IB Theory of Knowledge Students Draft their Extended Essay By Kyra Chang
November is always a busy month for IB students. There’s IA’s due, lots of work, and most importantly, IB exam registration. On Wednesday November 13th, International Baccalaureate (IB) Students spent their 4th period class in the library listening to the IB coordinator, Mrs. Jennifer Mason, talk about the exams and other papers the students would have to do, as well as signing off on the exams they would be taking at the end of the school year.
Mrs. Mason believed that the IB program was unlike any other. “In Brevard County, IB is the only program that focuses on developing the whole student, not just offering accelerated courses. What sets IB apart are the Core Components of Creativity, Activity, and Service; Extended Essay; and Theory of Knowledge. Other programs don't develop students' ability to learn how to balance their academic pursuits with extracurricular activities, the ability to apply research to an in depth essay, and help students understand why they think what they think,” said Mason. The extended essay is a 4000 word paper that the students write over their junior year, to the beginning of their senior year in an academic subject of their choosing. One IB student, Junior, Magee Deverter, chose psychology as her Extended Essay subject. Mrs. Mason, on the other hand, would have chosen a different subject. “I would choose history. There is so much to learn about the past that can help us understand our world today. When perspectives in history are studied and valued, it can really change how events are viewed,” said Mason.
Though there are a lot of challenges that come with being an IB student, the academic benefits outweigh the struggle. “Students benefit from the way IB courses are taught using fundamental skills that apply to every subject as well as students who earn the IB Diploma earn full Bright Futures. I think the benefit is clear when you look at acceptance rates for IB students at our top Florida Universities. Last year, the acceptance rate at both FSU and UF were right around 21 percent. But the acceptance rate for IB students was better than 30 percent. 1 in 5 or 1 in 3, I think how IB is valued speaks for itself,” said Mason. Junior year was often the hardest year for IB students because of the huge increase in workload from sophomore to junior year; however; there were aspects from Deverter’s underclassmen years that helped her prepare for the actual IB world. “I think they’ve [freshman and sophomore year] prepared me for actual IB courses with the slow buildup of work. While junior year IB is definitely the hardest, I think that pre-IB helped me get used to the workload of IB. I’ve found that my knowledge from freshman year biology has helped me with the basics in IB biology so that I can build on top of it,” said Deverter.
Deverter chose her classes based on her interests and the career field she wanted to go into. “My HLs are psychology and biology because I find those topics interesting and I want to go into the psychology field so I thought that they would be a good starting point,” said Deverter. An HL class is a ‘higher lever’ class, meaning that the students take the class for two years. There are also SL classes, or ‘standard level’ classes that students take for one year. “My SLs are Math Analysis, History, and French. I chose math analysis because I’m pretty good at it, and I liked having Mrs. Cara for precalc so it was easy for me to keep her as my math SL teacher. I chose French because I’ve always been interested in the culture and I like how the language flows. I chose history because I like learning about the past, and generally enjoy the topics,” said Deverter.
Both Mrs. Mason and Deverter felt that there were many amazing things about the IB program, not only in relation to the college benefits. “For me as coordinator, the best thing about the program is working with students over four years and watching them grow, meet their goals, and realize they are capable of success in a challenging program. As an IB teacher, my favorite thing is teaching my particular history which is Africa and the Middle East 1921-2000. I feel like the students who take this course learn a lot about the state of the world today. They can make sense of what they learn. For students, I think the best thing is to learn in an IB classroom. We ask students to think, speak, and write about what they learn in a way that is unique to an IB classroom. And more exciting, every year some students who earn their IB Diploma but didn't meet the SAT/ACT minimums for Bright Futures realize their goal of being able to afford college because they earned the full Bright Futures award with the Diploma,” said Mason. For Deverter, the community that IB had built was incredible. “My favorite thing about IB is probably the other students,” said Deverter. “Everyone bonds over short deadlines and long papers. I think that my classes are generally able to have really good in-depth conversations about all sorts of topics, and it’s definitely helping to open our worldview as you learn to understand the thought process behind people’s opinions and ideas. While everyone in IB has their own academic and personal struggles, I think they are willing to help each other get through this tough program because everyone can sympathize about the IA deadline that’s a little too close for comfort, or the test that was way harder than it should’ve been.”
Mrs. Mason’s advice for any student that was considering joining the program was to simply have a conversation with her. “Advice I would give students considering the program is to take the time to talk to me about their goals. We have options: Diploma Program, Career Program, and our course students. When people say IB is ‘too hard’, I question what they are saying to the person who asked. Is it too hard for them or that person? I would argue, IB can help students meet their goals if we talk about what's important to them and see where IB fits. IB is for everyone. It is a matter of where it helps a student meet their academic goals. That's why it's important to come to the information nights we host and speak to me,” said Mason.