By Luc Fagerberg, Deborah Glasman and Moritz Muller
The International Baccalaureate program can be described as a rigorous, demanding course that pushes students to learn from experience and each other as well as from the educators. The EAB community has heard much about the IB program but few have yet to take a close look at how it has affected our administration, staff, and students.
The IB program has been a long standing agenda item of the Board of Directors. It was first considered ten years ago, and after years of close examination it was introduced to EAB due to the changing needs of education. This program emphasizes EAB’s diverse student body as it adds an international educational branch to the American and Brazilian diplomas. The main difference between the IB program and the normal classes is the standardization: candidates are compared to other students all over the world enabling them to compete internationally and therefore pushing them to strive for loftier goals. According to one of the administrators, Mr. DesVignes, it is necessary for IB students to demonstrate academic consistency and success in order to participate in this program.
With regards to the actual education, it is important to note that IB teachers are required to attend a four day workshop in order to be certified. They must be fully cognizant of the philosophies, objectives, assessments, and grading systems of the program as they differ from other courses of education. Mr. Galles believes that the content and skills for the IB and regular classes are similar, but it is the expectations and depth of understanding that are required for IB that make the difference. He believes that the process of applying to IB will greatly help students to prepare for the real world as they are put into situations with scenarios that they will encounter later in life. Such a circumstance was the selection process in which they had to give a formal interview, write an application, and had to cope with competition and the fear of not being accepted.
This brings us to the student. When the IB came to EAB, Victoria Barreto was one of the brave ten students who decided to work with the EAB teachers and administrators to be the avant-garde for this advantageous program. When asked about how her specific selection process went, she focused on the fact that the panel of teachers gave a majority of attention to the IB learner profile. “A lot of this profile comes naturally for me, like being communicative.”
When being asked to share a little bit of her experience so far, talking about late nights working on assignments, Barreto’s main source of concern is the workload. Optimistic as usual, she never seemed demoralized saying, “These problems will surely be solved as we adapt to the restrictions and regulations of the program, as well as the newly introduced schedule.” Despite the workload, she is very excited about embarking on this educational journey: “I chose to enter the IB because of its mission statement; I want to learn from experience as opposed to study for a test in the AP. I also really want to go to Europe. So for me, the IB is really a good fit.”
The EAB community as a whole is really excited about this newly implemented program. For students however, it is something more – it is an opportunity. As Mr. Galles aptly put it, for the IB students, “something more important is at stake than a grade: it is their path in life.”
