Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments Anyone have experience with IB programs?

My daughter is preparing for high school and looking at options. Our neighborhood school is not a good fit because of the low level of course offerings (she would be taking their highest offered levels of math and foreign language as a freshman, for example). We have a few charter schools nearby as well as IB programs. The charter schools do not seem like they would be academically challenging, but they do have a lot of clubs and some sports of interest.

She has also expressed interest in a local IB program, but I have some reservations. My concern is when I hear about 4 hours of homework per night for these programs. I attended a (non-IB) school where I had about 4 hours of homework per night, and I'd rather she not have that same experience. I did nothing but study in high school. She has many interests outside of the classroom, and I'd like for her to have time to continue these things if she wishes. I also make sure my kids eat with the family, get decent sleep, and stay relatively active because I want them to prioritize health and well-being over grades in school. So, I worry that (based on my recollections of intense high school years), adequate sleep and other healthful behaviors can quickly take a back seat to studying.

I'd love to hear about any experiences anyone has had with IB programs for high school. Thanks!

My experience is as a parent in another country, but since IB is a standardised international education system, my comments may still be relevant.

My eldest attended a private school with a middle primary program which is the prelude to IB, whilst the daughter of one of my best friends, who is a few years older than my daughter, was enrolled in IB at the same private school. IME, your concerns are valid - my friend’s poor daughter was up until 11pm every night, doing homework and trying to complete assignments. At my friend’s request, I helped her daughter with a couple of her assignments and from what I could tell, she was so busy and tired trying to complete tasks that very little knowledge was actually sinking in. This was one of the driving factors for me to transfer my eldest from that private school to the public school system, where her siblings enrolled from their start at school.

The other aspect of IB that I would take issue with (although I don’t know if this applies at all schools) is that the assignments were sent overseas for standardised marking and feedback was received months later, by which time some students had lost interest and therefore did not gain benefit from the feedback.

On the other hand, my son has always been a self directed learner and I did wonder if the IB program would have suited him, however he did well in the public school system so we have no regrets. It may largely depend on what other options you have.

Eagle Mum, Thank you for taking the time to share your experiences. I appreciate hearing from someone who has more experience than I do. And I do think your experience is relevant, given the standardization of the curriculum.

I appreciate your mentioning the competing demands of turning in assignments and really learning the material. I had also wondered about the amount of learning versus amount of submitted work. I can imagine that a high volume of work would require that students are less invested in learning the material while they worked to stay afloat with all of the assignments.

Thank you again for your insight. It is very helpful.