International Baccalaureate at the American School of Bilbao
What is IB ?
“ The IB is now able to offer three programmes of international education and a career-related certificate , with them , the prospect of a continuous international educational experience from early childhood to pre-university age . While the IB now offers a sequence of three programmes — the PYP , the Middle Years Programme ( MYP , introduced in 1994 ) and the Diploma Programme ( DP , introduced in 1969 ) — each programme must continue to be self-contained , since the IB has no requirement for schools to offer more than one programme . However , they must also form an articulated sequence for those schools that teach all three programmes or any sequence of two .”( IB Website )
From our point of view , the IB Diploma offers us the chance to be educated in a different way . The IB is orientated towards a more reallife based learning . IB is not just learning , IB is a stairway to further knowledge . We are always students in some way , learning how to be better persons . That is what , in our opinion , the IB Diploma means and symbolizes .
In April 2013 , an IB Evaluation Committee visited our school . Some students of the 10th grade class were in charge of showing them around the school . They then called a meeting with the entire class where we discussed about what we thought the IB would be like or if we would be all right . After the visit of the IB Evaluation Committee we reached the conclusion that our school is prepared , very well prepared , to face these new challenges and work towards these goals over the next school year . We were all stunned by the fact that our school was singled out for its preparation towards the IB as an example of how a candidate school for the International Baccalaureate should prepare .
Bosco González , Beatriz Guzmán and Bruno Redondo ( 10th Grade )
We are obviously pleased by this fact , us students , have some fears towards this new Diploma even though we have had more than enough presentations , preparation courses , and received loads of information about it . First of all , we are insecure about being the very first class to follow the International Baccalaureate system in the American School of Bilbao . We are proud of having our school ’ s faith put on us . Nevertheless , sometimes we fear that maybe our organizational skills may not be sufficient for the IB , or that we will not be able to cope with the pressures of the Extended Essay , CAS , TOK , or the Higher Level classes . All of these fears , which may seem to our teachers as irrational ( they always say that if we work hard we will have no problem ), in our perspective , are completely rational . Maybe the clue to eradicate these fears is to wait , and to work to the best of our abilities over the next two years .
Works Cited :
• " International Education - The International Baccalaureate Offers High Quality Programmes of Education to a Worldwide Community of Schools ." International Education - The International Baccalaureate Offers High Quality Programmes of Education to a Worldwide Community of Schools . N . p ., n . d . Web . 11 June 2013 .
• " International Baccalaureate ." Wikipedia . Wikimedia Foundation , 06 July 2013 . Web . 11 June 2013 .