International Baccalaureate (IB) – a pathway to succesful education

EE, IA, IO, TOK, CAS, SA, and IB. The International Bachelorette
program is full of acronyms including ‘IB’ itself! But what do they all
mean? How do they contribute to the IB? What even is the magical IB?
To get started, you need to know where it’s all derived from. You might
be surprised by what IB has in store for us, so get ready because ‘IB
ready for anything’!
The International Bachelorette, also known simply as the IB, is an
internationally recognized program for students aged 3-19. The IB
program aims to develop students’ knowledge in various subjects and
disciplines and help them become confident, self-motivated, and
committed global citizens. Firstly, you need to understand the building
blocks of the International Bachelorette. IB has 3 main programs: the
Primary Years Program, the Middle Years Diploma, and the Diploma
Program. However, don’t forget the Careers Program as well. Now, let’s
dive into each of these programs.
Let’s begin with our little ones – the PYP. The IBPYP is an international
curriculum framework designed for children between 3 and 12 years old.
PYP studies are based on 6 subject areas: language, social studies,
mathematics, arts, science, and personal/ social/physical education.
Wow, look at the variety of choices your child can get to study! Certainly,
with this aspect, the IBPYP will allow your children to be creative and
partake in several activities. It focuses on the development of the child
and that’s where the key concepts come in. PYP consists of 8 key
concepts: Form, Function, Causation, Change, Connection, Perspective,
Responsibility, and Reflection.
The years follow as PYP1 meaning 1st grade until PYP5 meaning 5th
grade. In their last year of PYP, an exhibition is conducted. The PYP
Exhibition supports learner agency by empowering students to take
ownership of their learning process, in which they highlight key global
issues that they learned in class. From my experience, I have both
conducted my exhibition as a PYP5 student and observed PYP5 students
conducting theirs. With this insight, it’s safe to say how this opportunity
paves the way for creativity and allows students to pursue their interests.
Imagine the endless possibilities of children gaining insight into the
world that awaits them.
Now, we can take a look at the MYP and see what they’re up to. The
IBMYP encourages students aged 11 to 16 to make tangible connections
between their studies and the real world, equipping them for success in
further study and life. The MYP consists of 8 subject groups: language
acquisition, language and literature, individuals and societies, sciences,
mathematics, arts, physical and health education, and design. The MYP
years follow as MYP1 meaning 6th grade until MYP5 which is 10th grade.
Within these years, the IBMYP places a strong emphasis on personal
growth and development. IBMYP helps or at least it is supposed to aid
you in preparing for the next big thing- IBDP. Yet the IBMYP has its
features. For instance, the SA thing. It’s time to unravel that acronym. SA
stands for Service as Action, meaning it requires students to engage with
their local community through community or personal projects and
provides opportunities for students to explore, design, enforce, and
reflect on their efforts to positively impact their local environment. This
itself is a crucial part of the IBMYP other than their day-to-day studies.
Furthermore, despite students’ expectations of it being an easy year,
MYP5 would be considered the “most challenging year ” as it is the final
year of MYP. In MYP5, some things start changing from what has been
implemented in the previous years. For starters, the personal project
takes over the majority of the student’s time and energy. The personal
project is a project in which YOU decide what you’ll do and it has to be
unique, like a learning experience or a skill that you’ve wanted to try out.
During this project, you must have a learning goal, a product, and what
skills you’ll need/learn.
As we progress further into the year, it’s crucial to remember one
important piece of advice: do not procrastinate! Those due dates will be
catching up to you and before you know it, you’re at a party, finishing up
your E-portfolio. Those sacrifices might hurt in the short term but in the
long run, you will be in your most grateful state. Soon enough you’ll be
graduating MYP and it’ll be all over! Here comes the summer holidays!!!
-Oh wait…another 2 more years of the IB. Hello IBDP.
Finally, the one we’ve been patiently waiting for the most. The one and
only IBDP. This journey might be a tough one. Regardless, these 2 years
might just be an awakening to so many different aspects of your life.
Whether it’s your educational or social part of your life, I am sure you
will see changes. IBDP isn’t going to be easy. I am not saying this to scare
you but to prepare you mentally. You have to enter IBDP with the right
mindset and with that comes your planning and organizational skills.
Two skills which are highly recommended in endeavoring your journey
throughout your Diploma Program.
As the DP starts it may feel like you’re being thrown into the deep end of
a swimming pool. In DP2 your IAs become your biggest source of pain,
dealing with your EE and increasing course difficulty on the side.
Through all this, it is easy to feel hopeless or wonder what the point of all
of this even is. But, the IBDP opens up so many doors for those of you
looking at University education. With the diploma in hand, you can
apply almost everywhere in the world and a lot of places even get credit
transfers for a lot of courses depending on how well you did in specific
subjects.
More importantly, though, the IB teaches you how to work and how to
study effectively. I know it is very hard to cope with the immense
workload that you all have, but as a result, everything after IB will just be
a breeze. The IB requires you to analyze and present information
objectively and concisely. In return, you gain the skill to write
informative pieces of text about even the most complicated topics in a
short text. This is a skill that is invaluable in University and beyond,
where quality is far more important than quantity. Studying beyond high
school will become second nature to you as any new information you
need to learn will be easy to assimilate. In university, this is important
since classes are typically 100+ students and the teacher doesn’t have
time (or just doesn’t want to) to help each student. Consultation hours
leave a lot to be desired for large classes, so self-learning is your best
option. After you go through the stress of reviewing the entire course
curriculum for 6 subjects for a set of exams for your DP, ANY studying
you do afterward will be a piece of cake.
One final point I would like to make is on the purpose of CAS and TOK.
CAS (Creativity, Activity, Service) is a core component of the IB program
that encourages students to engage in creative, active, and community
service activities. TOK on the other hand is (Theory of Knowledge), a
core component of the IB that explores the nature of knowledge and how
we know what we claim to know. In CAS, you complete several
experiences and at least one big project. This can vary from helping your
small neighborhood to your local community to even a national project.
After completing each experience and project, you are to write reflections
which are based on the skills you used and what you learned and reflect
upon it. As for TOK, during your 2 years, DP1 and DP2, you must
complete a 950-word exhibition and write a 1600-word essay as a part of
your assessment. This is graded and will give you a maximum of 3 points
added to your final IB score which is out of 45.
For IB students, these seem pointless, but in reality, they teach you that
in university (and beyond) you often have to do things that don’t appeal
to you. Whether this means a subject in an area outside of your major, or
having to write a summary on something your boss told you to but you
don’t like to write about, these instances are fairly common. Learning to
have patience and apply your brainpower to matters that you thoroughly
dislike is an important life lesson.
In conclusion, the International Bachelorette is an esteemed and
rigorous program that aims to cultivate inquiring, knowledgeable, and
compassionate individuals. Whether you are a student or parent reading
this, have you changed your mind? Is IB the next step for you in the
future? Either way, let us once remember education is a powerful tool
and with the IB, students aren’t just receiving education, they’re
preparing to make a difference. Thank you for joining us on this rather
long yet fascinating journey through the IB. Until next time, for another
IB-venture!

By Ayla Rustamli, IB Student