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Is it fair?


Ice

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Actually everyone feels the same way like to drop ib and do something else but you know once you get all the IAs done then you'll feel so much better. The teachers may be pressurizing you to get everything done but it's for your own benefit and ib is more appreciated than a'levels (correct me if i'm wrong) Hope it helps and don't get demotivated :)

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What does 'fair' mean anyway?

At the end of the day, unfortunately the IB is something we do to ourselves. I actually don't think it is more appreciated than A Levels and have never seen any evidence of this. However, once you're in it, as Austin said above me, there's nothing much you can do except for keep going. It's difficult to get good grades but you're going to be at a major disadvantage if you don't, so what you really need to do is pull yourself together, sort yourself out and make the best of a bad job. You'll be kicking yourself forever if you don't!

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I feel the same way as you do at the moment. Homework every day to worry about. My History teacher's on the prowl, expecting me to do my homework (which I don't usually complete, as something more important, in my opinion like HL maths revision always pops up), there's no let up from Maths as my teacher's got it into his head, that we should have great amounts of work to do every single, bloody day. (SIGH) Every time I think about these things, I think to myself, 'why on Earth have I chosen to take this course, while my friends are out there doing A-levels, and doing less work than I am?' But every time that thought crosses my mind, I remember the words, 'welcome to the IB', said to me by my IB director on the very first day. And then I think, 'Welcome to life'.

Remember the British way: Just grin and bear it.

Edited by nametaken
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What does 'fair' mean anyway?

I love it. How do one even know what is fair and whether there is an absolute distinction between fairness and unfairness?;D

But yes, bottom line all we can do is to make the best out of this IB crap. There is not much one can really do about the workload is there? Sue the IB? The school? The teachers? Wouldn't work.

Hopefully I'll get an amnesia as soon as the finals are over so as not to remember all this agony...

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Not..because non IB people in grades 11 and 12 (IBDP years) can finish school with much less workload, less stress and more enjoyable life. It's weird that we have to go through the stress and torture if universities don't consider IB students to be better than non IB students. I mean, we still need to take SAT/ACT to go to US universities..and ESL students are taking English but still need to take IELTS/TOEFL. It's not fair IMO. But what can we do anyways? The new syllabi for 2013 batch (starting 2011) onwards are even harder and tougher. It's unfair and too rigorous for students of age 16-19.

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if there is a lot of homework to do (ALWAYS), i just think that "i must do it" and i do it. with such approach it is easier for me but of course i sometimes have these moments in which i hate ib because of the work we have to do but generally i am trying to avoid such thoughts as they take my time which i could expand on homeworks <ironically>

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  • 4 weeks later...

I agree, most of the time it feels extremely unfair and sucks like sh*. But, when I think like this, I try to stay positive and focus on the big picture. Yes, now we may feel like we're going to drown in all the work, but when we pull through and finish the course, well, just imagine it. :) This gives me incentive to get work done etc.

And I know it may seem difficult, but just think how lucky we are. There are people in the world who couldn't dream of a chance to get the same education we are getting right now. All we have to do is make it through the 2 years then we're home free :)

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Guest Soiboist

Why complain about the difficulty of the IB when you have chosen it by yourself? Seems rather stupid too me. What I find most silly though are the complaints about not getting into university more easily than other non-IB students. That's not what the rigorousness of the course is about, rather I would say it is for equipping you with the skills necessary for better universities and for life-long academic success. It is what you can gain as a person from taking the IB that will make a difference between this and other education systems, not just by getting a more "nice diploma" than others.

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  • 3 weeks later...
Guest Red XII

Yes, it's fair. We've chosen to take on the challenge, and we get very real benefits from doing the work and completing the challenge that is the IB.

There are benefits in university admissions and career success. There are benefits in terms of preparedness for university (and thus the transition from IB to university is made much smoother). There are benefits in terms of critical thinking abilities, which are useful in university, careers, and life in general. Further, the IB makes students better democratic citizens and better decision-makers. IB students are primed to be leaders rather than to follow blindly and without critically assessing what they're following.

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I often feel the same way. The university I want to get into doesn't really appreciate IB, and it puts me at a disadvantage when being admitted and especially when applying for any of their major scholarships. When I apply for external scholarships that base their selection on academics, they don't consider me being in IB and scoring a high percentage average is so much harder for IB students than it is for those who have a much lighter workload in the regular program. I constantly feel that I am getting the short end of the stick because of IB.

But I think what's really keeping me in it is that the learning experience is priceless. You learn to think critically and manage your time. So hang in there, with the rest of us!

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I love these responses. You can tell they are from IB candidates ("what is 'fair'?" is such a TOK question).

The most important things to remember are

  • You're going to benefit from this in college, when you have to write a 1,000 word paper and your peers have no idea how to but you do, and you do it in 5 hours with minimal Facebook checks/updates AND
  • You have good friends, teachers, and (suprior to the previously mentioned) IBSurvival members to support you.

IB sucks. Hardcore. I hate it, but I like the education I'm getting. So it's a 50-50. :rolleyes:

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  • 5 weeks later...

I agree that IB is a bit of a love-hate relationship. I think its unfair how we have to document CAS so much, I think the documentation is one of the things I hate most about IB. I also hate how, since some school don't offer all IB subjects, were forced to take subjects we don't want to.

But, in the end, although I hate it right now, I think IB is going to pay off. Even if universities don't look at it as much, at least it prepares you well for university, and IB also builds character.

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