Sea urchin populations? The history of the CIA? Brain waves in singing birds? IB is not your typical school experience

Published 11:09 am Tuesday, February 2, 2010

After a field trip spent diving on an isolated coral reef in the Bahamas, one student is completing a research paper on the likelihood of survival for decimated sea-urchin populations in the Atlantic Ocean.

Another student is exploring the activity of a bird’s brain while it sings, in order to better understand human diseases that result from neural degeneration, such as Alzheimer’s and bipolar disorder.

A third is examining the philosophy of living simply as espoused in Henry David Thoreau’s legendary book ‘Walden.’

No, this isn’t a class of teenage doctorate prodigies, or a groundbreaking independent learning program at some expensive private academy. These three students are seniors at Skyline High School, and their remarkable projects are part of the school’s International Baccalaureate (IB) program.

Designed in the late 1960s to provide a unifying curriculum and grading system for the children of European diplomats who frequently moved from country to country, the IB program was later adopted by US schools as a way of offering something more for those seeking to test themselves and broaden their educational horizons.

Skyline has offered IB courses to juniors and seniors since it opened in 1997, in subjects ranging from American Studies and Business and Management, to Psychology, Theory of Knowledge and Environmental Systems. The IB classes are completely optional – they demand a greater investment of time and energy from students, and do not always translate to additional college credit or hold sway with college admissions offices. In this, they can be a pure expression of learning for learning’s sake.

Those young men and women wanting to delve deeper can commit to the full IB Diploma. To earn the IB Diploma, students must pass examinations in 3 two-year and 3 one-year IB subjects, complete an extended essay, a Theory of Knowledge class, and contribute 150 hours as part of the creativity, action, service (CAS) program. Though 60 percent of juniors and seniors at Skyline are taking at least one IB class, just 25 of those students committed to the IB Diploma.

“It’s a lot of work, it really is,” said IB Diploma student Jacob Moe-Lange. “If you are after the basic school experience, forget about it. I don’t think people realize the amount of work it is, but it is something very different from the regular classroom experience. The kids who seem to be into it are those that are really gung-ho, and are ready to learn.”

In many ways, Moe-Lange is just the kind of student the IB program is designed for.

A remarkable young man with a passion for the environment, theatre and philosophy, he is energetic and engaged with his friends and community, and excited about his options beyond high school.

“Personally, I like learning,” he said. “The intense stuff in the IB classes, it feels good, it feels like you worked hard.”

According to Skyline parent Nancy Anderson, one of the four PTSA volunteers who help coordinate the program, it is the lack of defined and guaranteed graduate credit for the extra work that prevents some students, and their parents, from taking a stronger interest in IB.

“They want to know, how will this help me get into college? Does this count toward college credits?” Anderson said. “Well, sometimes with the IB program there are no definite outcomes, except for what the students themselves get out of a more intense, dynamic learning environment. These kids just love to learn, they are engaged, they are interested, they want to ask questions.”

Anderson said that college’s recognition of IB classes and the diploma was definitely growing. “Colleges are now taking definite note of IB in their admissions decisions, and many of this year’s Skyline graduates received acceptance letters from Ivy Leagues and others based on their decision to take the rigorous IB courses.”

She said that parents often assumed the IB program was just another name for Advanced Placement (AP) classes. Though there are similarities, Anderson stressed that IB “isn’t just for the ‘smart’ students.”

“It’s for the students who want to dig a little deeper into things,” she said. “There is a lot of discussion in these classes. A big part of it is encouraging independent thinking and research. I remember my own daughter being surprised when she had to do a written essay for her calculus class. But that’s what it’s about.”

Senior Claire Giordano said that discussion was the foundation of most of her IB classes. And though the subject of her extended essay project – Henry David Thoreau’s influence on today’s environmental movement and perceptions of the value of nature – aren’t related to what she plans to do in college, it is a great personal passion of hers. The opportunity to explore in depth topics completely of their own choosing is not one that high school students often find themselves presented with.

Another student is writing a historical examination of the Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) involvement with Marxist socialist Salvador Allende, a former president of Chile.

“I came to this topic because I was inspired by my first reading of Walden last year. I realized that his life philosophy of living simply, deliberately, and seeing the beauty in each day is what also inspires me,” Giordano said.

But for her, the benefit of the IB program goes beyond personal passions.

“This method is much closer to the style of college courses, so in this area I feel I am better prepared for college,” Giordano said. “My IB classes have personally taught me a lot about time management and discipline.”

Moe-Lange said that although some colleges did not count IB classes toward credit (“they want you to do the full four years, so you have to pay for the full four years”), friends of his at the University of Washington had skipped entire quarters because of their IB studies at high school, saving them time and money.

As school district’s all over the country struggle to continue to provide core services due to staggering budget cuts, opportunities like the IB program may become all the more exceptional.

Think IB might be good for you? Skyline parents and students are encouraged to visit the school’s IB Web page at www.shs.issaquah.wednet.edu/teachers/makinm or contact program coordinator Marion Makin, at makinm@issaquah.wednet.edu., or 425 837 774.