3 replies on “Fairfax ‘backlash’ ousted IB program”

  1. As you may or may not know, I did IB (the full diploma program) and got a 36 point diploma. Even though I’m not getting that many credits for it (partly my fault, because I’m not taking any programs/majors/minors that would benefit from the stuff I did in high school), I still think it was worth it. It really did prepare me for college in a wy that I think AP or any other programs couldn’t have. I also think it helped me get into Brandeis… Plus, I think it’s really cool that an academic program has community service as a part of its requirements.

    Getting rid of IB isn’t the right way to go about this, and I don’t understand their rationale. Instead of getting rid of the program, why not push to get it more widely recognized? I think IB is a very good program, and the admissions people at most schools know that — we just need to get the registrars/people who determine credits to understand the merits – both academically and in shaping the person.

  2. IB is a bitter pill to swallow for some people. First off, its dictated by a central governing body in Geneva, rather then by a) Americans, b) your state, c) your local school board. Second, the IB curriculum is fairly massive, it pretty much takes over your entire high school career, as opposed to AP, which is broken into small manageable chunks that you can choose to opt-in to. Change is difficult. Change scares people. And when you are told that suddenly your honors/AP curriculum is no longer the most rigorous curriculum in the school, and your chances of getting into prestigious colleges is diminished, that’s gonna make you angry as well. Add in the specifics of this case, that the colleges don’t recognize IB, and you have a recipe for disaster. These parents don’t care about the school in general, they care about getting their students into the highest-ranked colleges because we all know that your life is entirely dictated by which college you go to, just as it is by which high school, middle school, elementary school, and kindergarden you go to (at least, apparently, in some places).

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