aforementioned goal of the program reeked of exactly the type of multiculturalism that has become entrenched in our current social studies curriculums. It has literally taken the place of more traditional learning goals of understanding and love for our country; which includes its historical figures and practices. The IBO background paper said the curriculum is a multicultural approach that differs from traditional direct instruction of facts and historically learned knowledge.

As it stands right now, our students are no longer insulated from the diversity of culture around them, yet too many of our students graduate without subject mastery, the ability to make reasoned and informed decisions, and an inability to understand the complexities that must be considered when making any decision affecting the people of the United States. Our students don’t recognize just how unique and wonderful our system of government is because of the careful thought and planning that the framers put into our United States Constitution.

Apparently I’m not alone in my thinking. Archibald writes that a retired official of the National Science Foundation said that many of the peer reviewers in the program are "hard left-leaners." Also, "Syl McNinch Jr., a retired budget officer for the National Science Foundation, said many federal education peer-reviewers of grant applications "are hard left-leaners." As I stated in my piece, Renewed Civic Vision, liberals stress multiculturalism and the need to develop a new American identity which reflects the diversity in our nation. They feel that the school should emphasize learning about the lives and cultures of traditionally marginalized groups so to understand the "diversity” of perspectives brought to bear on the history of our country.

Because I am of the opinion that social studies could be taught better by balancing multiculturalism with traditional values and practices, I am acutely uncomfortable with the statement by Education Secretary Rod Paige, "We are ever mindful of the lessons of September 11th, one of which is that all future measures of a rigorous K-12 education must include a solid grounding in other cultures, other languages and other histories."

I am wondering how many Americans learned the lesson that Rod Paige learned. I, for one, did not walk away from the events of September 11th getting the message that I needed, yet, more multiculturalism. I did walk away feeling a love and respect for my country that I never realized was inside of me. I felt grateful that I was born a citizen of such a magnificent society. I was offended and angered at those who would commit acts of terror on our soil. I wanted to defend my country and all that it stands for.

I was acutely aware of how many people did not feel the same way as me. I wanted to understand why. Henry Lamb, in his article, U.N. influence in U.S., published in WorldNetDaily.com. seems to have the answer. "No longer are American children learning about the structure of a federal republic compared to a parliamentary democracy. No longer are children learning the difference between capitalism and socialism. No longer are children being taught why the United States became the most powerful economic engine the world has ever known. Instead, they are being taught that with less than 5 percent of the world's population, the U.S. uses 25 percent of the world's resources and produces 25 percent of the world's pollution. They are being taught that the U.S. is the No. 1 terrorist nation. They are being taught that the rest of the world is mired in poverty because of the greedy capitalists in the United States. The effectiveness of generations of this U.N. global curriculum is evidenced by many of the talking heads interviewed on the nightly news, and even by some of the presidential hopefuls.”

Like it or not, education was put in place to ensure that those brought up in our country learn civic responsibility based on moral values. The reality is that the philosophy of those who create and teach curriculum often influences kids’ beliefs about major issues. Syl McNinch Jr. pointed out, "That's why you have to be very careful in granting federal money for these purposes, because it carries with it the power to implement those programs in schools across the nation, whether the taxpayers like it or not," he said.

I firmly stand behind programs such as We The People: The Citizen and the Constitution and Project Citizen, offered at no cost to schools across the United States through The Center for Civic Education, a bipartisan organization which was mandated and funded by an act of Congress. This is where Mr. Lamb and I part views. Henry Lamb is of the belief that the Center for Civic Education is somehow behind the thrust for multiculturalism in our schools and that couldn’t be further from the truth. Having participated in one of the center’s summer institutes I know first hand that the teachers implementing their curriculums are most interested in teaching the historical and philosophical foundations of our country’s ideas about constitutional government, the creation of the Constitution, organizing of the national government, development of the Constitution, meaning of the various rights guaranteed in the Bill of Rights, expansion of rights during the last two hundred years, and the roles of citizens in American democracy.

Because I had a hard time believing that the current administration would initiate a bill that would give grant money for the IB program, I decided to investigate further. Not Surprisingly, Senator Patty Murray of Washington state, and co-sponsors Senators Jeff Bingaman and Sen. Edward Kennedy, introduced the PASS Act, a bill to provide for secondary school reform, and for other purposes. Schools receiving grant funds must also ensure that a rigorous college preparatory curriculum is available to all students, including access to Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate courses. Somehow, I was not surprised.

President Bush in his SOTU speech said that the United States would never ask the United Nations for permission to defend our country. Coincidentally, not too long ago, President John F. Kennedy suggested, "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: Ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.” What we here in the United States can do is make sure that our country, which is a beacon of freedom to the world, continues to ensure the life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness for which we are beholden. That means to demand of our own educational system an assurance that our students will learn what it means to be an American, not what the United Nations thinks it should mean.

Nancy Salvato is a middle school teacher in Illinois and an independent contractor for Prism Educational Consulting. She is the Educational Liaison to IL Sen. Ray Soden and she works with national and local organizations furthering the cause of Civic Education. She is a columnist for American Daily, The Common Voice, GOP-USA, OpinionEditorials and The New Media Journal.us. Her writing has been recognized by the US Secretary of Education. She has been published in The Washington Times, The Washington Dispatch, Iconoclast, Free Republic Network & Townhall.com., as well as other nationally and internationally published media outlets.