Awhile back, I wrote an article titled "Unexpected", where I explained the reasons why I refused to be a panel member at the International Baccalaureate recruitment session.
I feel I have been extremely unfair in only bring up the negative side of this program for gifted children. Perhaps, a full reflection on the International Baccalaureate program would have helped more people in their decisions.
For those of you who are not familiar with the program, it is a meticulously developed curriculum for gifted children and teenagers. Often, it is the side-branch of a typical high school. This means, you are fully intergrated into the high school environment; however, you do not take high school curriculum, but do have the option of socializing with regular kids. The classes are similar to advanced placement classes, except you are asked to be well-rounded. The goal of the International Baccalaureate program is to produce "perfect" beings, self-aware, articulate, knowledgeable in multiple areas, multilingual, and adventurous.
For starters, instead of the regular high school orientation, the IB kids went camping with the school councilors. It was a 3 day workshop over the weekend, where the students kayaked, dived, and swam. It wasn't all fun, as we were expected to complete assignments during the workshop. As you can see, we all bonded right from the beginning.
In French classes, instead of learning French the traditional way, we went to French restaurants with the teacher and were sent to Trois-Rivere in Quebec to stay with homestay families. For homework assignments, we composed and wrote lyrics for French songs. Johnny, my partner at the time, and I went to a Karaoke bar to sing and record our homework. Now, you don't get to do that everyday.
Theory of Knowledge classes were the most amusing. We talked about everything and anything that don't have answers. It made us realize that the universe is pretty grey.
In English classes, we read university level novels and wrote critiques. After each novel, the test was not in written format, but oral. We were expected to quote lines without referencing the book, and this by far was the most challenging task. The idea was if we were truly familiar with the books, we would be able to quote it. Often, these oral exams were one hour long, so you better have plenty to say in front of the whole class. The final exam for the class was actually a 3 hour long oral exam on all the novels examined during the year. That experience was absolutely frightening. Imagine being in a tiny room, with nothing but a desk and a microphone. Your teacher is the only other person in the room, and he is drilling information out of you that you didn't think you possessed. It is all recorded.
I actually enjoyed my time in the International Baccalaureate Program. Some life-long friendships were formed, and I was truly prepared for 3rd or 4th year university straight out of high school. The biggest advantage, however, is that I am forever identified by the program. It links me with others who are just like me. Basically, you are in the club for life...
After all these fond memories, why did I refuse to be on the recruitment panel?
Good memories are not enough to make up for what the program lacked. In reality, we were all pretty troubled kids facing enormous pressure at home, and there was no real help for us. It was the Pascal Contest, then the International Biology Olympiad, then the IB Profound Pursuit, then the SATs, then the Ivy League applications, then the scholarship applications, etc, etc. It never ended. My calculus teacher was sympathetic and offered kind words, but others didn't care. I ran away from home twice before permanently leaving. My friend Anthony didn't even bother to have a "trial-run", he just left. Kay moved out when she turned 16 and never returned home. Ironically, the three of us ended up working for the same company a few years later.
I don't blame the program entirely. If I accepted the position on the panel, I would have said to the parents....
The IB program will always be a part of me. It is only through extraordinary hardship that people build self-confidence, and IB was mighty hard! But, I think hardships can be experienced in other ways, and it is not only limited to a school for "genius" children. The hardest episode of my life was being on my own for the first time, sleeping in rat infested rooms with broken windows. At night, the rats came out and chewed on my toothpaste, and they built highways around my futon on the floor. Often, I heard my roommate screaming next door after shooting heroine with the money he stole from my room.
The only comfort was from Jamie who kept me sane by talking to me on the phone until early morning. He wired me money without me asking, and he justified it by saying that the universe owed it to me for my struggles. Even my mother was quite impressed with that line.
So, send your children to the program, or don't send them. Just ease off a little bit....let them build their own dreams of greatness rather than living out your own.
