The IB learner profile
The International Baccalaureate® (IB) learner profile describes a broad range of human capacities and responsibilities that go beyond academic success.
They imply a commitment to help all members of the school community learn to respect themselves, others and the world around them.
Each of the IB's programmes is committed to the development of students according to the IB learner profile.
The profile aims to develop learners who are:
- Inquirers
- Knowledgeable
- Thinkers
- Communicators
- Principled
- Open-minded
- Caring
- Risk-takers
- Balanced
- Reflective
You can read about the IB learner profile in more detail, and watch a video about it below.
IB professes that this learner profile represents the principles that they want to uphold. What do these principles say? Are they worthy of your time? Do they mold or shape society? What principles are worthy of effort?
I feel like principles come from what past experiences. Someone who grew up in a wealthy sheltered environment may have different principles than someone who grew up in a community that didn’t have as much money. So the principles we find important will be different from what we were raised as. Therefore we should pay attention to the principles that are most relevant to us, someone in a human resources division of a business will have to act differently than someone who is a security guard at a prison so they will need different principles to effectively do their jobs.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the IB program does aim to achieve this goals and some of them are met. However, I think it's a stretch to say that "IB students are..." First, not all of the IB students have the qualities this promotional video says they do. I don't see the full diploma students as balanced. Of course, there are exceptions, but my observation is that they are highly motivated and bright, but incredibly stressed and anxious. Secondly, I don't think it's fair to say all the students have these qualities because many people go into the IB program for many different reasons, not necessarily to fit the character expectations.
ReplyDeleteI think that these principles are important. But, I understand people who believe others are more so.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI think the principles they are trying to strive towards are good goals, but like Peyton said, I know that everyone who is involved in some sort of IB class, whether that is the full diploma or just a select few classes, are not all of these principles and it is almost impossible to conform everyone to be these specific 10 things. I think the given principles are well rounded and try to encompass every type of IB learning which is good. Many people strive to be a person with all of these qualities because they are admirable traits to have, but not everyone can be this certain person, and for this reason I think IB should loosen up on their statement of "IB learners are.." If every student is trying to mold to these select characteristics, then everyone will end up becoming the same and there will be no individuality in IB. Doesn't IB want students to be original?
ReplyDeleteJust as many religious texts advise the 7 heavenly virtues, or standards of which one should apply themselves, IB has created its own set of virtues to mold and create its students. Teaching students to be Inquirers, Knowledgeable, Thinkers, Communicators, Principled, Open-minded, Caring, Risk-takers, Balanced, and Reflective covers all aspects of the learning and thought process, while providing the ability for students to gain a deeper understanding of the knowledge that they are presented. These are worthy of your time because they are guidelines on how to learn effective, efficiently, and proactively. By teaching these principles unto the youth of the world, they will integrate into our societies as the youth age, and this cycle will continue to teach all students to be IB-worthy learners. All principles, provided they are pragmatic and virtuous, are worthy of your time. You should never stop improving yourself, and IB is a wonderful way to integrate self-improvement into the educational process- molding promising youth for our world's future.
ReplyDeleteI really like the fundamental concept of IB, which is fostering open-mindedness and personal growth through education. The intrinsic aim of the program, to create a world full of intelligent young people who are able to effectively communicate their ideas, as well as compromise, is awesome. And I think that these lofty goals are certainly achievable (at least in terms of the form of education). But I would also assert that within the confines of our current education system, in which students are milled through 6-8 courses a day (rigorous courses, if they are IB), and then expected to participate in sports, and extracurricular, and.. (the list goes on and on), an effective implementation of something like the IB program isn't really feasible. How can students be asked to truly think deeply about the concepts that are presented if they have no time to do so? I love the fundamental basis of the IB program, but from what I've seen thus far, much of its implementation ends up missing the point.
ReplyDeleteI think when critiquing the IB learner profile it is interesting to consider its universality.There are no values such as every child in the IB should be democratic or spiritually affiliated in any particular way, etc. Instead principals such as integrity and honesty, respected in any culture, are presented. On the flip side, the profile does clearly suggest some things that are not maybe so universally accepted. For example, to be inquirer might not be so good if you live in China and are digging for more information on the Tienanmen Square Massacre. And being open-minded might not serve you well if you are servant or worker for the rich anywhere and are forced to make decisions that can really hurt people below you, on their behalf.
ReplyDeleteThis dichotomy is interesting in so much as it shows both the strengths of this document at serving many people around the world in guiding their education, but also the necessary shortcomings of any system that does serve so many; the fact that writing a general enough document for everyone on earth is impossible.
I think of the learner profile principles to be more as guidelines to the developing mind of a student. They are general ideas that should be followed to a certain extent. For example, when IB asks students to be risk takers, it needs to be taken in the context of that student's environment and personal life. The program is not asking for drastic protests or dangerous acts, they may be asking for someone to stray a little out of their comfort zone in the pursuit of knowledge. That being said, I think all of the principles are worthy of our time and effort, because without an equal balance of some of the elements of each, we may not be able to reach our potential. They do shape and mold society because of their effect on social norms and tradition, and their ability to increase understanding and perhaps even prevent prejudice.
ReplyDeleteI think that these principles are very relevant and valuable to our educational pursuits. They speak to an increase awareness that can lead to open mindedness. These are things that one can keep in the back of their mind and it could lead to development in their thought process. On the other hand, I am curious to how often these principles are considered by IB students. They are rarely if ever even brought up except in TOK.
ReplyDeleteI think that the IB learner profile principles are good fundamental concepts that we should try to adhere to. However, I also believe that in some cases these principles are idealistic. I don't think that all IB students have some of the characteristics mentioned in the video, nor do I think that all IB students need to adhere to all of the IB learner profile principles. While these principles are important goals to strive for, I don't think they are essential to being a well rounded leaner.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI do believe that these principals are worth working toward. They are solid characteristics that one should strive to be or encapsulate, though it is not always possible to attain all of them. Most of the principals in the IB-learner profile are principals that I have strived to be, and not because they are set forth by IB. These principals can be applied by everyone, not just those in IB program, and could be beneficial to any student. I think that in order to become a better student one should strive to be open-minded and inquisitive. Though I know that only in a perfect world students are all of these things, the principals set forward by IB are still important to set as goals.
ReplyDeleteI believe the intention of the IB Learner Profile - "to inspire, motivate, and focus the work of schools and teachers, uniting them in a common purpose." is very just and worth working towards. Especially when it is centered around developing international-mindedness. However, for students to clearly become inquirers, knowledgeable, thinkers, communicators, etc. etc., these principles have to be installed in other classes, other than just TOK. Even non-IB classes because, not just the few kids who are in the full-diploma should be aware of these principles. Also kids taking some IB classes, but not TOK would not even know about the Learner Profile.
ReplyDeleteI believe the intention of the IB Learner Profile - "to inspire, motivate, and focus the work of schools and teachers, uniting them in a common purpose." is very just and worth working towards. Especially when it is centered around developing international-mindedness. However, for students to clearly become inquirers, knowledgeable, thinkers, communicators, etc. etc., these principles have to be installed in other classes, other than just TOK. Even non-IB classes because, not just the few kids who are in the full-diploma should be aware of these principles. Also kids taking some IB classes, but not TOK would not even know about the Learner Profile.
ReplyDeleteI believe the intention of the IB Learner Profile - "to inspire, motivate, and focus the work of schools and teachers, uniting them in a common purpose." is very just and worth working towards. Especially when it is centered around developing international-mindedness. However, for students to clearly become inquirers, knowledgeable, thinkers, communicators, etc. etc., these principles have to be installed in other classes, other than just TOK. Even non-IB classes because, not just the few kids who are in the full-diploma should be aware of these principles. Also kids taking some IB classes, but not TOK would not even know about the Learner Profile.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteThe IB learner profile if very important for us all to look at. The key word to that sentence is all. It is great that IB strives to connect students and teachers on a deeper level but I believe that we should all strive to have these relationships within our school, not just through IB. The principles stated are very important ones to look at. They are ones that many students even outside of IB strive for. They are what make a good learner/student. Not all can be used at once but together the balance of them all makes a good student and help to reach goals of IB and other classes.
In my opinion, I believe that the IB learner profile is sound in theory but not always in practice. All of these qualities are things that people should be and it is not at all bad to be any of these things but I think that it places a lot of unnecessary pressure on students to be a certain way and to live life to a certain standard. IB students are always told that they should be examples for other students and that they will some day be a big leader and these are the qualities of a leader and while that can be inspirational at times, it also causes students to constantly be judging their actions and wondering if they are setting a good example or not. In my life, these principles are things that would usually come naturally but I can say with ease that I do not and cannot follow these at all times, because it is not in human nature to be a perfect human being. It seems to me that these principles push students to be perfect, which is something that cannot be attained and when valued and constantly being ingrained in the minds of students, it can be extremely pressuring and stressful.
ReplyDeleteIB professes that this learner profile represents the principles that they want to uphold. What do these principles say? Are they worthy of your time? Do they mold or shape society? What principles are worthy of effort?
ReplyDeleteThese principles are mostly great to strive towards or achieve in theory, but they may be too opportunistic or idealistic. Every one of these principles is worth my time, and I obviously want to strive to be every one of the qualities listed above, because overall these qualities improve people so that people can improve themselves and their society. That said, I think it is extremely hard for one person to achieve those qualities to their maximum potential.
oh i am so mad. I swear I typed a whole goddamn page and then it erased it. I wanna stab something.
ReplyDeleteAnyway. I'll summarize it: the IB program holds students to a higher standard, but does not allow the students to reach that standard because there is not enough support for the students. The IB program mostly has good intentions but has barely any use. To me, the IB program is a a good idea in the wrong hands.
The principles that we strive for also cannot be on a required IB pamphlet or anything. I think everyone should strive to find their perfect principles, not have IB tell them what to find in themselves.
ReplyDeleteThe learner profile is absolutely worth our time and effort to strive towards, but I think it is unrealistic to ask high school students to encapsulate the whole profile. I've been thinking a lot about the term "balanced" and what it really means. Between upper level (IB and AP courses), college applications, scholarship applications, extracurriculars, family obligations a social life...is it really possible to be "balanced" in high school? And furthermore, to balance the learner profile? Like Peyton said it's not realistic to say that "IB students are..." IB students, whether diploma or not try to embody the profile, but I think there is way more of an emphasis on the scores of your exams, and grades in the class than fitting the profile. How can you balance fitting the profile of a model IB student, and passing the exam...to college credit? It's easy to fill out worksheet absentmindedly, cram for an exam and pass...but does that really breed inquirers, communicators, risk takers...etc that will go on to become leaders?
ReplyDeleteI think that the principles set forth by the IB learner profile are good in theory, but bad in practice. The IB diploma puts quite a bit of pressure on students who are already busy just because they are in high school. To ask a student to be ten different principles seems to be asking a little much, even though each principle is broad and up to interpretation. In my experience it is hard enough to organize your time well enough to complete all of the work that is asked of you, and it would be even harder to embody every single one of these principles because a lot of IB classes don't really emphasize them. I'm not in the full diploma program, so I don't know exactly if they emphasize these principles more exclusively with those students, but in my experience, a lot of IB and AP classes teach to prepare students for the test at the end of the two years. I know that by doing this students are supposed to have learned some of the principles, but it seems like kids focus more on what they need to know for the test than what the test is supposed to represent.
ReplyDeleteThe learner profile put out by IB is, I need only assume, as a guide. The principles are intrinsically contradictory. Thinkers, knowledgable, etc. generally have the same profile. That is, someone who is smart, intelligent, high IQ, etc. is usually labeled a thinker, or knowledgable. However, on the flip side these types of geniuses are usually abysmal communicators, with little to no social skills. Risk-takers are rarely caring, especially the infamous ones. When is the last time an article was written on a Hedge Fund Manager spending time with the starving children of Haiti, for example? This is the problem with principles. Any set of principles automatically forces one to compromise one of the principles in the set to uphold another. Pacifists, for example, would have to allow themselves and everybody in the world be killed by a serial killer, as stopping the killer would require violent force and go against their credence. This is why these are supposed to be guiding principles. If someone pursues only one, chances are they are not the balanced students that IB craves. Hence the set rather than a single principle. Though there is nothing wrong with them, per se, they certainly are not the best principles for anyone to always follow. They are certainly a good set of values, not the most virtuous nor the least. In addition, they are absolutely worth our time as no one person embodies even one of these qualities wholly. As a distant goal, they function perfectly. However, they are not critical. They do not shape our society, play significant roles in anything except academic pontificating and postulating, or provide a concrete basis to follow. In my opinion, there is only one principle worth following: intrude on the freedom of no one else while ensuring no one intrudes on your own.
ReplyDeleteThe IB learner profile sets up high aims and while I think it is unrealistic to expect all IB learners to be the epitome of each of these aspects, I believe they are good and reasonable goals to strive for. As for if they shape society, these 10 aspects are highly focused towards a student, not for everyday people in society. These are not IB adult profile aims, they are learner aims, and so they are focusing in on a very particular person in a very particular situation. So in conclusion I believe that while these values are all important in their own regard and are all beneficial qualities, I also believe they do not make up the essence of all that is good in our society. I think these principles are worthy of effort but I think other principles are as well.
ReplyDeleteI think principles do mold our society but I also think these principles evolve as society changes and becomes more advanced. To form a society various principles need to be carried out because they become the responsibilities of the people. Of course there are more principles in our society that are not listed in the IB profile but I think these ten principles were chosen because they are the most important ones in terms of maintaining a balanced and fair society which ultimately leads to minimal conflict. Of course we see conflict everywhere today and that is because not everyones practices these principles, and with an absent of one of these principles, then thats where it begins to evolve.
ReplyDeleteI think that the IB learner profile is completely achievable simply because of the ambiguity of it. Inquirers, Knowledgeable, Thinkers, Communicators, Principled, Open-minded, Caring, Risk-takers, Balanced, Reflective, all of these words looked at,at face value appear to be lofty unachievable goals, set in place so that students my strive for the impossible. In actuality I believe that every single person can achieve all of these ideals. To one person being a risk-taker could be speaking in class, and to another it could be joining a new club, because everyone has different views about things and everything is on a spectrum you just have to fall somewhere on said spectrum to reach the goals of the IB learner profile. If I eat a sit-down dinner with my family every night, maintain good grades, participate in class and other discussions with my peers, ask question, and every once in awhile do something I normally wouldn't do. I have met the IB learner profile because to me I have fulfilled everything on the list to my own idea of what they mean. I think that you biggest issue is and why so many of my peers believe that the IB profile is unachievable is because everyone who does IB, are more often than not over achievers and in their mindset they have to be on the highest end of each spectrum in order to even be on it, which is just impossible and leads to "failure" in other areas of the profile.
ReplyDeleteI think principles as part of a society, any society, are closer to ideals than attainable goals. There will always be certain individuals who are too set in their ways, or to ignorant to understand the value of certain changes and certain actions that don't directly benefit them. I think that's the hardest part about principles and values, is using them to understand when you're wrong and owning up to it as opposed to when you're right. But I think these principles, though perhaps not attainable for 100% of the population, is always present within a population, no matter how dark or hard the situation. I think that prioritizing these values must happen as well, because it would be very hard to balance the focus of all of them. For me, I like to focus on being open-minded, principled, and a thinker. I think that in the paradigm of education these principles are perfect, but maybe for direct application to life are slightly lacking, such as integrity. However the vague nature of these principles give it the ambiguity it needs to be applied to as many things as possible, as it could be argued such principles as integrity and honesty can be contained within one of the learner profile aspects. So I guess it could be argued either way. I'm not really 100% sure where I was going with this. So yeah. Hope you enjoyed.
ReplyDeleteI believe this principles are more than worth our time. We have grown up seeing each of these principals as goals throughout life. These principals are first introduced to us at a very young age through our parents and school teachers. At least personally, these mentors made it very clear that these principals were necessary to be successful to our own, genuine definition and therefore happy. Throughout my participation in the IB program I have found what they said about success and happiness through these principals to be entirely true. Through this assignment I have reflected over these principals: if I indeed have them and how they have effected me. Overall not only are they preparing me to be a person who is confident through the well rounded-ness of this program, but also informed and aware of my surroundings.
ReplyDeleteThese principals entirely drive society. It is easy to see the positive or negative effects of certain powerful groups that do or do not follow them. And also because IB is creating the next and upcoming learners, these principals wil hopefully be present in the people who have an effect on society (us).
I find it a bit ironic that we're discussing the IB principles as part of our activity because the IB program was designed to fit into them. So when you attempt at looking at them from a place where you can separate the IB from the "learner profile", it gives a unique perspective onto this whole program. One thing that I don't see on their profile is "Passionate" The IB really doesn't mention following your heart or doing what you love. Neither do they include anything related to just general well being, like happiness. I think that perhaps to have left these out was a bit short sided on the part of whatever corporate committee designed them. My reason behind this is that ultimately, the IB seeks to prepare you for life. And for me, (and for a lot of other people as well) the thing that really gives you a "good" life is happiness. When you pare it down, what else truly matters? Everything that people seek and do is ultimately connected to an attempt to be happier. These principles are good to live by, but I'd say that the IB perhaps left a bit to be desired in discussing the end goal of their own principles.
ReplyDeleteThe IB learner profile and the IB program as a whole sets high expectations for it's students. With that said, the expectations of the students are manageable, because IB is not asking you to live up to each of these standards, but to instead focus on some of the particular principles in which you can be the most successful. Some students have the idea that IB is asking you to accomplish all of the above principles, which is completely unrealistic, and it would be impossible to balance them all. Also, some of the principles are intertwined with one another, which is key to making the IB learner profile an achievable standard for students to meet.
ReplyDeletePrinciples within themselves can be realistic or unrealistic depending on who you are and what you believe in. The IB learner profile principles are all very vague, and give students the capability to develop their skills in all of those areas. As a society we also have some vague principals, and some clearly defined principles. These principles are what leads us as a whole to societal advancement. It is interesting how the IB learner profile can connect and engage all students around the world, however some of the principles in which the IB program strives for would not be accepted in all societies.
ReplyDeleteOk, I want to preface this by stating that I missed the submission date for this and therefore I am going to do an extra long response(the response became 2 responses, since 4096 characters is the limit for one post, apparently). I don't really see a reason to do two miniature ones. Frankly, I believe that IB is the right track for people who value knowledge for the purpose of knowledge. This is true within the program itself, as many US colleges don't accept IB credits. The point isn't necessarily the credits, it's more-so the principle. Heck, when I had initially decided to do the program I knew nothing about it. I chose it over AP because my older brother and sister did AP, and frankly they hated it. They hated the teaching to the test that left no room for an exploration of that which the class deemed to be more applicable. When Hanford asked me during freshman year why I wanted to do IB, I said that I genuinely wanted to learn more. That was true. There isn't really a happy medium between the droll of standard classes and the complete rigor of AP, but IB seemed to be a happy medium. It's a seminar style class where one's opinion matters more than "you spoke this often, take 20 points"(although that isn't to say that hasn't existed through my IB courses)
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, I am a firm believer in self improvement, and I'm not going to pretend that I meet all of the expectations of IB at all times. I think that all of the goals that IB strives toward are very positive things, which are normally striven (which is that tense according to google, apparently) on an individual basis throughout one's life. I believe that knowledge is important, but I'm not going to pretend that there isn't a sort of burden of knowledge. "Oh look, there's Columbus, the discoverer of America" vs. "Oh look, there's Columbus, the guy who thought he was in India and that enslaving and killing off native populations was alright." I feel that almost everyone who joins IB is an inquirer to a degree. We wouldn't sit through classes day after day where our questions often teach us more than the general course material if we didn't believe that. Thinker sort of fall in the same category as that.
As for communicators, I believe that it is a skill which is developed over the course of one's IB classes(and general classes for that matter). If you can't convey your ideas when they are abstract as IB often gets, then you're going to have a difficult time. That's the simple truth. Everybody is principled, it's just that they have had different backgrounds which have led them to different core principles. As we discussed in class, those of different principles are not intrinsically evil, they just view different circumstances in different ways.
ReplyDeleteAs for open-minded, this is more so a grey area. While it is important to keep an open mind, it's also important to realize that sometimes other people are frankly incorrect, and that you should stand your ground on your opinions if you believe that to be the case. I definitely know some people in IB who are more open minded than others, and some who's open mindedness gets in the way of growth.
Caring is another grey area, but perhaps that's due to the fact that before IB it is rarely discussed in a scholastic setting. While it's important to care about others, sometimes you have to put yourself first. After all, the person who knows you best is you. A sort of caring about yourself, if you will (not intended to sound pretentious, it's late at night and I can't think of a better way to phrase this). Risk takers we talked about within the first week or two. It's important to take risks in order to promote growth, but that doesn't mean go skydiving into the ocean without a parachute. I feel that most people who go into IB (at hellgate in particular) are risk takers. Not only are they taking more challenging classes, which is a risk to one's grade, but it's a new program at hellgate, so there are naturally glitches in the system (such as a lack of communication between teachers as to when large assignments should be due. We get it, each class is important, but it's tough to juggle college apps plus life plus IAs plus assignments plus extra-curricular plus family plus friends.). Which ties into balanced. It's very difficult to find balance when faced with all of those things, but that also makes it more rewarding to do so. When you complete all your homework for the day and you can hang out, it feels nicer since you get to hang out with friends far less often.
As for reflective, that's this. This likely (most definitely) terribly organized reflection. When taking an advanced course such as IB, you have to see the successes. As much as we belittle them (which I know we do) those successes are a big deal. I've heard "I finished the essay last night, but it's terrible" too many times, from myself and others. I think that there needs to be an amount of pride which one attaches to their work. Even if it doesn't score as well on the IB mark bands, an accomplishment amid balance is nothing to scoff at.
The largest problem I have with IB is the markbands. Although it is a revolutionary system, looking at what one can do rather than scoring against the top score (ahem, AP), I feel that mark bands are intrinsically flawed. I feel that it must be at the discretion of the teacher whether or not a student has met what they consider to be the standard, which is ultimately improvement. I feel that there should be a secondary scale in order for teachers to explain how big of a leap students have taken to get to where they are, because that's ultimately what matters, improvement.
IB Learner Profile... I'd rather discuss the fault in its development rather than how it exists now. I'm very skeptical that a set list of characteristics can describe each IB student. I'd argue that this concept is contrary to IB's philosophy, enriching global awareness. And global awareness includes more than ten things. Also, various nuances and translations of the IB Learner Profile would defeat its ultimate meaning.
ReplyDeletey
ReplyDeleteWhen looking at the IB principles, I feel that they display the perfect human being, one who is the uppermost of our society, displaying the best that our society has to offer. I believe that in coming up with these principles resembling perfection, the IB developers failed to recognize that nobody is perfect. Not everybody will be able to resemble every principle that IB demands of them. Nobody will be able to fit into the perfect box that IB has created, because every person has flaws. I think it is a great goal to strive to become that perfect model of a learner, trying to build in the areas we lack, but to expect a high school who isn’t even allowed to vote to fit into the perceived ideas of an IB learner I feel is asking too much. On the other hand, it opens our perspectives and gives us an opportunity to look at ways we can improve and give us something to strive for, which I believe is the main goal of the IB Programme.
ReplyDeleteAs far as considering whether or not it is worthy of our time to attempt to achieve these principles, I think without question, that it would be beneficial. The principals that the IB developers have placed before IB students are not only attainable; they can always be improved upon. Someone striving to be balanced isn’t just trying to balance one aspect of their life, but rather should be trying to find new ways to balance their lifestyle, trying to be the best they can possibly be considering that one principle. By putting people into these groups (those with integrity and those lacking integrity, and so on), it shapes our society, creating a distinction between those who strive to be the best, wholesome person they can be while considering the effects they have on others, and between those who are motivated by other factors; who are not concerned about others. I feel that people of both groups can rise to the top of society and make a difference. Anyone can get to that point, but I think that the most important thing to remember is the path you used to attain that goal.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed Miranda Foster's comment "...global awareness involves more than ten things." This is an accurate way to put IB. I believe that IB is a step in the correct direction, but it is by no means perfection. Especially in regards to the IB Learner Profile. Education, in it's institutionalized form is in severe need of reformation, yet we as a society seem to be at an irrecoverable place with that very reformation. In the United States as well as multiple other parts of the world, a system of education has long been in place that has previously been cut and dry, intended to teach you what you must know in order to advance to college and then be spit out of college ready for a job and then to be spit out of a job ready to die. IB I believe was founded on the intention of attempting to alter our educational paradigm. But what is defined as improving, in matters of education? One piece of knowledge to one person means the world and to another is something they wish had never been placed in their brain in the first place. To simultaneously institutionalize as well as attempt to better education for each individual is seemingly an impossibility and thus there is no correct way to do so. I do feel, however, that it is a testimony to the good intentions of the IB Learner Profile that we are allowed as IB students to evaluate it's effectiveness. Good intentions, however, do not equate to good products. Peyton made an interesting point above that the students which we have been allowed to observe who are committed fully to the IB Diploma are frequently seemingly quite unbalanced. They do not get to fulfill each part of their Learner Profile fully and thus are stressed and anxious. Perhaps this is because these are the "higher achieving and more academically motivated" students and therefore they hold a personal definition of each value presented by IB and feel they do not meet their own personal requirements for these terms... I digress. There are multi-faceted problems with IB, for you cannot encapsulate each and every matter of value in this world because Learner Profiles are founded on abstracts. And the International Baccalaureate attempts to cater to the educational needs of the individual and yet each IB student is evaluated on a rubric which is not at all in alignment with this principle. There appears to be a lot of problems without any evident solutions, but at least we are permitted to evaluate and discuss these problems with hopes and intent of solving them.
ReplyDeleteI think that the principles set forth by IB are slightly idealistic, but valid and conducive of a good person. I believe that a person that embodied all of these characteristics would be extremely successful. One problem I see is that by putting these principles forth IB seems to assume that this is the only path to success, which is a ridiculous notion. Success is not a tangible thing, success to one person may be happiness while to another it could be wealth. For example, a professional athlete may need to be principled but being a communicator may not be one of the things they need to strive for. A CEO on the other hand would value the communicator principle much more, possibly about all the others. I think that trying to compress all of the things you need to be successful into a "profile" is not open-minded or knowledgeable....
ReplyDeleteThe other problem I see with this profile is that it is rarely implemented. I feel that IB on paper is amazing, but in reality it is no different than any other curriculum, and possibly worse than others. IB claims to create these "open-minded", "balanced" and "caring" students, but from my experience many IB classes create students with a very limited skill set that is only applicable to the IB assessments. I do not see the mindful, worldly students that IB seems to be so proud of creating. Many of my IB classes are limited by the IB curriculum and assessments, not enhanced by it, which is not how it should be. One thing that IB is successful in creating is arrogant students. Many students of IB seem to view themselves as above not only the other students, but also the teachers and administrators. The normal rules do not seem to apply to them, and if another student or a teacher or administrator attempts to help, constructively criticize or even give advice to them they are met with anger and resentment. This is always so frustrating to me because IB students should, according to the program be the most caring, open-minded and balanced students in the school but rarely are.
ReplyDeleteAs far as I can tell at this point, IB is just a bunch of pretentious people in an office somewhere reading the New Yorker and wishing they were the Dalai Lama. But they're not, they're supposed to be educators in charge of just that, education. It doesn't really matter if the IB principles apply to me in any way, because when it comes down to it, what happens is we're all in competition with everybody else, and IB is a foothold to get ahead in that regard. How am I supposed to be "caring" when all IB really fosters is my need to get better grades, follow their rubrics time and time again, and worry about what some adjudicator in Taipei who may or may not know what they're doing thinks of me. How am I supposed to be open minded when I have inserted myself into a system that is practically the pinnacle of elitism, and who's only real benefits are in making it to college. IB hasn't helped me become more open minded, Mr. Christopher has.
ReplyDeleteIB really needs to take a step back and redefine itself. They should focus less on trying to be this massive influence on every child's lives by telling them to be "knowledgeable" or a "thinker", and focus on making their education better. I won't learn my morals from school, I wont have my core defined by what an international institution says, those things come from experience. Education leads to experience, though, and that's what IB should be focusing on.
ReplyDelete-this has been a rant