In May, having received your high school diploma, you will stand on the lawn and toss your tasseled blue or white academic caps spinning into the air and you will rejoice that one long stretch of schooling has finished. Rowdy cheers, tears, laughter, hugs.
But there is still a lot of work for the next nine months.
In TOK this means finishing the curriculum (Social Sciences, History, Ethics), writing the TOK Essay (topics already posted on Edline), and giving the TOK Presentation. All of this we will introduce and begin to address in our first class. It also means giving as much as we can of ourselves in class discussions, listening actively, responding appropriately, weighing what we hear and say.
Before we begin, let's look again at the Mission Statement of the International Baccalaureate Organization:
The International Baccalaureate aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable, and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.
To this end the organization works with schools, governments, and international organizations to develop challenging programmes of international education and rigorous assessment.
These programmes encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate, and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with all their differences, can also be right.
Let's take a look at the last paragraph. What does this paragraph mean to you? Please write a brief reflection of about 200 words.
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ReplyDeleteSchool being one of the main influences in our life at a young age, is very important and every school influences every student in a different and unique way. The International baccalaureate (IB) being one of the programs offered at school does influence you in a very broad way. As the paragraph in the text above states, the IB “aims to develop inquiring” which it indeed does however that is one of the many aims it has. Not only does it prepare you for life and for your future but it also makes it easier for one to cooperate with one´s surroundings more easy. So I as a student of this program, do agree with the text, however I think there is some sort of exaggeration within the text, even though the IB has a aim for their students it should be clear that not all students agree with this program as it is and because of this not all of their aims are met. But overall the text has a very powerful message in itself which hopefully has been perceived by the readers with a matter of understanding, as it did for me.
ReplyDeletePs: This text really looks more like a challenge I’m not up to.
Despite the every day challenging classes i took, and regretting every day to have chosen to undertake such a difficult diploma, the International Bacclaureate has an incredible way of preparing the students not only on a scholastic level but also to life itself. If well organized by the school, the IB is able to offer the students both normal and challenging classes by choosing standard and higher level classes. As a student, now completing the last year, and extremely anxious about exams and due dates, i tend to outline only what is bad, for example: the many maybe too many due dates to complete certain assignments or the time to complete an extremely difficult exam. But, overall as the paragraph above says it is very helpful. It prepares students too chose classes which will be eventually taken in universities and it helps to become more independent and prepared for life. It keeps students under pressure so that they never give up and fulfill their duty of studying. Lastly it opens students mind, making them become participants into the adult world, and aware that what is going to follow is even more demanding.
ReplyDeleteClearly like in most of the cases when trying to promote, the IB has created an image of itself very positive, and as the paragraph says it talks about it as an outstanding choice. I am sure it will certainly be helpful, i hope in my future in many ways, but i also can assure that for now it is only being a great stress!
The International Baccalaureate may indeed put forth the concept of encouraging a student to accept the opinions of others, and to become active and compassionate. However, the IB also requires a great amount of responsibility, and teaches each individual to grow academically, to consequently be prepared for university, and their adult life. Students who decide to undertake the challenge of the IB have committed themselves to a two year program, not only full of due dates, exams, internal assessments, and daily homework, but also a constant reminder about the Extended Essay, TOK, the CAS hours, and social life. IB students are encouraged to juggle all of these elements around, to therefore be able to try and do their best in everything. Personally, I find that the International Baccalaureate is indeed a great challenge I chose to commit myself to. After my first year of the IB, I have found myself to have grown in my organization of the 6 subjects, when to do what. I deeply enjoy doing my CAS hours, meeting new people, getting involved in activities such as volleyball, with other students. I however, have also realized that the IB program in indeed extremely nerve-racking and hectic, and even though I know I will be satisfied to have done it, all I can think of now is, “when does all of it end?!”
ReplyDeleteThe International Baccalaureate program is very challenging. I began to encounter the difficulties at the end of last year when we had to complete some internal assessments for the IB in a very short time. The stressing due dates will make me grow up and understand the importance of time and how to use it wisely. I believe that this program will help me through my life, I hope to become caring and knowledgeable as the IB mission statement says. The IB hopes to create a better place, a healthier world through understanding and respect. The IB is a rare program in Italy offered only by few schools and it is a privilege to be in it. As a student I am conscious of the opportunities that this outstanding program offers me. Not only can I choose the classes I want to study but I can also decide the level either higher or standard of my electives. I am aware that this program will make me be a step in front of others in life and therefore I will work hard throughout my final year to achieve the highest grade I am able to get.
ReplyDeleteYear after year the Marymount International School has seen the senior class students stressed by all of the internal assessments, deadlines, tests and exams that the IB requires. Doubtless it is a challenging diploma, as it prepares you to life by awarding you a lot of responsibility. Because this Diploma program is offered all over the world, it is normal for us IB students to meet peers of different origins at school, that after a brief period of time can be defined as “integrated” with the rest of us. Studying with them, interacting with them, not only teach us to respect other cultures and ways of thinking, but it also make use appreciate the differences and let us understand that having an open mind is fundamental today in day. I think that it is very wise to start teaching young people social priorities like respect, interaction and tolerance, to let us leave the high school with an ethical behavior towards others, ready to face life. The IB classes are very well thought and I ha the luck to meet always passionate and excellent teachers. The lessons are offer many different teaching methods, like presentations, projects, experiments, investigation, use of technologies, ecct. This led to students’ development of creativity and makes us understand what our passions and tastes are. Furthermore, the CAS hours required for the IB Diploma also encourage young adults to be generous, to understand our own strengths and weaknesses, and to take new challenges: these experience are necessary for our personal growth. The IB diploma is a program, that, teaching students to respect others, to interact with the rest of the world, to appreciate other culture, to let us understand our own identity; I am honestly proud to take.
ReplyDeleteThe word “International” is key in understanding the sense of the IB. This diploma is a recipe that contains many requirements and ingredients that if followed rigorously will bring to a successful result therefore a successful and positive person in life. What differentiates the IB to other diplomas is the actual preparation that it gives towards life, as an example the IB program demands extra curriculum activities that incorporates you as a person in society bringing you to be an active part of it. The many deadlines we need to meet prepare us to the adult world by forcing us to organize our time in such a way that we can do everything in an efficient way. This program doesn’t permit a student to be lazy and is so this will be the route to failure. Another element of the IB program that enriches you as an individual is the opportunity it gives to encounter many different cultures, traditions and costumes. This makes you become an open minded person with an important cultural background. In conclusion I think the IB program will help with my future but for what regards the present it’s becoming a bit too stressful.
ReplyDeletePursuit for knowledge is the main path for personal growth in life. Knowledge which, however, not only includes academics and work related activities, but all the experiences that, in a way or another, contribute to an enrichment of our person and of our souls.
ReplyDeleteLast year has surely been arduous. Never academics and extra curriculars have been so present in my life, often resulting in pleasant fulfillments, and, at times, becoming too invasive, as I felt “duties” being omnipresent in my personal life. This new year opened in a similar way, maybe even at a more pressing and demanding pace, and I felt the same dual-faced aura of imperative responsibilities alternating with an impelling search for freedom.
The IBO, which aims to “develop challenging programs of international education and rigorous assessment” with the desire to “develop enquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people”, tries to encourage a passion for knowledge, spurring each individual to personal enhancement, and seeking, in more rational and knowledgeable people, an improved international society. Only through the conscious appreciation of why we have to complete our duties, as a honest and healthy contribution to the world we live in, can we really find gratitude in life, and can leave an indelible mark of our presence as human beings.
Mattia Barina
The International Baccalaureate challenges students beyond their believed capabilities. It forces us to strive far past what we believed possible. It shows us that with hard work and dedication that we can exceed. This hard work and dedication however, as us students begin to see, is not just revolving purely around academics. The IB program stresses much more than that, it stresses us to examine and accept different points of views, alternative ways of thinking. Above all, the IBO encourages us to be passion in what we learn, and explore all opportunities. The IB does not limit us, but rather present us with what the world has to offer. Be that different cultures, methods of teaching, and different principles involves in education.
ReplyDeleteThe International Baccalaureate is very rewarding once accomplishments have been made, it is this feeling of achievement that pushes us to go beyond our limits. We find that through this type of learning, that does not limit our thinking, we begin to grow independently. To see the world from all different angles, and discover what we are really capable of.
Rylie Arnell
The IB is a pre step to university. We have for the first time the freedom to choose our subjects and therefore to start getting an idea of what are real interests are.
ReplyDeleteBecoming active in my perspective means to become aware and conscious of our real interests, to look forward in learning the subjects chosen and mostly to start developing skills as independence, commitment and organization. You are not followed as you were the years before and also the teachers expect from you a behavior that shows dedication and responsibility.
Being compassionate to me means working together, sharing ideas and helping out. The IB in this is very successful. Through CAS we discover who we really are. The hours based on service make you think and be a little bit more aware of the world around you.
To be a life long learner is not something you can teach. In everything we do we learn new things, being a child of the age of 5 or an adult in its 70's, there is always something new to discover. The IB, instead, teaches how to learn in the best possible way, that is how to acquire knowledge and how to interpret it. TOK, is an obligatory course for the IB, which in my opinion teaches you how to look at things through another perspective, a deeper one; thorugh it we develop a new way of thinking. Also, taking Math HL has made me reflect in a deeper way, analyze with more accuracy and certainly connect more ideas.
We become day after day more mature and by being in an International School we are always in contact with every nationality and therefore communication and the acceptance of other people’s ideas, have never been a problem.
I can say that the IB as a program is for me a wonderful experience. You choose your subjects and you therefore realize your interests, potential, strengths, your limits, but mostly you realize that, with dedication, everything is possible.
The Mission Statement of the International Baccalaureate Organization is a guideline to students and helps them reflect on what the IB actually is, what its motives are, and what we are supposed to learn from this. The IB has expanded and now indeed works with several other schools, governments and international organizations. My school in fact teaches the IB and grants an IB Diploma which I will be receiving this year (hopefully). This statement simply points out what this program has to offer. By taking IB courses students grow a generally wider knowledge, which is true because it gives you the opportunity to take courses, which are of more interest to you and so consequentially you, tend to learn more. It also aims to help you understand more about the world around you and the different intercultural understandings that come with it. Every class uses different techniques of learning and studying and has various testing methods, which widen a persons mind. It tries to make us aware of diversities among people and situations and pushes us to become better people while facing these circumstances and understand the different perspectives of others.
ReplyDeleteWithout any doubt the IB diploma is definitely a challenging program, and can be only defined as such despite all the fine words and good characteristics that my classmates wrote above. This is what I believe since it's not so "life preparing" as it looks because, despite our opportunity to choose between more contemporary subjects, such as economics or psychology or computer science (these could really turn out to be useful in life) the majority of them will only be part of our "luggage of knowledge" and will never be actually used in real life situations, not even tok unfortunately. Tok stands for theory of knowledge, but from what I learned and understood we will never be capable of understanding the true meaning of each single thing in this world. Right now we can't even figure out our wants and needs, imagine to figure out an entire world of whys and because!!! It's impossible, and also very frustrating since you won't encounter an answer most of the time. Saying this, I firmly think that investigating and developing theories about anything is not essential, to be more honest is not essential at all...I mean what's the point of figuring out why a chair is called chair? Or why a specific event happened? If something already happened it can't be changed, of course it could be avoided or prevented but unfortunately we're still not that developed and risk-taking to find out a real solution, also because we like our status quo and we won’t do anything that could alter it. In other words, school teaches you the basis of life it’s true, but definitely doesn’t teach you how to react to life cause we live in cocoons and the IB program won’t be the type of course that will break through this shelter we created, for us (to what we’ve been showed so far) the world is a great place to live in, we have fancy cars, beautiful houses, branded clothes and there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be happy to be part of it; but then we you turn the other face of the coin you see poverty, diseases, injustice, discrimination and I could go on for quite bit. However the IB gives you a hint on what to expect from the world and tries to shape a better person, but it’s not achievable (for me) through the use of text books and lessons, because what you write for the IB may not be what you really think, you just get your job done without too many questions. So is it really fundamental that we “knowers” connect the ways of knowing with the areas of knowledge only to satisfy this program? I don’t know, but I’ll find out during this year, and if at the end I’ll be a better individual with new capabilities, well, maybe I’ll thank the IB diploma, but until the day I’ll throw my academic cap in the air and feel the smell of the real world my opinion is such: the IB is one of many challenging programs that is presumably preparing you for life, but you don’t know until you completed it.
ReplyDeleteIn only 8 months everyone of us is going to cross Marymoun's gate; and this will mean that a chapter of our life is over.
ReplyDeleteExactly one year ago, we were introduced to the Ib Diploma, a program that help students grow up in their own way, by respecting eachother, interacting with every part of the world and therefore to have the opportunity to know new cultures.
When I first arrived in high school I didn't understand the stress that all the seniors had in taking internal and external assessments and exams, but now that I'm into this difficult program I realize the complexity of the IB Diploma which is the most challenging program in all the world. The Ib Diplom not only is a wonderful scholostic program that prepares you in a scholastic way but it makes you grow up and prepare you for life.
Eventhough the IB is a program which is offered in all schools in every part of the world, here in Italy is not that common and only a few schools offer this program, therefore I'm very proud to be in it, and to have success in it.
The International Baccalaureate, believes that the program will create students who are aware of their surroundings and will perceive the world with an open-minded attitude, which will benefit the world. By creating students who will want to research and know more about this world, they will on the long-run create a better world. Throughout the International Baccalaureate programme students are highly challenged and develop “intercultural understanding and respect” which is a basic black for the developing of a charismatic character. Basically the programme wants students to want to learn, not because it should be a burden but because by knowing you can always improve. Culture is a fortune that not many people in world can have and through the International Baccalaureate, young people become aware of their prosperous education. By making students realize their great opportunity the IB hopes, as seen in the last sentence of the IB mission statement, to “encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners”. The IB demonstrates to desire globalization by completing a heterogenous programme that involves different cultures. Therefore to conclude, even though the IB programme is demanding, it is an opportunity to understand how lucky we are to have a cultural background.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion what this paragraph wants to highlight is the importance and value that difference between people and culture has. We some times acknowledge how much our society has developed in the last years and how much it is still doing now. We must also acknowledge though that this is thanks to a solid and good education which does not only teach students subject but how to use what has been learned to make a difference in our world to make it “better and more peaceful”. It is understanding others and other's problems and emotions that a better consolidation between people is established and built on. This in why living peacefully in an international community and being part of such a world wide programme such as the International Baccalaureate is important. Getting to know other cultures and background makes student realize that more than one reality exists, and that all of them have to be respected like our personal reality. As the statement says the students have to become “lifelong learners “ because it is important to know that life always teaches something new, people always teach each other something new and we always must accept what others have to teach us, as it is important to take as much as possible from outside always remembering to make of it something personal and to make it into something good for the future. School so, as said before has the duty not only to teach us the ares of knowledge but encouraging the students to use their heads to develop those subject into something more to apply to the real world after high school or university so to make the world a better and less ignorant place to live in.
ReplyDeleteThis paragraph is a distinct reminder that all the students who do the IB program do it for a reason other then just cowering over huge amounts of work. It reminds me that I should take into account that I am fortunate I am actually able to participate within the program. It also highlights the fact that the “rigoruous assessment” is not only for the achievement of an acedemic goal, but it enables a student to be further prepared when facing situations in their lives thereafter high school. In addition, it emphasizes the fact that we become “life-long learners,” so not only compassionate of book-learned teachings but taking into account every event that we encounter in our lives and taking as much as we can from it. This Mission Statement means a lot to me, because it helps me remember that the challenges I encounter now are not only a nuisance, but are training me to discipline my mind and soul to becoming more successful in the future. Furthermore, the last words are very important for me as an IB student, because different points of view that are fed to me from all types of other individuals have and always be taken into account.
ReplyDeleteThis paragraph is a distinct reminder that all the students who do the IB program do it for a reason other then just cowering over huge amounts of work. It reminds me that I should take into account that I am fortunate I am actually able to participate within the program. It also highlights the fact that the “rigoruous assessment” is not only for the achievement of an acedemic goal, but it enables a student to be further prepared when facing situations in their lives thereafter high school. In addition, it emphasizes the fact that we become “life-long learners,” so not only compassionate of book-learned teachings but taking into account every event that we encounter in our lives and taking as much as we can from it. This Mission Statement means a lot to me, because it helps me remember that the challenges I encounter now are not only a nuisance, but are training me to discipline my mind and soul to becoming more successful in the future. Furthermore, the last words are very important for me as an IB student, because different points of view that are fed to me from all types of other individuals have and always be taken into account.
ReplyDeleteI truly believe that the IB program is shaping ourselves into improved persons who will change the world. With our six subjects, all the internal assessments, the extended essay, the responsiblities of respecting deadlines, our communication with our teachers, the help we get from our classmates we are exactly shaping ourselves into improved people. As time passes by it impresses me how much I have learned from the beginning of 11th grade to today. I have learned to be a proper IB student. I have learned that you don't get good grades without continuity and work. I have learned to cooperate with my teachers, communicate with them as much as I can, because they are helping us through this difficult process. I have learned that the presence of a friend can help you through the worse week of deadlines. I have realized which subjects I enjoy the most, and that will help me in my choice for college. I have learned what it means to respect my duties, what it means to merge school with my outside world, to handle time in the right way, to divide up my homework, but most importantly that as we go on we are always closer to the becoming little adults. My sense of community has grown into me thanks to the retreats, the fieldtrips, but especially thanks to the time I spend in class with my classmates. I am sure that I will finish the IB and be an improved me, and will bring all these values with me for the rest of my life.
ReplyDeleteThe IB program has now become part of our everyday lives as we are now in a period of our life where many choices have to be taken. The beginning of our last year of high school means many things. Now we have to continue our work on the internal assessments that we began last year. The IB is a very challenging program because of these important works that we have to complete, having many strict deadlines, and because of the final exams that we will have to complete at the end of the year. Although, the IB has many positive aspects and it is not only a stress for students like us. The IB will surely helps us to grow as individuals because of all the values that it transmits to students. IB is not only a period of your life where you study to be prepared for your final exams, it is something more. The IB is a program that leads to personal growth throughout the understanding of values which will be very important for our future years.
ReplyDeleteBrando Rotelli
What does the last paragraph mean? It's hard to say half way through the program and I believe once we finish the program we will truly understand what the IB means to us. One of the aims of the IB is to develop "caring young people who help create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect." The IB achieves a lot of this through CAS and helps us understand what's going on in the world. I think that the IB is trying to transform us from citizens who lay back and watch the problem happen to citizens who get up and decide to take action and become the solution of the problem in order to make the world a better place. The IB's challenging program makes it so that we the students obtain many different levels of knowledge thus allowing us to apply this knowledge in real world situations and help the world become a safer environment for all. As students of the IB I can be almost certain that we sometimes find it annoying because of all the work that there is to do and all the stress it gives us during the last two years of high school. But I’m also certain that once we graduate and receive the program we will be thanking the IB for all the work that they had us do because that work is what made us into what we will be in the future: Young responsible adults who will stand up and take action in order to make a more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.
ReplyDelete-David
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ReplyDeleteAs the above passage mentions, the International Baccalaureate does aim to develop inquiring knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world. This to me is a very appropriate statement for many reasons. I believe that the IB is a very challenging programme and not all can be gained my memorizing facts and data, a lot of the information does require a student to use logic, and curiosity. The IB courses are rigorous and require a lot of work as it helps the student prepare for university and helps us get a better idea of what university would be like.
ReplyDeleteFurther more the IB is a programme that is studied by students, all over the world. This helps students to relate to one another from different cultures and backgrounds. This enriches the program even more as during a class discussion multiple perspectives are stated. This proves that certain topics may not have one right answer. Despite the rigorous courses of the IB, the IB has a very positive image. While applying for universities, when IB courses are taken, the applicant automatically gets credit for college. This helps the student as it saves money and also allows them to finish university earlier.
The IB program is a difficult program, but it is possible with effort. It is a very rewarding feeling once success has been gained. Through the IB I as an individual have realized my strengths weaknesses interests etc. further I have realized that if I wish to get something in life I have it in me to give in my very best and dedicate myself till I achieve success. These realizations would not have been possible had I not been taking the IB diploma program.
Gopika Nambiar
It is an understatement to say that those who participate in the IB program are privileged. This pre-college program challenges students to become mature, caring and thoughtful adults.Whenever in need, its community is always there for a helping hand, and the IB teachers are determined to help their students as much as possible. Through out the last two years in high school those who take part in the IB program are put under pressure with deadlines, projects, essays and presentations. These deadlines are set up to allow the students to grow in their academic life and to learn for future reference. Although at times during the course of the program we may feel alone, we are actually surrounded by peers who are in our same situation. This consolation allows the community to build on stronger foundations and unite as a collaborative group (rather than as individuals).
ReplyDeleteI personally believe that the IBO program makes students more aware of the opportunities they receive and allows them to learn the fundamentals of independence. Due to the program, I have learned to be more independent, organized and aware of my studies in this past year. I feel like the mission statement of the International Program is very accurate, for it is not only a program which will benefit you in the future, but it will also become part of who you are during the process.
As many before me have stated, the IB is surely the most time-consuming and challenging programme there is. This is because it is not anly a programme that involves the in depth study of scholastic material, but also incorporates what is called CAS: creativity, action, and service. This is a fundamental part of the IB programme that I believe has a lot to do with the IB mission statement. The mission statemens asserts that its goal is to "encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate, and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with all their differences, can also be right". The hours of creativity, action, and service that the IB pushes us to complete bring the students to reflect and achieve exatly what the IB states. Through the hours of service, the students lend a hand where it is needed; this can be the case with children, or with those who are more in need. Spending time in this manner leads to reflecting on other people, and to the reality that all people, no matter how different, all wish to be happy. The hours spent on an activity make the students take part in a team, or maybe just develop a passion that keeps them motivated. Many activities that I have taken part in during these two years have made me realize things that, if I hadn't followed the IB course, I might have never discovered. The IB really opened my mind to new things, and I am sure that I will always be grateful, although it hasn't been easy.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the letters "I" and "B" stand for two specific words, those two words come with a lot of baggage ! I feel it is an excellent preparation for the rigors of a good college. I have sometimes felt overwhelmed by the amount of work and the requirements that one needs in order to take some classes, but I feel like everything is slowly paying off. It has been said that the IB is not for everyone, which I completely agree with, because of the rigorous studying and sacrifices one has to make in order to succeed at this program. I think it is not something you will be able to drag a reluctant student through ... In addition to completing high school and receiving your normal high school diploma, you get to have a separate diploma from the IB, which shows that you completed six challenging courses. The IB manages to pay attention to all six areas of learning equally, giving a little more attention to the three main ideas listed in the middle of the infamous "Hexagon": Extended Essay, TOK and CAS. It looked like it was going to be a lot of work at the beginning of my junior year, and it was and still is today ! But as soon as one understands how to approach the program, all that is needed is some dedication. Simple as that. It has been stressful, a self-esteem crusher at times for me in some classes, but I have managed to get through it the first year and don't see why I can't get through it with flying colors this year. What the IB Mission Statement states is completely true ... the program is aimed for people who care for a higher education and who want to push themselves.
ReplyDeleteThe last paragraph of the IB mission statement focuses on the goals of the IB. How their program is structured to be able to prepare the students to confront the world and be open to other ways of thinking. This is very important in the world of nowadays, where many people with very different backgrounds interact continuously. This is mostly cause by the technology of traveling which allows many people to be out of their homeland. Being able to understand different cultures and different ways of thinking is an important aspect of the future as it will help humans move forward and understand one another better. As we have to collaborate as a whole to achieve peace. According to me this goal of the IB mission statement is one of the most important as it will help us, the students of today, learn how to work together and open our minds up to different views. The statement states that the IB has “challenging” and “rigorous” assessment to be able to produce lifelong learners. This statement shows how through though work the student learns how this information can be used and cherished, and they learn how to enjoy hard work even though at the time they might think otherwise, in the long run they see its usefulness. Making them want to continue to study and become “lifelong learners”. I believe the class of 2012 will be able to fulfill the criteria’s of the IB mission statement!!
ReplyDeleteThe International Baccalaureate is a program which aims not only to shape you into a knowledgeable individual but also a conscious and respectful one. We all undertake difficult courses with many challenges and constantly have important due dates. In addition to the hard work we must put into every class, we are also required to take part in activities for our CAS hours. In order to do this, the IB teaches us to organize ourselves and dedicate our time to learning, service, action and creativity. Therefore we not only learn for our own benefit but we also share our learning and by that learn different opinions. TOK is a class only familiar to this program. This class helps us see aspects from different perspectives. We learn through TOK that there might not be a right answer to a question but many possible ones. We also understand that there are many ways of thinking and that we must respect that. The IB teaches us that if we see and understand ideas through the eyes of not only us but everyone around us, we can help each other to reach a common goal and succeed. This rigorous program is a full commitment but every year it will send out active individuals who will help create a “better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect”.
ReplyDeleteAt the beginning of last year i decided to do full IB diploma program.I wasn't aware of how much hard and challenging is going to be.I am half way trough it now and i am going to give my best to finish this year as better as i can.The International Baccalaureate is a program which is very challenging but it prepares us as a future university students and teaches us how to face difficulties.Few days ago i was thinking about giving up the full IB diploma program and taking the IB certificate in order to have less things to worry about and more time to concentrate for exams.But than i thought a little bit more and i realize that i am being lazy and very weak as a character which i am usually not but i was a stressed an nervous. At teh end i decided to continue this program and challenge my self because i am sure that i am keep-able of doing something like this.I am also sure that after i finish my IB exams and get into a college i will be very proud of myself and everything that a achieved.This program is made of many things which together are the best combination of learning and practical work.In this way students are ready when they leave the high school and go to university. When we leave Marymount everyone will go to the different place and to the different university but what we take with us from Marymount will be the same.The knowledge which we gained during these two years is going to be the big treasure for future.
ReplyDeleteThe IB diploma might appear to be a very challenging course to do but besides all the demands and stress it comes with, all students’ efforts pay off in the very end. Not only are we able to develop a sense of open-mindedness but also improve on our critical thinking skills which are very essential in this programme. Being in an international setting, in a globalized world, gives you a new outlook on the people around you and the environment that surrounds you. The world today needs more open-minded people if we are to try and create a peaceful environment to stay in. Luckily for us, the IB Diploma programmes are designed in such a way that they integrate the different subjects they offer together with co-curriculum activities which reveal the different potentials in an individual. The programme also broadens one’s knowledge on the differences between cultures and people’s way of thinking. One way we can see this is during class discussions in TOK or English class. Different students think differently about one aspect. The cultural diversity enriches this programme with ideas from all over the world. Speaking from experience as an IB student I have found some areas challenging while other were quite easy but all in all I must say that this programme has taught me how to think in so many different ways not only in critically but also creatively. It has given me a new outlook towards life and my surroundings. This way I have been able to solve a few problems in my life with the knowledge acquired from this programme.
ReplyDeleteThe IB programme requires a candidate to be active. This can be in terms of school work, extra curricular activities such as sports and voluntary services. This will prepare students for the stress and active nature of life in the future.
ReplyDeleteThe IB also aims at making its candidates lifelong learners. With courses such as TOK included in the core curriculum, students are able to understand that education is a neverending process and that learning will never stop.
Thirdly, unlike other high school curriculum, IB is an international curriculum designed to suit the need of students all over the globe. This means that the IB is suited for different countries and cultures and will also create opportunities for students wish to continue their education at a college or university level wherever they wish to study. For example, the IB requires students to take a second language course. This enables students to appreciate the culture of nations that may or may not be a part off. By learning to appreciate the culture and ideals of other nations, candidates will learn to be more compassionate for the people surrounding them as well as people with different cultures.
The IB programme allows us to grow intellectually and get ready to face the external world. The fact that it is a very challenging and demanding programme we are pushed to take more responsibilities and learn how to deal with difficulties. The words “intercultural” and “international” that can be read in this passage are a clear indication of the importance that the IB programme gives to the acceptance and to the integration of different cultures in the school environment. By learning how to respect and give value to diversity, we also become aware of what the world has to offer to us, and what we have to offer to the world. Therefore, this approach helps us also to make decisions about our future and discover who we are, by confronting ourselves with people from different countries and acknowledge their way of thinking. We would be able to do this, anyway, only if we remember that our point of view is not the only one existing in the whole world, and, more importantly, is not necessarily the only one that can be considered as valid and true. An example of the fact that different point of view exist and can be considered as valid can be found in religion. There are many religions in the world, but we can’t really say which one is right or wrong, so every religion could be the “right” one. More precisely, each religion is the right one for every person that believes in it. This is also expressed through tok, since the questions we ask ourselves during this course don’t have actually only one answer. If people remain “closed” in their personal little world, and do not learn how to open their minds, they would never be interested in gaining new knowledge. The IB programme pushes students also not only to augment their capabilities and their vision of the world, but also gives them the opportunity to become aware of their talents and passions by setting goals they want and they could achieve.
ReplyDeleteThe IB program is a very broad program and the great benefit with this program is that everyone has to fulfill the same standards and be graded after the same curriculum which I think is a very fair thing. The problem is that one must compete not only with oneself and the classmates but with thousands of other students all over the world. The IB program is also good in the sense that it helps many young students who are interested in universities outside their own country. Of course, having such a well and broad education has a price, not only in money but in various sacrifices such as being engaged in schoolwork most of the time after school.
ReplyDeleteMany people would see the program as a ticket to a good university which is absolutely not certain but although all the deadlines and challenging courses prepares one for college for sure in my opinion it also opens one’s mind, and ways of seeing things from all angles and perspectives. It helps one to understand the world better and to think more internationally and globally. That is just what we need today in our world. If I had not attended the IB program I would never have been the person I am today. I feel self-confident, educated, open minded and ready to go out in the world and change it.
- TOVE STENBERG
The IB is a very demanding program, which has been set up in order to achieve some important goals. In the statement we have read it says that one of the aims is to develop inquiring, knowledgeable, and caring people. To create inquiring minds the IB must give the students the possibility to develop their interests so that they can become curious of the subjects they are studying and can always improve. Students also become knowledgeable, since they study various areas, such as natural sciences, mathematics, social sciences and the arts. All of these subjects give a cultural background, together with studying the Theory of knowledge maximising their understanding of the world. The way in which the students learn is also fundamental for developing knowledge; the IB requires various Internal Assessments for each subject so that students can deeply comprehend their subject. The use of innovative teaching techniques, as the clever board in our classrooms, or the different group projects, is a way of developing such comprehension. Students also become caring, thanks to the hours of service required by CAS, in which they meet people from different cultures, socialize with them and understand the importance of helping others to create a better world. Furthermore, students become active, meant both physically and mentally; physically by the hours required for action and mentally through the study of all the different subjects. Finally students of the IB diploma come from all over the world; often they study in International Schools,such as myself, where it is normal to interact with people of different backgrounds and cultures. Therefore the IB prepares its students to develop their personality, their culture and their learning skills, in order to be successful at university.
ReplyDeleteBy Vittoria de Castiglione
The IB program is an opportunity for students to prove that they can follow the demands and meet the deadlines that are given to them, thus giving the student a great chance to be able to “create a better and more peaceful world through” responsibility. It also gives us a taste of what college will be like in the future. Giving us the decision to pick our own classes and which levels of them we want to take, giving us the ability to be independent. It’s the challenging programs of international education that help to create a better and more peaceful world. I am very grateful to be able to accept such an opportunity and to be included in such a community. Through this, I can learn an intercultural understanding, which expands my knowledge on universal matters. The phrase “lifelong learners who understand that other people with all their differences, can also be right” emphasizes the fact that we are all equal and are allowed to have an opinion in any given situation no matter what difference there is between us. The IB program gives the students a possibility to reach their full capacity of being a lifelong learner. Knowing that this organization works with “schools, governments, and international organizations” is evidence that this program is very worthwhile and has been a major success.
ReplyDeleteThe IB Program is a very complex diploma and has many branches. I personally think that respect for one another is one of the most important thinks, because if you respect people, the people are going to respect you. When you are respected by people, you feel safe and proud of who you are. To create a more peaceful world is not an easy job, and moreover it is not a task that can be given to only one person but can be given to a generation. I completely agree with the difficulty of the programme, because it has many parts and many exams, not only internal but also external and orals, and i think it is a great preparation of what's outside school, life. I don't think the program makes a student become active and compassionate, but instead it gives the student a full background of what is going to happen in his life, and all the preparation the student needs to go to collage. the last frase of the paragraph is very strange, because i think that everyone can be right, but also everyone can be wrong.
ReplyDeleteIvan Mastrogiacomo
Making an accurate simulation is not an easy task, especially when it focuses on human beings. That is because man will, whether he likes it or not, be influenced by the fact that he is being observed.
ReplyDeleteThis can be clearly seen in Professor Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment. Not only did this simulation involve human beings, but also it was asking them to act out roles. Some Stanford students were told to play the parts of the prisoners and the guards of a jail for an experiment to determine whether sadistic behaviour in prisons was due to people’s character or due to the prison environment. The problem with his experiment were that he had no way of knowing whether or not the people participating in the experiment were people of equal goodness, therefore he would have no way of knowing whether the sadistic behaviour was caused by the prison environment or their personal characteristics. Also, before the experiment started he briefed the students who would have to be the guards openly telling them they could verbally abuse the prisoners. This obviously gave the guards the idea that they were supposed to act abusively, completely destroying the experiment’s purpose. In fact, the “guard” who became known as John Wayne reveals in the documentary that he thought the aim of the experiment was to show the problems with prisons and decided to act abusively in order to give Zimbardo what he wanted.
The IB mission statement is the ideology of the system and also its aim. The IB system is founded upon the idea of educating students about world issues in order to form more caring and compassionate individuals. Through CAS and TOK the IB tries to make sure that every student in possession of an IB diploma understands the basis of TOK and questions knowledge and is aware that people of different opinions may also be right. The courses taught by the IB also focus on intercultural and multilingual understanding(as an example: all first language students must read at least one play in that language and two pieces that have been translated) and it also tries to educate world students of world issues (the environment and the greenhouse effect are part of the physics curriculum). As a result of their philosophy, the IB tries to shape a student according to the mold presented by the IB mission statement.
ReplyDeleteIn the last two years of high school, the IB program has become part of our lives if not one of the main thoughts in our minds. During this period of time, many difficulties have to be faced, difficulties that may seem extremely difficult for us but that for our parents or teachers are just little worries. One of the main choices that is messing up my mind, is the one that will determine my furure: the university choice. I have no idea of what I want to study and what I want to become, the only thing I know is that I hope to discover this as soon as possible. The beginning of our last year of high school means many things: personal growth and personal strenght, in my opinion are two of the most important. In these two years a lot of work has to be done, especially in the second year. All the internal assessments and all the essays have to be completed. The IB is a very challenging program and every individual should try to go through it, in the best way possible for them. This is because, these important works and these fundamental assignments, can be considered the first step towards our future. Well future, this is what the IB is all about, having many strict deadlines, for eample is already helping us to enter in a work mentality, where if you don't respect these deadlines you will be fired. The final exams, are instetad our last step and our last opportunity, to show to the rest of the people, but first of all to ourselves who we really are and of what we are really capable of doing. The final exams also determine the end of a cycle, of the fist cycle of our lives. Now, we only have the certainty that we will enter that room to take those so waited exams, and that we will try to do our best, we don't have the certainty of what will happen next. The end of high school also determines the beginning of a new life, where all if not most, of the people that were present in our "previous life" will take a different path from ours. From these words the IB looks like a very negative and sad thing, but it also has many positive aspects. The IB in fact, makes us grow, it accompanies us through one of the most stressful and difficult periods of our lives: adolescence. This will be done by transmitting to us many important values that will help us in our future years.
ReplyDeleteAlessia