IB, anyone?

Natalie

Natalie

Insect of Terror
Staff member
I was just wondering if there is anyone on this forum who is doing the IB diploma or is taking some other diploma with IB credits. For those of you who don't know what the IB is, it's full name is the International Baccalaureate Diploma, and it is a finishing diploma for school that is recognized all over the world. For Americans, that means it's sort of like the AP but more challenging, and for you English it's sort of like the A-levels, but harder. For everyone else, it's like your regular diploma or matura, or whatever you choose to call it, but probably harder. If you take the IB, or want to know more about it, here's the place to post. Now, I know that if you do take the IB you probably don't want to think about it outside of school, but this is the place were I thought all the condemned, as it were, could comiserate.

Questions, comments, concerns, complaints, rants, everything pertaining to the IB, is welcome here.
 
I finished my IB diploma in 2004 here on the Canadian west coast. Didn't do that great... 27/45 I got totally burnt out by the end of it too. Didn't care if I passed or not anymore(since I was going to get my regular diploma anyway). If I had the choice again I wouldn't have done it. I didn't get as much time to have fun in my senior years. I was only planning on going to a local university anyways, so I really don't know why I did! Maybe it was the parental pressure!

ToK was a great class. I loved it. Best discussions ever. Our IB coordinator really ran it like a university class.

I ended up writing my Extended Essay in Physics in one night(which many of the other students also did in their respective subjects), trying to record the speed of sound in a sealed tube using a computer. It was a mess which my teacher helped me salvage.

On the plus side, when I did go to university the year after, I wasn't surprised by the formats demanded by profs or essay lengths or anything.
 
So you basically start your undergraduate studies a year early....big deal.

Putting that kind of stress on 16,17, and 18 year olds to perform academically is retarded. It leads to kids with no life having their noses stuck to books all day. That's what university is for. The time before is meant to be out discovering the world, learning what "real life" is like without the worries of a job, mortgage, and whatnot. You should be out making friends, enjoying your youth, and not worrying about growing up so fast.

When you're that age, you're supposed to be sneaking out late at night with your girl/boyfriend, drinking in the basement with your friends when your parents aren't home, trying marijuana (we all do it at least once...don't lie), and trying to peek at the girls' locker room.

Programs like IB are for parents who're convinced their little Jimmy or Sally is the next Einstein and will be kidnapped if he/she ever steps out the front door without protective headgear.
 
Wow, IronDuke, you should write a letter to the IB. Maybe it would convince them that what they are doing to us is total madness, insane, cruel, and essentially quite pointless.

However, I disagree with you on your last point. True, in the States (or Canada I suppose) there is little point in doing the IB. Most universities haven't even heard of it, and if they have they equate it with the AP, which isn't fair. However, in England and elsewhere it is a much-respected diploma that will help you get into university there, mainly because they know you can handle the workload and stress (the pain, the horrible pain!). In fact, in England, many schools are adopting the IB because they think it's better (haha, they have no idea). In my case I didn't really have a choice because I go to an international school and I am not American so there's really no point in my taking the American High School Diploma, and there's even less point in me taking the Austrian Matura because I'm not Austrian and I don't want to study in Austria. By taking the IB I can go study in pretty much any country which suits me fine.

And yes, there are enjoyable classes. TOK is certainly one of them, at least at my school, it's done very well and it get's the brain working on issues of controversy.

The extended essay is not enjoyable. Not even a little bit.
 
Hey, if you're enjoying it I wish you all the best. Just remember to live a little too, and that these years of your life shouldd never be squandered. A guy I knew when I was doing my undergrad was in the IB program. He was a total workaholic, had no real friends (just people like me who would have casual conversations), and didn't know how to drink, buy food, or just plain relax. He got so wound up in trying to do well academically that he failed miserably at it....I went to the poorest of poor public schools, had disgustingly sub-standard instruction in every field (except chemistry), but I knew how to live and handle the real world. I ended up graduating with an honours degree from the one of the most prestigious undergraduate universities in Canada and winning the University's medal in my subject area, and am now doing postgraduate studies at a top-tier research university. I don't consider myself exceptionally gifted, I adapt to the realities I'm facing.
If the IB program teaches that grades, what school you get into, and how well you do on one single project are NOT the important things in life, I wholeheartedly support it.
 
:) Nice reply.

The IB teaches you that all grades in every subject matter. I don't think the IB cares all that much about the college admissions process.  :lol:
 
IronDuke said:
So you basically start your undergraduate studies a year early....big deal.

Putting that kind of stress on 16,17, and 18 year olds to perform academically is retarded. It leads to kids with no life having their noses stuck to books all day. That's what university is for. The time before is meant to be out discovering the world, learning what "real life" is like without the worries of a job, mortgage, and whatnot. You should be out making friends, enjoying your youth, and not worrying about growing up so fast.

When you're that age, you're supposed to be sneaking out late at night with your girl/boyfriend, drinking in the basement with your friends when your parents aren't home, trying marijuana (we all do it at least once...don't lie), and trying to peek at the girls' locker room.

Programs like IB are for parents who're convinced their little Jimmy or Sally is the next Einstein and will be kidnapped if he/she ever steps out the front door without protective headgear.
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I disagree on so many things with this post it would take a two page paper to respond properly. Instead I'll just say this.... There is a proper maturity process the brain follows and maybe an 18 year old can't handle the stress of a 21 year old. However, I believe (at least in the U.S) it is the public education system that has created all these immature idiots that can't do anything without their mommies or the government. work ethics, responsibility and time management are taught behaviors. You can be 15 and be more of an "adult" than a lot of 40 year olds.
 
Onhell said:
I disagree on so many things with this post it would take a two page paper to respond properly. Instead I'll just say this.... There is a proper maturity process the brain follows and maybe an 18 year old can't handle the stress of a 21 year old. However, I believe (at least in the U.S) it is the public education system that has created all these immature idiots that can't do anything without their mommies or the government. work ethics, responsibility and time management are taught behaviors. You can be 15 and be more of an "adult" than a lot of 40 year olds.
Click to expand...
I agree (120%) with you Onhell! Nothing to add.
 
Onhell said:
You can be 15 and be more of an "adult" than a lot of 40 year olds.
Click to expand...

Agreed, completely. The truth is, most people who like to advertise themselves as mature tend to be the exact opposite.
 
A friend of my daughter's goes to IB school and my uncle is a teacher at IB. As far as I've understood it, the main difference - in Sweden - is that the classes and literature are in English (or other languages, I suppose). The workload the students suffer isn't that dissimilar to their peers in "regular" classes. I think the Swedish system is the equivalent to British Upper secondary school - a 3-year program between the ages of 16-19, that is followed by university.
What the IB seems to be doing to the kids going there is to give them other opportunities, for instance they can spend part of their last year abroad which can be a very maturing experience, and they can easily go to university in other countries - something that isn't as easy for "regular" students.
This is the impression I've had from IB school, but maybe it's wrong or it's just Sweden?
 
Yeah, that sounds about right, althoug I'm not entirely sure about the exchange program thing you seemed to be alluding to. Well, Sweden is special in so many things, I wouldn't be surprised about this one :p

What I like about the IB, and I know others don't, is that it forces students to have a sound education in all subjects. What I mean by this is that you are not allowed to take only science or math or language coarses. You haveto take at least six subjects and each of these is from a different department. For example, I am taking English (your mother-tongue), German (a foreign language), Chemistry (science), Math (math...duh), Economics (a social science, this includes history), and Biology (your sixth subject can either be art, or a second of the afore-mentioned subjects). Consequently, I know something of everything, and am not an ignoramus in, lets say, everything but chemistry. I think university is where you should specialize, not school. This is the greatest educational advantage of the IB I believe.
 
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