PenDragon - the official magazine of Lyford Cay International School PenDragon Vol 1, Spring 2015 | Page 21

An Introduction to the IB
“It’s a bit like meeting a veteran of the
same war,” was how LCIS alumnus,
Nicholas Mindorff, described his
encounters with other IB students
upon arrival at university in Canada.
“It’s amazing to meet these other
kids from around the world and know
that they sat the same exams as you,
went through the same struggles
and came out on the other side.”
The analogy at first surprised
me, but as I learned more about
the International Baccalaureate
Programme, I came to understand
what a transformative experience it
could be. At its best, the programme
draws out the intensity and curiosity
innate to young, inquisitive minds,
and channels these impulses in
productive directions. As I was to
learn, the IB programme is far more
than a way of absorbing academic
content; it is a framework for
experiencing, understanding and
impacting the world around us.
LCIS and the IB Programme
As one of the few Caribbean schools
fully-accredited across all three
International Baccalaureate (IB)
programmes, Lyford Cay International
School (LCIS) plays an important
leadership role in the development
and expansion of IB in the wider
region. No one knows this better –
or has done more to make it possible
– than the Mindorff family. As I set
out to learn more about the IB and
its implications for my own young
kids as they begin their academic
lives at LCIS, the advice I got was
unanimous: go see the Mindorffs.
“WHAT IS THE TRUE
PURPOSE OF EDUCATION?”
David Mindorff, Nicholas’s father,
is the Head of Secondary School
and Academics at LCIS. Together
with his wife, Michèle, the school’s
IB Coordinator, the Mindorffs are
the torch-bearers for IB at LCIS,
and respected authorities on the
programme in academic circles
around the world. Over careers
spanning two decades, they have
introduced the IB framework to
schools in Canada, Scotland,
Hungary and now The Bahamas,
while often traveling further afield
as part of the global community
of educators striving to evolve and
refine this unique programme.
this end the organization works
with schools, governments and
international
organizations
to
develop challenging programmes
of international education and
rigorous assessment.
These
programmes encourage students
across the world to become active,
compassionate and lifelong learners
who understand that other people, in
“THE IB FRAMEWORK IS “IDEALISTIC, BUT SOLID,”
SUPPORTING A “CHALLENGING, BUT ACHIEVABLE”
CURRICULUM, AND ENCOURAGING “CREATIVE,
BUT DISCIPLINED THINKING.”
Through a series of interviews with
David and Michèle and their sons,
Nicholas (now in his second year at
Brock University in Ontario), Michael
(LCIS, Grade 11), Ben (LCIS, Grade 9)
and Johnny (LCIS, Grade 4), I came to
better understand – and ultimately
admire – the principles that guide
the International Baccalaureate
Programme.
History & Mission
“The IB is 50 years old,” explained
David Mindorff on an early spring
afternoon in his second-floor office
in the southeast corner of the
upper school building at LCIS. “It
evolved to meet the needs of the
diplomatic corps as families moved
on assignment from one part of the
world to another. The programme
from its inception strove to develop
students who were both locally
involved and globally aware. The
question that these educators asked
themselves as they set out to create
the IB half a century ago was: ‘what
is the true purpose of education?’”
The IB’s Mission Statement sheds
light on how these early pioneers
thought about education.
“The
International Baccalaureate aims to
develop inquiring, knowledgeable
and caring young people who
help to create a better and more
peaceful world through intercultural
understanding and respect.
To
19
their differences, can also be right.”
What immediately stands out upon
reading this statement is the IB’s
holistic approach to education. Or, as
David Mindorff summarized it: “the
IB strives to develop students with
the broadest functional brain.” Like
a traditional liberal arts education,
students over the course of their
academic careers will, for example,
master algebra, learn the periodic
table of elements, perform a close-
reading of Shakespeare and become
proficient in another language. But,
the IB programme emphasizes skills
development as much as it does
content mastery.
The nurturing
of “inquiring, knowledgeable and
caring young people” is not an end
unto itself; rather, it is the means to
creating “a better and more peaceful
world.” In an increasingly connected
world teeming with differences –
of opinion, taste, belief, value –
the IB programme aspires not to
acquiescence or even accord, but
rather to harmony through tolerance
and understanding.
The Richness of the IB
Experience
Johnny
“You shouldn’t wear sunscreen in
the ocean,” advised young Johnny
Mindorff (Grade 4) when I asked
what he learned on a recent field