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Anyone here have experience with the IB/international baccalaureate program? My oldest, dd14, is starting high school in the fall & she is still not sure if she wants to enroll in it. The classes that she has already signed up for are almost identical to the classes in the program. (Technically, the 1st 2 years are pre-IB, but she would still have to start this fall.) I don't want to push her into it, because I know that she will do her best if she is in the program because she wants to be.
In her mind, the drawback is that she would only be allowed to choose one elective next year because the rest of the course work is laid out for them. Her elective of choice is band but that means she would not be able to take art classes at school next year. I told her that I would take her to classes at a local art gallery if she wanted to do that.
I really think this program offers her some good opportunities. Many students who graduate from it have been getting really great scholarships. I just don't want to make it my choice for her if it isn't the right one. I don't think I should force her to fill out the application for it. Or should I?

I've taught IB for a number of years, both in and out of the US and am of two minds about it.
First - it is a great program and I absolutely love it! The true aim of the program is to give students an internationally minded education which will prepare them for the rigor of university. And it excels at that. It allows students to decide which of the 6 groups of courses they want to study at a greater depth and they take those classes at the higher level (more hours and curriculum requirements and more in-depth material). The other 3 classes are at the standard level (less hour requirements and not as much in the curriculum, but still a good level of rigor, especially when combined with the rest of the program). Colleges and universities love the IB because the study skills and other "school skills" that make students successful in college are present in students who graduate after successfully going through the IB. Not only do they give more scholarships for these students, but the students are more likely to get into some great schools than they were if they had not gone through the program.

Now, the other side of my opinion - if your child is not an organized, self motivated student, who can handle a large volume of homework and writing and strict deadlines then this may not be the program for her. However, there is usually a middle ground that students can pursue. They can go for certificates in some subjects and not go for the entire diploma. Which would mean that the requirements for the classes they are going for certificates in would be the same as students taking the classes and going for the full diploma, but the certificate students are not required by IB to do CAS (community service hours) or the extended essay.

Where in Florida are you? (I'm down here too and may know the program)

If you have any more specific questions you can PM me. I could go on for quite a while about why I love the program, but am also realistic about the fact that it is not for everyone and everyone shouldn't be forced into it.

I'm in Flagler County--the school is Flagler Palm Coast High School. Diane Tomko would be her teacher for Inquiry Studies; she is also the Future Problem Solvers/Community Problem Solvers Coach. I would love for my daughter to have her for a teacher. My mother-in-law, who is retired from this school system, told dd she should take the course from Ms. Tomko because she is the closest thing to a master teacher she may encounter. I wish I could.
Anyway, thank you for your take on the program. I think there is a lot of misinformation out there. I have heard more negative than positive, to be honest. My daughter is definitely a gifted child but that includes being a musician and an artist and I think she needs time to explore all those talents. I wonder if she will have the time to do that as well as be a teenager.

The IB does offer art and music courses that really stretch the kids. Some of the most amazing art work I have seen has been from kids who really learned how to express themselves in art through the IB program.
As far as having time to be a teenager - yes, they do, but they will have a lot of work to do to. They do need to be efficient with their studying to have lots of time to be a teenager.
I hope you don't count my info as negative. Because I think the program is often misunderstood in the US's attempt to get more rigor in the classroom without really being able to explain what the students are getting into before they get there.
What is really important is having a good foundation going into the program. If the students have had a rigorous grade 9 and 10, then the IB should be fine, if they are coming from lax, easy gr 9 and 10, then diving into the IB is nightmarish. This also depends heavily on the teachers' understanding of the way IB works, and how much training and experience they have had.
I would not rule out the IB unless the school does not offer the art and music courses as part of group 6 options.

The topic of IB vs AP comes up once in a while. Here is an ealier thread:

http://giftedissues.davidsongifted....tl_Merit_Scholars_as_High.html#Post92229

Almost wish I hadn't read all that from the previous threads...more than I wanted to process at the moment.

(Interestingly, I was an NMSF back in the day, I took AP classes, had fairly high ACT/SAT scores & was awarded a Presidential Scholarship to a private college. My high school did not offer IB and, as near as I can figure, the rival high school began offering the program in 1992, 7 years after I graduated.)

Back to my daughter, I know that she is not interested in getting a lot of college credit while in high school. She has never been one to get ahead of herself. She is pretty grounded in that way. But that view does at times keep her from seeing the big picture. I believe that will come with time/maturity.


Not negative, Kerry, helpful. Part of the problem I have had is much of the misinformation that seems to surround the program.
The program she is applying for is Pre-IB. She has to take classes in English, Spanish II, American Govt/Econ, AP Biology, Algebra II Honors, Inquiry Skills (all Pre-IB). And she chooses an elective-as I stated above, for her, that would be Band.


They do currently offer the art component & are working on adding the music, as well. DD said she would rather they didn't so she wouldn't have to choose between the two. But she did this amazing mural this year at her middle school in which she combined both. Music Mural

She could always do her extended essay in some aspect of music or art, or a combination of the two. She could also possibly do CAS hours for playing in a local band, or maybe doing art with kids at a local hospital or something like that. There should be a way to combine her talents and passions.

She is definitely applying for the Pre-IB program. But she will not have all the teacher recommendation letters because it is the summer & most of her teachers do not respond to their emails. She does have to write an essay under supervised conditions. This is not her strong suit--she made a 4 on the writing FCAT this year. Do you have any suggestions for her in writing the essay? She did not get any feedback about her FCAT essay, just the score sheet.
(Her other FCAT scores were excellent--all 5's. She earned all but 2 points possible on the science portion and all but one point possible on both the math & reading portions. Generally this isn't a big deal to me but I guess these scores are a factor in her application.)
Her grades this year were As, Bs & a couple of Cs. She was in a combination of gifted, advanced & honors classes. She has completed 2 high school math courses, Algebra I & Geometry. She is currently taking Spanish I online. (One of the math classes is required, as is Spanish I.)
At this point I don't know how hard it will be for her to get into the program. I guess we will just wait & see.

Not knowing the rest of the population that applies for the program, I would say that your daughter's application will look really good. In terms of writing an essay under supervision, just remind her to read the entire set of directions before she writes anything and make sure that what she writes answers the question. I would think they will be looking more for general writing abilities than specific techniques. I'm sorry I can't give you any more advice than that - being a physics teacher, I am definitely not the person you want to ask about writing an essay for an English teacher (I am not a good writer, and don't really know much about helping kids write well.)

Good luck with the application!

Thank you Kerry. I don't think as many kids applied to IB this year as last, but I don't think this district is about quantity. I do know my daughter is highly regarded by her teachers, so it would have been nice for her to have had their recommendations. I didn't get the impression that the guidance counselor was too worried about any of the above when I took her paperwork in this week, though.
Physics, huh? Wish I had you on staff at my center. We have a student coming in who wants help with kinematic equations. One of my upper-level math teachers is going to give it a shot.