We all attend IB. Each one of us has to struggle with Internal Assessment deadlines, TOK essays and CAS activities. However, how many of us know the history of this programme?
For a long time I was not aware of the fact that IB’s main purpose was to let the children of diplomats continue studying in the same system irregardless of where they were at a given moment. Only after extensive research did I find out that actually everything had it’s beginning during Geneva’s education conference in 1962.
The “birth” of IB was driven by the dislike for passive learning. The 60's were all about the teacher. It was the teacher who gave lectures, the teacher who tested students, and the teacher who supervised pupils. A group of educators came to the conclusion that something had to change.
The world was evolving rapidly, and so were the expected qualities of a human. People often forget that the school was made to “produce” factory workers. The purpose was to instill discipline and the ability to follow orders. There were people, however, who strived to achieve more than just that.
And for those people, a group of educators decided to compose a programme. Based on the teachings of John Dewey, A. S. Neil, Jean Piaget, and Jerome Bruner the outline of core objectives was made. IB was supposed to be different from the old-fashioned school. It was to combine the shaping of students’ inquirer skills and the polishing of their natural curiosity. Hence the subject TOK, for example.
There was the idea, what’s next? Alex Peterson took matters into his own hands, preparing a pilot program. It contained what we have till this day: TOK and CAS. Apart from than these two, the idea of Extended Essay bloomed. It was supposed to promote the “intellectual discovery” of a student as well as shape creativity and research abilities.
Now, one of the most important objectives set by the founders was to design a degree which could be recognized by universities all over the world. TOK, CAS, and EE were created to let students explore the areas of their minds that would be left untouched in any normal school. That is what, essentially, counted for the universities after all - the people’s ability to understand and seek for knowledge.
It was during the 70’ when IB expanded; from Europe and the United States it entered Asia and North America. Students from all over the world could now enjoy this modern way of teaching. The educators who saw the need for innovation gave us one of the greatest programmes of all, promoting unity all over the world, knowledge-seeking attitude and sympathy towards the other person.
Sara Siniecka
SOURCES:
-IBO
-EDNET
-WHITBYSCHOOL
-FILES.ERIC.ED
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