Hi...what can you tell me about this IB programme? I went on their website but wanted some real life scenarios, if possible. Thanks!
We did the regular AP classes but IB is pretty close to the same thing.
When my kid went to college, there was a girl there that went through the IB program and was like my AP kid, having lots of college credit already.
If you are going to pay for college, that means lots of money you don't have to shell out.
AP kids, and most likely IB kids have more homework and reading assignments than regular classes and fewer disapline problems.
My cousin did the IB. It's opened a lot of doors for her. She's been at Oxford this year.
I have lived in different places with my husband's career, and NEVER have I seen kids get taunted for being in IB or AP. I've seen kids taunted for being know-it-all smart mouths who quite frankly needed to grow up some and stop being jerks. That's NOT the same as making fun of them for being in high level academic programs.
Both of my son's have been in IB and AP programs. More school districts have AP rather than IB. The draw for IB is that with an IB program, colleges and universities know the rigors of the program and what the child has learned. There is an overall course called Theory of Knowledge (TOK) that they all take in addition, and they write a 4000 word essay. At the end of the program, they take IB standardized tests.
Having gone through the IB program guarantees that colleges and universities worldwide will accept your child's college application. They all know that your child studied their approved curriculum up to approved standards. (Not that every one of them will offer your child a spot, mind you... there's a difference of course...)
Advanced Placement classes move faster and are higher level thinking courses. They ready a child for walking into an introductory level college course. There is no TOK class or essay as with the IB program. AP exams are given at the end of each year. Though AP does not guarantee that your child can apply for any university in the world, a high score on the AP exams (5, and sometimes 4) will give college credit hours for US college and universities. Sometimes kids who are high strivers and take a lot of AP classes actually walk into college as sophomores.
Either system is a win/win. I personally like AP better for an American kid who does not care about going to college overseas.
Hope this helps.
Our school district has adopted IB for its middle schools and that means my incoming sixth-grader can only take one arts-type class, not a great option for an artsy kid. This is because she has to take a foreign language all three years of middle school and a technology class all three years. She gets one elective a year and she's in band so that will be it. No art class, no drama, no choir. All the kids will be in the IB program which I think is a joke too. They're obviously not all at the same level. I'm hoping it turns out to be better than I'm predicting.
ETA: after reading some responses - I'm surprised...I guess our program is different. Whether or not my son is in orchestra (he plays the violin), he gets a second language AND technology class.
And as I stated ALL the children participate...and NO ONE gets taunted for being in a special program because it's for ALL students.
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our middle school is an IB program. EVERYONE in the school is in the program, it's not for a select few.
Our middle/Jr High is ONLY two years, not three (big disappointment to me and my husband, but that's how our county is).
Any way - there is the "main" language then a secondary language that is taught, along with music and/or art, a humanities section, mathematics, technology, etc. They also have a "service" program where the kids have to log AT LEAST 25 hours per year of community service.
All students are assessed using a rubric for the Summative assignments. These rubrics have a range of 0 (shows no student understanding) to 8 (excellent work). There are four different skills that each student will be graded by and each rubric reflects the achievement level in that skill.
If your school is participating in this program, what is the problem? It is a program that does help students see more than just what's out their front door.
They get all the financial attention in a school and the regular kids get even by taunting them for being nerds. I would never want to teach them as I like a rowdier crowd.
But as a parent, I would put my son in it as the IB students live in their own world.
