#LifeAftertheIB

[lifeaftertheib]

How to: Use a Syllabus

I have had a disconcerting number of asks lately dealing with syllabi. Which means it’s time for another in my ever popular line of “How to” posts.

Let’s begin with finding a syllabus. Hopefully your school handed you one before you even knew you needed it. But as seems to be the case, this isn’t happening as often as it should. Let me tell you now. YOU NEED A SYLLABUS FOR EACH CLASS YOU ARE TAKING. If your school did not provide you one - try asking your teacher for a copy. They might not know that they should be sharing this with you. If they refuse or give you a hard time, don’t stress. Simply go on google, type “[class name] ib syllabus [year]”, and a pdf or word document should be linked in the top 20 hits. example: “HL Biology ib syllabus 2015″ If you need help finding a specific class, let me know. If you have a copy of a recent syllabus/find a really good copy online - PLEASE let me know, I will make a library of links to make it easier for people to find these. Really, so much of success depends on syllabi that it’s crazy and unfair for students to be working without them.

Now that you have the syllabus - you need to learn how to read it.  At the beginning, it may have a bunch of boring information about how that subject is scored. This isn’t critical to the purpose of the syllabus. Right now, we’re more interested in teaching you what you need to know, rather than explaining how you’re going to prove it. The meat of the syllabus is divided into Core topics and Higher Level topics. Everyone (SL and HL) studies the core, but only HL has to study the additional topics. In some classes like Biology, there may be optional topics that your school will choose to focus on. Looking at the syllabus, under Core topics, you will see Topic 1. Think of this as a chapter in a book; it represents an overarching theme of study. Ex. Biology - Cell Biology. Following the Topic are subtopics or section headings. Ex. Biology - Topic 1.1 Introduction to cells. Underneath this subtopic will be a sequence of questions or statements that could be asked or referenced by an examiner. This is what you are expected to know. Exactly. There are rules in place, where professors who write the exams have to prove that the questions come directly from the syllabus. What I am telling you is that if you are familiar with the syllabus there is no possibility that you will see something new on the exam. The IB literally hands you a study guide and says if you know everything on here, you’ll get a 7.

This sounds great right? fool proof? You might then ask me why everyone isn’t getting a 7?  Go look at the sheer length of a blank syllabus and then come back. Yeah. It’s crazy how long they are. Here’s what I recommend: get the syllabus on the first day of IB. Heck - a bunch of my followers are reading this before they’re even in IB. Go get it now. ASAP. As soon as you know about syllabi, get them. Before you start a new topic in class, read the syllabus (don’t waste time previewing the book! There could be a bunch of interesting facts in there that won’t matter at all come exam time. Stay focused on that syllabus). As you cover a topic in class, keep a running syllabus going. You should have a binder of notes organized by topic, subtopic, and the question in the syllabus followed by the answer. If you do this as you go, it will be 100% easier come revision - because all your notes will already be organized per topic and you can focus in on memorizing the information. 

Now the syllabus for each class will look a little different. By now you should understand that a History class is not taught the same way as Biology. However every class is held to the standard of providing a syllabus with topics and subject focus points. Anything you are learning should directly relate back to a point on the syllabus. If you stay focused on the syllabus, then your exams will be much easier.

If you ever don’t understand something in the syllabus, either ask your teacher or feel free to ask me, because I guarantee you there is nothing more important in all of your exam prep than the syllabus.

[importantquote]

How to relax the night before IB exams

(based on an anon ask from last may - just making it reblogable)

First, I hope you aren’t too stressed out now! Know that I believe in you and every anon/follower/random IB kid out there! Well there are a gazillion and one ways to relax. So I’ll just list a few of my favorites.

Listen to some fun music. Jam out. Dancing around your bedroom is not mandatory, but strongly recommended.

Watch a movie: Either a cute Disney movie from your childhood to bring back happy memories, A grown-up comedy cause you’re too old for such frivolous things (P.S. if you choose this option for this reason, we are no longer friends.), or A horror movie that will put your fear of the IB into perspective. Like a silly little exam is no where near as bad as giant 50 foot anacondas eating you whole, right?

Bake cookies. This serves as dual purpose because you will get to eat them before and after exams.

Go out to a nice dinner with the family.

Exercise! Ride your bike, take a jog, play with the family dog.

If you craft, or make art of any kind (including written word) think of just freehanding something. Just one big burst of all that pent-up creativity.

Just what ever you do - STOP STUDYING! Really, if you don’t know it by now, staying up til 3 in the morning isn’t going to help you. Just trust you will do well, and go to sleep early.  IF the stress is so bad that you can’t sleep, consider alternative ways of going to sleep (NyQuil…cough*cough)

If you have a unique relaxation technique that you would like to share with your fellows, now that it is crunch time, send me ask, and I’ll post it on the blog. You guys are great! You can do this! <3

[lifeaftertheib]

Review of SMARTPREP’s new IB Exam Kit, as promised.

Let me know if you guys have any questions!

[lifeaftertheib]

IB Exam kits

I was approached by some ex-IB entrepreneurs.  They, like myself, felt there weren't very good study materials when they were preparing for the IB exams, and decided to start a business to help the next generations.

I’ve been talking to them about their company and products and can personally say I fully support them. They understand what IB students go through, and I really think they have some great ideas.  I will be reviewing their products on this blog as they become available - it’s a very new company which just launched.

Right now, the exam kit is in the mail to me (but if you’ve never had to get something through customs in the U.S. you don’t know the headache and how long shipping can be delayed).  So I was going to wait until I received the kit to let you know about the company and give a full review all in one go, but we’re getting pretty close to exams, and I want you guys to have a chance to look at this if you’re interested. You can read more about their exam kit here, but I strongly encourage you guys to procrastinate on your homework by checking out the rest of their site.

They have generously granted my followers a discount, so be sure to use it if you decide to buy anything! 

Discount Code: lifeaftertheib Type: 10% off all orders Expiration Date: 30.06.2015  (or 6/30/2015 for cool kids living state-side and can’t read international dates :D)

Keep an eye out for my review which will happen just as soon as I have the kit to show off to you guys.

[lifeaftertheib]

May exams

As many of you know May is just around the corner, and with it comes exams for a good number of ibers.

While I sincerely hope you’ve been studying before now, this is make-it-or-break-it time. If anyone has excellent resources with either practice papers or study guides, please share it with me so I can blast it out to my followers. This blog does have an email account with google if you can’t easily link a website. Remember, not everyone’s teachers have provided them with the tools for success, so let’s work together as a community to give everyone the opportunity to do well on these exams!

[lifeaftertheib]

How to: Extended Essay

So you’ve been told to write 4,000 words. What now?  Some schools are great about preparing candidates on how to write this paper, while others not so much.  For many of you, this will be the most intense paper you have to write until grad school. It is not for the faint of heart, and while most of us IB grads have/know of amusing EE stories, you really shouldn't procrastinate on this. Procrastinate on all your other IB homework by working on your EE. 

Because this topic is huge and crazy and literally took multiple hour lectures back when I was in school to fully go over, for brevity’s sake I’m going to try and be a bit selective. I found a world school that has an awesome EE website which should answer most of your questions in detail. <Click Here> If there’s anything I don’t cover - either comment on this post or leave me an ask.

Choose a subject. Please pick a subject you are actually taking. A good idea is to pick one of your HLs if at all possible. Some larger schools have rules and policies concerning how to pick a subject - check with a teacher. For example, I choose History.

Choose a topic. Please pick something which could show up on an exam (ie something from the syllabus). For example, I choose American History, specifically the Roosevelt Corollary.

Choose a research question. Spend a lot of time making sure your question is very narrow and direct. It should give your research focus and direction. You should also be able to answer it at the end of your research, so while you might be really passionate about this battle which occured in this one little town in Europe where your family is from, you need to make sure there is going to be enough research and scholarly sources for you to cite. 

Get your preliminary research done. Go read a wikipedia article. Basic web searches. Make sure theres enough scholarly sources on your question. Make sure you understand the basics of your concept backwards and forwards.

Get real research done. You should find 10-20 good sources. They need to be VERY relevant and from reputable sources. Academic journals, newspaper articles, documentaries, books. Websites are okay, as long as you are very careful: government or educational pages are one thing - random blogs shouldn’t be trusted.

Read the subject guide for you subject.

Make an outline for your EE incorporating your topic/question with the skeleton of your subject guide.

If you are doing a science EE - plan time to actually do your proposed experiment.

In all other subjects - keep track of all citations while doing research. Create your works cited page as you go. Pick a citation style which suits your subject and stick with it.

I recommend writing a sample intro, the bulk of your paper, then rewrite the intro, then the conclusion. But this is personal preference and you should do what works best for you.

The abstract should be the last thing you write. Keep it short and sweet.

Proof for spelling and grammar. Don’t trust Word or whatever you use to type this up. Proof yourself.

Get your teacher, a friend, family members - anyone you can bully into reading your EE and check it makes sense/no grammar and spelling errors.

Viola! you are done.

This is very general, and unsurprisingly a lot like the How to’s for most other long essays. Mostly because each subject area has its own quirks. Just get your hands on a subject guide and follow it to the letter. 

The EE is huge but entirely worth it. Make something you can be proud of and maybe build off of in university. Good luck!

[lifeaftertheib]

How to write a History Investigation

The Historical Investigation is really like a mini-EE, and if you can get that into your head you should be filled with a substantial level of fear.

I was bumming around on the internet and found this gem: click me. It’s a really great description of the IA and how to do it. But let me make this simple for you, and I warn you these steps seem short and easy but they will take mind-numbing amounts of time.

Pick a historical topic you are interested in. (You really should pull something from your syllabus. It doesn’t have to be, but why not give yourself something you could use on the final papers?)

Research your topic.

Create a research question.

Get it approved by your teacher.

Pull at least 10 good sources. I say 10 because that’s really the bare minimum you need. They can be books/journal articles/primary sources...just make sure they would stand up to academic scrutiny.

Actually read those sources. As you go take notes on important sections that refer to your question. Remember to cite everything so you can find it again and makes the bibliography section easier when we get to that.

After looking at all of your sources, try to generate a thesis. It should be answering your research question. Not all questions necessitate a yes/no, but they do need to be answered.

After making a thesis, formulate arguments which support your decision. Try for 3 good ones. 

Now you need to go back to your notes and pick evidence from your sources which support your arguments.

We’re going to start writing the paper now. Open up word and use those same headings: Plan of Investigation, Summary of Evidence, Evaluation of Sources, Analysis, Conclusion, Bibliography.

Do NOT write the paper from start to finish. It’s best if you do it out of order. This is the way I recommend.

Create your summary of evidence. You need to be very direct here. You can’t just use quotes, you need to explain the evidence. Anything you use in the whole report must be represented here. Bullets are ok and even encourage to keep the word count down. Do NOT analyze anything, this section is just giving the reader a background on what primary and secondary sources are saying about your question.

Next thing you are going to do is the evaluation. It is a basic OPVL on two sources. Try to pick your two most crucial sources: either ones you draw from most or had that absolutely fantastic quote which is the linchpin of your case.

Now go back and do your plan. This needs to be incredibly short. Be very concise, only a few sentences are needed. Give one-two sentences about the context of your subject. State your question. Say why it’s important and maybe a bit about why you are focusing on this. Give a little explanation on your research plan. Literally tell them how you will research the question. I don’t mean run a search on google scholar or go to the library. I mean since this topic is about event xyz, I am going to pull primary source documents from the newspapers the day after the event occurred and juxtapose that to media and scholarly articles now. Explain what sources you will look at and why.

Now you have to write the analysis. State your thesis and your arguments. Then use the evidence you already cited to explain  your arguments. You can’t use anything you didn’t put in that evidence section. Focus on key concepts central to your argument from those sources you pulled. Be sure to include historical context here. If you can, be sure to include someone who differs from your opinion and explain why you don’t agree. This just shows you are aware of other opinions and have reasonably considered them logically. You aren’t actually answering the question here, just walking through your logical deductions from the evidence.

Finally you get to write the conclusion. This is real simple: here’s what my question was, here’s how I answered it. Continue off of what you wrote in the analysis and link your thesis back up to the question. Maybe put something in about looking to the future and how this research could impact future research or what it could mean to other topics of interest.

Before doing anything else, go through the paper and mark every time you cited or referred to evidence and make sure it’s included in the evidence section.

To finish, go back to your notes and create a bibliography of the sources which wound up being used in the report. If you read a book and it didn’t make the final cut, sorry but you can’t include it.

Go back and check your word count. Read it for spelling and grammar mistakes first, then again to check that everything you say makes sense. I really advise getting a group of classmates together and agreeing to proof each other’s before submitting. Help each other write the best papers you can.

Sit back and realize that it was insane to try and fit an investigation of this magnitude into a piddly 2000 words - yes, after writing it you will wish you could have gone up to 4000. I know I was cursing the word count myself.

EXAMPLE: Question: What was the primary reason for U.S. involvement in the Iran-Contra Affair. Thesis: the U.S. was supporting Israel while benefiting the goals of the intelligence community. Arguments: We could have found other ways to fund the Contras. Israel benefited enormously financially through the deal.  Security in the middle east was improved by normalizing Isreali relations (citing some speech made by a politician).

I just want to remind you that the section word counts are meant as guidelines, IB doesn’t care about the sections - just the total Max/min of 2000/1500. So if you need 50 more words in one section, that’s okay - you’ll just have to cut another area short. The biggest area you’ll find to cut is the plan of investigation. Try to be as concise as possible there. In my experience that part was the hardest to write, just because it had to be so short.

[lifeaftertheib]

What's the difference between SL and HL classes/exams?

Let’s start with a textbook definition, shall we?

“Students will take some subjects at higher level (HL) and some at standard level (SL).  HL and SL courses differ in scope but are measured according to the same grade descriptors, with students expected to demonstrate a greater body of knowledge, understanding and skills at higher level.Each student takes at least three (but not more than four) subjects at higher level, and the remaining at standard level.” ~IBOHigher level and standard level coursesThe IB awards the same number of points for higher level (HL) and standard level (SL) courses, reflecting the IB’s belief in the importance of achievement across a broad range of academic disciplines.HL and SL courses differ in scope but are assessed against the same grade descriptors, with HL candidates expected to demonstrate the various elements of the grade descriptors across a greater body of knowledge, understanding and skills. ~ IBO

“HL indicates at least 240 hours of study and SL indicates at least 150 hours of study…In general, HL exams are more rigorous than SL exams. The content is the same in most cases, however the expectation of a student’s ability to apply knowledge is on a higher level. ~iatoday

Ok - so that’s the basics. You take 3 SLs and 3 HLs. It doesn’t matter which classes you take at either level. Generally an HL class, in the words of my beloved HL History teacher, “incorporates more breadth and depth” than SL courses. There are some notable exceptions, namely the maths and sciences, which cover additional topics that aren’t brought up in the SL curriculum at all. I recommend looking at this exam schedule matrix, since it will show you all the papers you could be taking.  You might notice that in Economics, the HL kids have a paper 3, while the SL kids don’t. Yet in English A, HL and SL both only have 2 papers. 

Therefore the difference between HL and SL classes sometimes has more to do with the testing strategies and sometimes with the actual content covered. Each class is pretty unique in how they separate HL and SL.  You should know that just because something is SL does not mean it is easy. It simply means it covers less breadth and depth of knowledge than the HL curriculum. There are plenty of classes *cough*SL Chem*cough* that are nearly taught the same curriculum and deemed about the same difficulty.

The purpose of having HLs is to allow us to look into subjects we are interested in at a deeper level. It encourages more exploration in topics which we may go on to study at university/have a career in, preparing us for higher level discussions of current modes of thought within that discipline.

In reality - HL classes will usually**(please don’t sue me if you find a case where this isn’t true) give you more credit at the university than SLcourses, if you score well.  This is a trend, not a rule. Don’t pick your HL to get out of taking a class in uni - most of my HL classes were 10x harder than  my uni classes (major exceptions being organic chemistry…).  Unis just recognize how much work goes into HL level, and usually that takes away all the prereqs (ie at my uni a score of 6 or above in HL Chem counted for Chem 101 and 102, whereas no matter how well you did on SL it would only give you credit for Chem 101.)

This post is too long already, so I won’t get into things you should think about when picking SL vs HL. Don’t worry, a masterpost on that will be coming out soon. If you want to contribute to that, either send me a link to a post you’ve already made on the subject, or you can write out your thoughts in my ask box.

[lifeaftertheib]

How to: Time Management

If you've done your research, talked to an IB student, are an IB student, or were and IB student, you would likely agree that the #1 problem associated with the IBDP is Time Management.  You can find dozens of self-help books and websites from so called experts about motivation and how to organize yourself on the web and in your local bookstore. If you want to go check them out you can, but I never felt particularly motivated after reading any of that. And because I am currently procrastinating a particularly difficult graduate assignment, I decided to make a post about how you can improve you time management. To make it easy: let's make a list! :)

Admit you have a problem.  

Buy a planner. Go to an office supply store, look around at different planner styles. Personally, I like ones with a monthly calender with the little boxes, followed by weekly calenders with lots of space to write.

Write down every single thing you have to do every single day. From homework to walking the dog. Write it down.

Once you have done the thing - cross it off.

Establish a rewards system. You can only do X fun thing once you have crossed Y off your list. Rewards can be talking to friends or watching tv, whatever will get you motivated. Be careful that your rewards don't take too much time, and ruin the rest of your list.

Do not go to sleep before you crossed off everything on your list.

Amendment to #6 - Lots of times I would make two lists: things that had to be done that day, things I would like to get done that day. Its how I managed long-term projects or things like "clean my room" and dodging the no sleep til list is finished rule.

The most important part of time management is knowing priorities. Part of this means knowing what is more important, but part of it is also knowing realistic time allotments for tasks. You need to be able to say I have an essay in English and Maths homework due tomorrow. It typically will take me 3 hours (allowing for normal procrastination and wallowing in self pity) to write the essay, and we have 20 problem sets in math that should take me about 2 hours. Now once you know what you have to do, and how long it will take you can plan accordingly. If you want to be in bed by 11, you shouldn't be starting the homework after 6 (unless you are going to somehow work faster than usual). If, however, it's 2pm, and you want to go to the movies with your friends at 5pm, you could write the essay beforehand and have plenty of time to go to the movies and get your math homework done after.

Time management is not making super rigid schedules that have set study times and set breaks and make you want to kill someone. Time management is knowing yourself and finding ways to accommodate what you have to do with what you want to do.  Staying organized will save you unbelievable amounts of time. Having realistic standards for how long it will take you to complete something will save you a lot of stress.You can't just look at it one day at a time though. While planning what you have to do/want to do today, you also have to consider what you have to do over the next week. Yes, you want to go to the movies; but do you have two projects you've barely worked on due the day after tomorrow, and a test, and normal homework, so those 3 hours need to be spent on working on projects with a future deadline?

Time management is a balancing act. It will take time for you to perfect it. You will make mistakes. You will at some point prioritize self-care actions, like going to the movies with friends, over things you need to do just to stay sane. That will have negative impacts on you time management for at least the next few days.  It's okay. Recognize and accept that this is a learning process; every mistake made has value in that it can teach you something.  Maybe it's that you need more than 2 hours of sleep, but maybe its that you can write an essay in half the time when your are stressed and working on a short deadline. Always be looking for a chance to improve. Always evaluate how well you are managing your time. Never give up.

[lifeaftertheib]

How to: IOC

The IOC, or Individual Oral Commentary, is a major internal assessment of the English A HL and SL exams. You will receive a random passage from a work you have studied (40 lines long). You will have 20 minutes to analyze it. You will then give a 10 minute speech/presentation. After the 10th minute, you can have a discussion with your teachers, and by discussion I mean a brief question and answer period of no more than 5 minutes. It will be recorded.

There is no one way to guarantee a good score. It's very fluid and depends on a number of different factors. Tone should be respectful, yet casual. Its safe to assume that the person you are talking to has read the work and is somewhat familiar with it. I was taught a good place to start is briefly taking a few seconds to frame the passage's importance in the whole of the work, then carry on to your analysis. 

Go in to the planning part with a plan. Read the passage you were given. Go ahead and mark it up while you are reading. Color mark literary devices. At the end of your first read through go back and find a few literary devices you are very familiar with and can explain well. Try to come up with a thesis for your passage. It can be about the passage's significance to the entire work, but its easier to sometime just pick a theme showcased in that passage. On mine, I got a passage from King Lear where the daughters are talking to Lear. Good time to bring in a theme on parent sibling relationships. Now go through your literary devices and use them as arguments to support your thesis. (AKA Author is saying XYZ about ABC. We know this because: lit device 1, lit device 2, lit device 3 work together to encourage the reader to take [this] viewpoint.) You then literally use the parts that you colormarked as evidence for your assertions/arguments and explain why.  It's okay to use more technical vocabulary if your comfortable with it. Not using it might keep you from a 7, but using a term incorrectly is going to hurt you worse than speaking simply.

Unless I'm mistaken, you can bring your colormarking notes in with you - just nothing from prior to the 20 minute prep period. Speak at a normal pace and try to sound like you are confident.  This really should come across like a casual discussion of what you would write in a normal literary analysis paper. Don't worry about the questioning period. Your teacher should be using that time to redirect your focus to an area that they don't think you covered well or in enough detail to try and maximize your points. Don't think about it like someone drilling you, think about it like a conversation.

Relax. This is not meant to be stressful. I know you might be concerned about public speaking, but its just going to be you and your teacher - that person you've known for at least a year now - nothing to be worried about.

[lifeaftertheib]

European POV on elitism

So first, this is in response to this post.

The anon sent this message:

Regarding the European POV of ib I would say it kinda depends on where you're from considering Europe is pretty diverse. I e in Sweden you get into hs depending on your scores from 9th grade and you apply to a specific school AND a program Which if those have a certain standards and stigmas (natural scie is more requiring than I e economy). IB is definitely (along with natscie) considered the most demanding and hardest. And if you take into account of the low standards we have in Our entire school career until then (so people who struggle don't fall behind or smth) it makes it a bit hard for some to adjust to the "international standard" . We even had to take entrance exams for my schools IB prog. (Uncommon except for arts)

I wasn't trying to say IB isn't hard, or perceived hard everywhere. I'm pretty sure everyone will agree that IB is regarded as one of the hardest programs in all of global education.  What the point being made is due to a difference in societal values - we view IB differently. The European way, in my experience and from talking to others, is all about efficiency, and preparing students, who likely won't be successful in uni, for that kind of academics isn't efficient.  This contrasts to the American system, and in my opinion is why IB elitism is more prevalent in North America than Europe.

Just my thoughts, but thanks for contributing. I think its really important for IBers to understand that globally we're all studying the same material but we're coming from very different educational backgrounds.

[lifeaftertheib]

is it possible you could make a contemplation of ib tumblrs grouped into countries or continents? thanks!

This is a good idea. I tried to do something a bit like this earlier with a single post, but it got pretty hard to keep everything on one masterpost.  So I’m making a page. It’s entirely voluntary. If you would like to be included send me an ask with your continent/country and grade level/status.

The page name is IB Blogs and should be at the bottom of my navigation on the right side of the page.

[lifeaftertheib]

International differences

I got a really cool fanmail that I thought everyone should see. This is going to get really deep into cultural differences and social ideals. If you are interested in that go ahead and click the read more thing. If not, you're missing out on a really cool post that I hope spawns some discussion.

The lovely followers original message:

Hey, firstly I love your blog! Secondly I’m in DP1 but in a European school and from all I’ve seen the US students are a little misguided by it all (in response to your IB cons post). Firstly the work-load is easily manageable, stressful at times yes but you don’t need to stay up all night to finish things! In Europe (well where I live) IB isn’t associated with ‘Elitism’. It is common for expat students to follow the course and whilst 40+ points all sounds unachievable to us too, 30-39 isn’t at all really. We just had our first set of prep-exams (we sit 6 in total) and I scored 35 points despite not having studied for 2 subjects and I know several of my friends all got 31-36 points. Several kids in HL maths got v high sixes, one kid was a point off a 7. Maybe we’re bread by our ‘elitist’ parents to be natural ‘elitists’ but we don’t feel ‘special’— we are average. The fight comes to breach the 40+ point barrier not to ‘get into’ IB.  Sorry if this is random, or comes across rude but I thought you might be interested in hearing a different point of view on the whole IB system. In all honesty I know a lot European IB kids who don’t understand the american ‘I’m so special I’m IB’ we just accept it because most of us know no different. Albeit we’ve mainly come from public (uk) schools or private schools elsewhere in Europe but to us at times, we expect harder than what IB has to offer and overall don’t find it that special at all really… X

— ra-bbitheartedgirl

First, I'd like to address the work-load issue. Honestly this is mainly time management. In the U.S. there is a huge emphasis put on being in multiple after school clubs and/or sports teams. I remember many nights not getting home until 6 or 7. After eating dinner and taking a little time to relax, you don't have much time to get a lot of homework done, in addition to long term projects, studying for tests....you get the idea, and still get a full night's sleep. Is it always like that? no. Could it be improved by better time management? yes. But there's still lots of unfair time expectations put on teens in the IB in the US based on our social expectations and local uni expectations.

Now I have a very good friend in Germany studying to be a teacher. I have traveled abroad and talked to a number of different people about education systems. I feel somewhat able to compare/contrast some social values. I totally love (read as am obsessed to the point my friends now roll their eyes) discussing different cultural norms, especially in education.  So if you want to comment on this or start a discussion with me, please do so.

The first thing you need to understand is Americans and Europeans (and I will be speaking in general terms for the entirety of this discussion, so please don't pull the "not all X") have fundamentally different values on education, among other cultural factors. Many areas of Europe will position children into certain "tracks" that will guide them a certain way for their future life.  Those who at certain critical ages are not showing a tendency to do well in uni are not encouraged into uni-prep type classes.  From talking to many people it seems theres deep beliefs of efficiency and everyone working to what they can best contribute - not everyone is suited for uni.  In America, there is a pervasive idea that anyone should be able to go to uni if they want to as it is viewed as an easy path to upward social mobility. In fact, nearly everyone is strongly encouraged to go to uni, or at least hold it as a goal.

In the U.S. there is a strong stigma against people who don't want to go to uni after high school.  In Europe, there isn't much pressure to go to uni.  It is socially acceptable not to if you don't feel like that's the right path for you. So here is where a lot of the elitism comes into play. Everyone should be able to do uni-level work with the right teaching/experience, right? This is our social value. So if you are in a uni prep class and everyone is telling you you are special for being in this really advanced class because its basically guaranteeing success in uni, it sets you up to view yourself as better than others who aren't getting the same type of prep.  I don't think elitism is as big a problem in European IB schools because most areas lack the same overarching stigma against not going to uni. Therefore you are not automatically better than everyone else for being so much more prepared for uni, you're just where you should be to perform at your own academic best. 

You also have to understand that for most of the U.S. general public education sucks. There's no nice way of putting it. I've seen it, I've been in some of those classes for thankfully brief periods of time. The standards are low, the teaching methods don't work, the students don't want to be there and don't value getting an education. So for most kids who can't afford fancy, expensive private schools or who aren't lucky enough to get into charters - if their school district even offers free non-traditional public options - IB is the only option for more advanced education.  Even where I am, IB was considered more difficult academically compared to local private schools.  So there are major institutional differences in our education systems past just social values.

Alright, I could go more in depth, but this post is long enough I think. Hopefully you liked my treatise on educational values internationally. Please feel free to leave comments. Maybe start a discussion. That is what we're supposed to do as IB students, think about things from different views and come up with innovative ideas. Or you know stress over that homework you still need to do... ;)

[lifeaftertheib]

would you mind talking a little about the drawbacks of ibdp/what you disliked about the program? i'm starting to feel surer about committing, but i also don't feel like i have enough info and i'm SUPER nervous

Sure!

If you read a bunch of my posts I’m pretty biased towards the IB. You’ll find that a lot. anyone who was in the IB has strong feelings towards it. Either you really loved it or you really hate it, there’s not a lot of people in the middle ground.

What did I dislike about the program? Lets make a list!!!!! (really feeling like this blog contributes to my list-mania)

The freaking large amount of work. It pushes you to be successful, but sometimes the amount of work was just ridiculous and counterproductive.

The stress. I really really hit some of my most stressful points in my entire life in IBDP - and I’ve now graduated undergrad with a B.A. and B.S. and completed an honors thesis.  The stress was crazy and really unhealthy sometimes.

Elitism. My friends have personally pointed this out to me. IB breeds a sense of elitism and its really hard to get over it. Speaking as a work in progress, you can really get caught up in it.

The fact I’m more proud of my IB diploma than my BA or BS because I honestly feel it was harder to get that and I learned more in IB.

The fact the program gives a lot of useless information. I mean really deep analytical information, but things I will never actually use again and make me sound like an elitist snob. Ergo any time I start analyzing movies or go into a historical rant.

I think that is a pretty good list. As always you should check out my main positives/negatives of IB posts by checking out these posts: benefits or negatives

[lifeaftertheib]

next year is going to be my school's first year of offering ib, and my graduating class is the first class that will be able to try for the diploma. ib appeals to me over ap for a lot of reasons, but people keep warning me against doing ib because 'it's the pilot class, teachers don't know what they're doing, etc.' thoughts on this?

Pilot classes are a very difficult subject. On the one hand the teachers are as new to this as you, so there might will be some trip ups, mistakes, miscommunication. It won’t be easy and it won’t be smooth. 

On the other hand, the teachers will never EVER forget you. Honestly my teachers were always comparing us to the first class. They would tell us stories about the first class - over 15 years before us.  They were always remembered as having had to work the hardest for everything, but they were really well respected for it.

If the concept of the program appeals to you, than I definitely recommend you go for it.  Just don’t go in blind. Be aware of the difficulties. You also might want to think about setting up a plan B.  If the teachers don’t know how to handle IB and are as excited about it as you are, it will be very difficult to be successful.  My sister tried a pilot program for AICE at a local school, and the teachers didn’t know how to teach the classes and didn’t care. It was a mess. I had to explain to a math teacher what a mark scheme was. Luckily she was able to get into a different program, but from her experiences, I’d advise only go into a pilot program if you can have a backup plan in place.

[lifeaftertheib]

Hi there! i'm a 9th grader and there's this thing called the mvp (or pre-ib basically) at my school but i'm not in it yet. I can join it next year if my teacher recommends me. Will I be missing out if i'm not in the pre-ib next year, or if i'm in it next year, what am I going to miss since I wasn't in it this year?

MYP - or middle years program - is different from pre-IB. Pre-IB programs are non-IBO certified programs that help prepare students for full IBDP programs.  Pre-IB are constructed by each individual school and do not follow international guidelines or standards. MYP is an IBO accredited program.

If its pre-IB all you’re missing out on is good preparation and study skills. If its MYP you are missing out on a lot of assignments. MYP and Pre-IB programs are not officially required for IBDP.  Its a good idea usually to have some prep before going at IBDP but its not necessary. Some schools enforce their own rules in order to ensure student success, so you should check with your own local school if they have any requirements.  

If your teacher is willing to recommend you, I’m sure you are doing well and have a good chance of being successful in the IBDP. Good luck, and feel free to ask any more questions you might have on the process!