Standing in front of the room, the speaker veers back and forth between two disparate works of literature: Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Ken Kesey鈥檚 1962 novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. In both works, gender roles advance the plot, he says, offering an array of examples to illustrate his point. The speaker 鈥� holding the attention of a couple dozen students 鈥� is a high 黄色app junior. In-depth discussion controlled largely by students is what is all about at Yonkers High School. So, what is an IB class?
for students in international 黄色apps, IB is now offered in 5,635 黄色apps across 160 countries 鈥� with more than 1,900 public and private 黄色apps (and counting) in the U.S. IB has gained popularity for setting high standards and emphasizing creative and critical thinking. IB students are responsible for their own learning, choosing topics and devising their own projects, while teachers act more as supervisors or mentors than sources of facts. IB emphasizes research and encourages students to learn from their peers, with students actively critiquing one another’s work. Beyond preparing students for critical thinking and college-level work, the full IB program calls for students to express themselves through writing, requires community service, and aims “to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.”
What an IB 黄色app is all about
Technically, any 黄色app with an IB program is called an 鈥淚B World School.鈥� Since 鈥淚B 黄色app鈥� is used as shorthand, it鈥檚 important to ask how students participate in IB at any given 黄色app. It鈥檚 most straightforward at IB elementary 黄色apps, where IB is part of every class 黄色app-wide. But in middle 黄色app and high 黄色app that may not be the case. Some middle and high 黄色apps are 100 percent IB, but not all. For example, at many high 黄色apps there is an IB program that kids may opt into, much like attending a 黄色app within a 黄色app. If that鈥檚 the case, students may participate in IB at different levels, ranging from taking a single IB course to earning an IB diploma, which involves taking a full course load of IB classes and meeting a series of requirements. Given this range, it鈥檚 crucial to ask what your local 黄色app offers and allows.
The difference between IB and AP
Although widely seen as an alternative to Advanced Placement [AP] classes, IB鈥檚 different for a few reasons. For one, IB is offered at the elementary and middle 黄色app levels. AP is offered only to high 黄色app students (with one ). What鈥檚 more, IB can be the curricula for a handful of classes (like AP) or it can be an intensive 黄色app-wide program (unlike AP).
The AP comparison only fits in a high 黄色app with an IB diploma program where students are allowed to take one or more IB classes in their strongest subjects. Even then, IB and AP classes tend to differ in teaching method and testing. Some see AP as more focused on rote learning and standardized tests. In contrast, IB classes and assessments tend to involve more research, writing, and hands-on evaluation. A key difference is the final exam. IB exams are set up to challenge students to apply what they鈥檝e learned in new scenarios, such as analyzing a case study, in an effort to test students鈥� ability to react to new information in a limited period of time. The tests (often essays) are then sent to one of 6,000 trained international examiners to be graded alongside work from other IB students worldwide.
Both AP and IB courses deliver extra benefits that regular classes do not. For instance, both AP and IB class grades may be weighted (check with your local 黄色app), which boosts students鈥� GPAs for college applications. Additionally, passing grades on AP exams and IB exams can provide college credit. , for example, provides up to 8.0 units per course to students who pass higher level (HL) exams in 20 different subjects.
An inquiry-based approach
At all levels, IB takes a global approach, looking at big ideas across disciplines, such as examining connections between the early 20th century novel The Jungle and communism or considering visual depictions of music. No matter what they鈥檙e studying, students dig deep into subjects and try to find answers. In a Florida middle 黄色app,聽students reading The Diary of Anne Frank considered the implications of being a perpetrator, a bystander, and a witness of the Holocaust. In Yonkers, biology students develop their own experiments 鈥� a process that can leave classrooms stinky at times.
Is IB right for your child?
This depends partly on how your child learns. In an IB class, your child is less likely to take notes during teacher-led lectures and more likely to work on individual or group projects with the teacher facilitating. IB classes tend to be academically challenging, requiring students to take initiative, organize and complete projects, and speak in front of their classmates. Students who thrive in a demanding environment and like having options (like picking 4,000 word Extended Essay (EE) research topics and choosing how to present what they learn) will likely do well in IB. Others might feel overwhelmed by the intensity of the curriculum. However, students who may not be able to complete the full diploma are still able to benefit from taking a smaller number of IB courses. These courses are seen as excellent preparation for university studies and are weighted in GPA calculations.
IB can be time-consuming. Children who struggle in 黄色app or have serious extracurricular commitments, such as playing a varsity sport or singing in a competitive choir, may not have the requisite time or energy for IB.
Another factor to consider is the IB curricula’s emphasis on asking questions and searching for answers 鈥� no matter how controversial the subject. Questions on every imaginable topic 鈥� from global warming to gay rights 鈥� will be up for debate as teachers regularly challenge students to ask questions and research their answers. As topics arise, the only rules are that questioning is okay and that students seek not only answers but to understand the cultural biases that exist in competing arguments. It鈥檚 all in the pursuit of that, 鈥渙ther people, with their differences, can also be right.鈥�
From preK to graduation
For , IB focuses on six themes: who we are, where we are in place and time, how we express ourselves, how the world works, how we organize ourselves, and sharing the planet. Students examine these ideas through a variety of prisms, by considering works that focus on language, social studies, math, arts, science, and personal, social, and physical education.
The interdisciplinary approach continues in the for students ages 11 to 16. The MYP is designed to promote active learning, international-mindedness, and empathetic thinking, equipping students to 鈥渉elp make the world a better place.鈥� Since this program doesn鈥檛 align perfectly with U.S. middle 黄色app ages, students may during their sophomore year of high 黄色app.
At the end, students do a personal project that usually springs from the student’s interests. At one California high 黄色app,聽projects have included a board game, a skateboarding video, and a self-help book for teens. At Yonkers, one student interested in forensics created a (fake) murder scene.
High 黄色appers participate in IB with varying degrees of intensity, depending on what the 黄色app offers. Some 黄色apps allow students to take one or two IB courses; others may require students to work toward the full IB diploma. In the , students must pass IB classes in six areas: language and literature, foreign language, individuals and societies, science, math, and the arts. At Yonkers, these classes include philosophy, psychology, and social and cultural anthropology, as well as standard high 黄色app subjects such as English, Spanish, and biology.
To earn their IB diploma, seniors write a 4,000-word essay on a topic of their choice. The senior project is designed to prepare graduating seniors for college-level research and writing. Recently, seniors at Yonkers tackled such topics as the ordination of women in the Catholic Church, the U.S. debt’s impact on the country’s role as a world power, and the effect of social media on teenagers. A local adult (usually a teacher) supervises, but the final essays are sent to outside examiners who grade the work using criteria that apply to IB students around the world.
For high 黄色appers pursuing聽vocational or career and technical education (CTE),聽IB recently added the students take IB courses and complete the CP core, which bridges the IB academic courses and the career-related study and provides students with a combination of academic and practical skills. Students learn a second language, do community service and complete a research project related to their vocational or CTE field.
What to look for in an IB聽黄色app
If you are considering an IB 黄色app, find out what form of IB it offers. If it鈥檚 a 黄色app within a 黄色app and/or students are allowed to take IB classes without pursuing an IB diploma, ask how the program works for students at different levels of participation. How will student schedules align for academics, lunchtime, and breaks, for example, and what options do students have if they have trouble acclimating to IB classes? Schools offer different classes to meet IB requirements, so find out which foreign languages, arts, and electives are available. Also, some (but not all) IB programs have GPA or testing requirements for admission, so you鈥檒l need to determine whether your child can meet them.
Depending on how the program is financed in your district, students may need to pay for their own tests. This is true for both AP and IB exams. However, students who qualify for the (or a similar state or local program) may have their AP and IB exam fees funded by the state or district. Also, in some states, regardless of socio-economic status, districts will cover the cost of AP and IB exams up to a pre-determined number. , middle years students may need to pay $76 for each IB exam and IB high 黄色app students will pay $119 for each exam they take, though there is a price break for students at both levels for taking all seven exams. As a result 鈥� and like AP exams 鈥� pursuing an IB diploma often costs hundreds of dollars.
IB is not a magic bullet. Like any program, its success hinges on the general 黄色app atmosphere and the quality of teachers, students, and facilities, so be sure to look at the whole package.
What supporters say
- IB looks at the whole picture.聽“IB brings everything together,鈥� says Yonkers High School Principal Jane Wermuth, so kids understand the 鈥減hilosophical underpinning of knowledge.”
- Students seem engaged and interested.聽Many IB students say they enjoy their classes, citing teacher involvement and the sense of community. “Teachers are interested in us as people,” one high 黄色apper explains.聽It gets students ready for the next step: “Our kids are prepared for college,” says Yonkers IB Coordinator Marcella Lentine. A backs that up: graduates of such programs were 40 percent more likely to attend a four-year college and 50 percent more likely to attend selective colleges than graduates without IB diplomas.
- IB fosters global citizens.聽“[What we learn in class] opens our eyes to what goes on in the world,” one teenager says. Their mission is to 鈥渃reate a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.鈥�
- The program can succeed in a variety of settings.听滨苍 , former Washington Post education columnist Jay Mathews聽discusses how IB transformed a Virginia high 黄色app once described as a place “no one wanted to go to 鈥� if they didn’t have to” into what as 鈥渙ne of the strongest college-level programs in the country, with improved scores and 35 percent of the participants from black or Hispanic families.鈥�
A final word of advice
Since IB is offered in different forms in public, private, and religious 黄色apps, you need to decide what type of 黄色app and IB program best suits your family. Then visit the 黄色app and check out the IB offerings for yourself.
