IB Lit and Lang Blog 15: Everything I Needed to Know I Learned from IB Language & Literature Year 2...
It was an interesting experience. I met a lot of interesting people I would not have met if I didn't enter into the IB program. It took a lot of work that might have made me more ready and prepared for college. I knew it was a rigorous program before I joined, but I didn't know it was rigorous to the extent it actually is. The IB program helped make my essays better, and I'm sure it also improved my academic skills in other levels like history. It helped me develop better time management skills, as well. The community was one of the best things about this program, though. Everyone is in relatively the same boat and essentially are doing the same things in each class. I also like the teachers, and because there are not as many IB students that take these classes, it means that the teachers actually listen to their students and will possibly alter the way they teach the class.
On the other hand, I only joined the IB program for one reason: make my GPA higher, and it certainly did that. I could have done more AP classes, but I thought it would be more worth my time doing IB. In my opinion, this is false. Many of the topics learned in IB classes are topics that are just regurgitated from classes taken prior in different classes. For instance, IB Math SL, all of the topics learned in the class many people already knew. We learned algebra, trigonometry, statistics, which all have classes solely dedicated to it, more or less. I assume, however, that the science classes are very new information. I took physics, but I didn't take any physics prior, so all of the information learned in this class are completely new, but I can't speak for biology or chemistry. Those classes were required prior to taking IB, but I assume they go more in depth into the course subject just like history does. While we've learned many of the topics in history, the class goes much more in depth into those topics than any class ever went into prior, but I cannot speak for the non-IB equivalent of the class: American History 1 and 2.
But a bigger reason IB was not worth it in my opinion was the fact that you have almost no choice when it comes to how you learn or what you learn. The only 2 choices available is what science you learn and what IB elective you take. But, you have to go into the history class provided, you have to go into this english class, you have to take a math class, which just covers all of the topics previously learned in math, but doesn't go as far in depth as their individual classes, and TOK, which is completely useless and in no way will help me in either college or in real life. I was told that AP is much better for people who want to go into the engineering field, but I was told by Baron that that is not true. It most certainly is. The IB program puts more emphasis on english and history than it does math and science, which engineering is based on. Additionally, in english (no offense), we learn about different books and novels which will not help an engineer at all. The most positive thing I can say about IB english, however, is that it isn't a class that regurgitates topics taught in every other english class in existence. English before last year was just about grammar or figurative language, but IB english, we learn how those things influence the audience who reads the books that utilize them. But there is so much emphasis on this class to the detriment of the math and science classes that it just becomes a harm to anyone who wants to eventually go into engineering. In AP, there is much more choice in what you want to learn. There are many more math classes that can be taken, and because there is no need to take an IB elective or TOK, there is more slots available to take those.
Additionally, TOK is not a good use of my time at all. It is essentially a janitor class for IB, meaning it is a class which just makes sure that you have all of your IB work done and turned in (EE and CAS). But it doesn't provide a help to my, or anyone's, academic career. This is a one and done class, you will learn the "material" in this class for IB and be done with it. Once all of the IB work is turned in, which is at the end of the third quarter, there is nothing done in the class. There is nothing that needs to be done for IB, so we are left just watching movies or doing busy work, which is never useful. In my TOK class, we traveled up to the AP Psychology class to give a presentation to faculty members, and it is a major grade and we have to incorporate AP Psychology topics into it. We did not learn this class, and it's not even a grade for the AP Psychology students. We are so desperate to get another grade in this class for this last quarter that we are giving a presentation on information not pertinent to the class, and we are giving it to faculty that didn't even show up. At least last year it was semi useful. We had debates in the class and learned how to hold a debate better, but this year, we didn't even touch that. It is just about if you have your work done.
Lastly, I want to address the blatant lies told about this program before I joined. I was told that things are coordinated so that things aren't due on the same day or near the same time, but this could not have been a bigger lie. We've had 2 years with many of these classes, and if there are more than 4 major assignments due in the same week, there are some major coordination problems. Another lie: this program helps engineers; I already went over this in a previous paragraph, though, so I won't talk about this anymore. Additionally, another lie is that we are treated like adults: we are always told that we are treated like adults, but we are not allowed to voice our opinions, give any feedback on the program (which is why I'm doing it here), etc. We are treated like adults when it comes to responsibility, but that is it.
I apologize if I offended anyone in this reflection and brutal opinion on the IB program. These are just my opinions that I wanted to get out and possibly provide some feedback on future years for the IB program. Don't take this as me saying that I got nothing out of this program, I did. I just wanted to give feedback that will hopefully be used to better this program.
On the other hand, I only joined the IB program for one reason: make my GPA higher, and it certainly did that. I could have done more AP classes, but I thought it would be more worth my time doing IB. In my opinion, this is false. Many of the topics learned in IB classes are topics that are just regurgitated from classes taken prior in different classes. For instance, IB Math SL, all of the topics learned in the class many people already knew. We learned algebra, trigonometry, statistics, which all have classes solely dedicated to it, more or less. I assume, however, that the science classes are very new information. I took physics, but I didn't take any physics prior, so all of the information learned in this class are completely new, but I can't speak for biology or chemistry. Those classes were required prior to taking IB, but I assume they go more in depth into the course subject just like history does. While we've learned many of the topics in history, the class goes much more in depth into those topics than any class ever went into prior, but I cannot speak for the non-IB equivalent of the class: American History 1 and 2.
But a bigger reason IB was not worth it in my opinion was the fact that you have almost no choice when it comes to how you learn or what you learn. The only 2 choices available is what science you learn and what IB elective you take. But, you have to go into the history class provided, you have to go into this english class, you have to take a math class, which just covers all of the topics previously learned in math, but doesn't go as far in depth as their individual classes, and TOK, which is completely useless and in no way will help me in either college or in real life. I was told that AP is much better for people who want to go into the engineering field, but I was told by Baron that that is not true. It most certainly is. The IB program puts more emphasis on english and history than it does math and science, which engineering is based on. Additionally, in english (no offense), we learn about different books and novels which will not help an engineer at all. The most positive thing I can say about IB english, however, is that it isn't a class that regurgitates topics taught in every other english class in existence. English before last year was just about grammar or figurative language, but IB english, we learn how those things influence the audience who reads the books that utilize them. But there is so much emphasis on this class to the detriment of the math and science classes that it just becomes a harm to anyone who wants to eventually go into engineering. In AP, there is much more choice in what you want to learn. There are many more math classes that can be taken, and because there is no need to take an IB elective or TOK, there is more slots available to take those.
Additionally, TOK is not a good use of my time at all. It is essentially a janitor class for IB, meaning it is a class which just makes sure that you have all of your IB work done and turned in (EE and CAS). But it doesn't provide a help to my, or anyone's, academic career. This is a one and done class, you will learn the "material" in this class for IB and be done with it. Once all of the IB work is turned in, which is at the end of the third quarter, there is nothing done in the class. There is nothing that needs to be done for IB, so we are left just watching movies or doing busy work, which is never useful. In my TOK class, we traveled up to the AP Psychology class to give a presentation to faculty members, and it is a major grade and we have to incorporate AP Psychology topics into it. We did not learn this class, and it's not even a grade for the AP Psychology students. We are so desperate to get another grade in this class for this last quarter that we are giving a presentation on information not pertinent to the class, and we are giving it to faculty that didn't even show up. At least last year it was semi useful. We had debates in the class and learned how to hold a debate better, but this year, we didn't even touch that. It is just about if you have your work done.
Lastly, I want to address the blatant lies told about this program before I joined. I was told that things are coordinated so that things aren't due on the same day or near the same time, but this could not have been a bigger lie. We've had 2 years with many of these classes, and if there are more than 4 major assignments due in the same week, there are some major coordination problems. Another lie: this program helps engineers; I already went over this in a previous paragraph, though, so I won't talk about this anymore. Additionally, another lie is that we are treated like adults: we are always told that we are treated like adults, but we are not allowed to voice our opinions, give any feedback on the program (which is why I'm doing it here), etc. We are treated like adults when it comes to responsibility, but that is it.
I apologize if I offended anyone in this reflection and brutal opinion on the IB program. These are just my opinions that I wanted to get out and possibly provide some feedback on future years for the IB program. Don't take this as me saying that I got nothing out of this program, I did. I just wanted to give feedback that will hopefully be used to better this program.
Alec,
ReplyDeleteI feel like you couldn't have said it better. I think your response was absolutely beautiful as I too thought that IB was going to make us successful but it essentially wasted a lot of time in my opinion. Your writing is amazing and I really enjoyed reading your response as you brought up so many valid points that I completely forgot about (not being able to chose classes, everything being poorly coordinated, not being treated like adults, etc.). What was interesting to me was when you mentioned how the IB program is ultimately a waste of time for future engineers as I also want to major in engineering in college. Overall, this was a great response and you did a fantastic job. Again, I couldn't have said it better. Great work! :)
Alec, I find I agree with a lot of your comments to an extent. I do think that perhaps IB is more geared towards the humanities, and that often times our assignments are not planned with consideration for the other classwork. However, I do not think these are negatives that outweigh the positives. These negatives can certainly be annoying at times, but I do not think my high school experience would have been nearly as enjoyable or effective had I taken all AP classes. Even while we were forced to take math classes that reiterated previous material, I do not feel that this hindered my learning in the stem classes in general, or hindered my path to be an engineer. Again, I think your points are all valid, I just feel that this is not enough to make me regret my participation in the program.
ReplyDeleteAlec, although I don't necessarily agree with all of the opinions you brought to the table on this blog post, I understand why people may think it. You gave valid reasoning to your argument, which is always a good thing. I could tell that you were really reflective about your experience, and that you honestly didn't know what you were getting yourself into. With all of this being said, would you still say you made the right decision in doing IB? To you, do the pros still outweigh the cons?
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree with some of the claims you made, I don't necessarily think that the program is ill-suited for engineers. I think Physics is a great class and has taught me a wide variety of topics that I have found interesting. I do think you would have to go outside the program and take something like AP Calc to get a purely math-based course, as the IB Maths can be weak at times, especially Math Studies which I had the burden of taking. I also didn't find TOK all that enriching, as it often consisted of discussions that seemed inconsequential. I don't regret the program. but I think it caters to a specific type of student and some can't get over the amount of busy work that is needed at times.
ReplyDeleteAlec dude. You are trying to roast the IB program and say that it is not made for STEM students but you made the choice to do it and you knew what you were getting yourself into, with all the papers and everything. But your reasoning makes sense but I still think in the end the good stuff is more important then the bad as IB helped you get into your top choice for college.
ReplyDeleteWhat good Alec. I love the boldness and agree with SOME of your claims, but I strongly disagree with the claim that IB is bad for engineers. As an engineer, one has to be able to approach situations from many different directions and find the best solution to the problem. Personally, I have found that many of the non-IB classes force you to approach problems in one or max of two ways which really limits the development of a students "problem solving" mind. In IB on the other hand, creativity is more accepted and encouraged. A good example of this can be seen when Hartman praises the students that approached a problem in a different way on a test or quiz. I believe that this skills are essential to becoming an engineer and that IB is a great way to train a persons creative problem solving mind.
ReplyDelete