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CAS - is my school too strict?


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After reading around on this forum and several other websites, I've found that I believe that my school is too harsh about the criteria for CAS.

Our adviser tells us that CAS cannot benefit ourselves in any way whatsoever, so it is basically all service, and you have to fit helping people into the creativity and action. Our sports, drama, and band/colorguard each get a maximum of 20 hours over the two years (for each one).

For mine, I used community theater shows for creativity, tutoring elementary students for service, and basically...nothing for action. I did a charity walk via National Honor Society, but so far that's all I have. I know they redid the CAS requirements for the class of 2010, but I still feel like something is a bit too strict about my school. Did any of you encounter this?

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After reading around on this forum and several other websites, I've found that I believe that my school is too harsh about the criteria for CAS.

Our adviser tells us that CAS cannot benefit ourselves in any way whatsoever, so it is basically all service, and you have to fit helping people into the creativity and action. Our sports, drama, and band/colorguard each get a maximum of 20 hours over the two years (for each one).

For mine, I used community theater shows for creativity, tutoring elementary students for service, and basically...nothing for action. I did a charity walk via National Honor Society, but so far that's all I have. I know they redid the CAS requirements for the class of 2010, but I still feel like something is a bit too strict about my school. Did any of you encounter this?

At my school, we had two CAS advisors. The first year, the advisor was very strict; she wouldn't let me put "physically assisting the elderly" as Action, even though the CAS forms handed out said that it could be counted as such. She was also kinda strict with the benefiting ourselves and service; but our advisor this year (who was the advisor before the strict one) is more lenient and will let us consider anything as service, action, or creativity as long as we can justify it.

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After reading around on this forum and several other websites, I've found that I believe that my school is too harsh about the criteria for CAS.

Our adviser tells us that CAS cannot benefit ourselves in any way whatsoever, so it is basically all service, and you have to fit helping people into the creativity and action. Our sports, drama, and band/colorguard each get a maximum of 20 hours over the two years (for each one).

Well it seems kind of strict, especiallt the part that it cannot benefit you whatsoever... I'm planning on doing most of my action on a fitness center, and skiing on a ski resort, and our CAS coordinater has approved both of them, since it is both physical work/training. She would also approve some of the skiing as creativity if I tried to learn myself tricks and so on (though I have to be albe to prove it somehow =P)

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yeh i'd say your school is a little too harsh. As long as you don't get money for doing any of your activities, you should be able to do what you want (within the limits of reason evidently). Maybe it's just your advisor who is trying to lead you into some sort of activity that involves both action and service?

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Lol u guys' coordinators are weird...

our coordinator is a really cool guy ... he's got lots of different jobs to do in schl (were only abt 100 ppl in all high schl so thrs few teachers) so hes desperate for people to help him

also, being the librarian he comes up to us in lunch and says stuff like "hang up these posters... takes 10 minutes and ill giv u 2 CAS hrs...)"

hes funny

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You should anyways talk to your ibc about that. Even though they changed some of the guidelines for CAS what your advisor is doing isn't really necessary. For example, your sports should still count for Action, so I dont really see a point there. so yeah, talking to the ibc should clear things up and it is anyways the best thing you can do.

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  • 1 month later...

Yeah, we have kind of the same thing. But by "benefit" I think it's supposed to mean monetary and/or other material compensation. So anything you get paid or awarded for is out. But CAS is supposed to benefit you - meaning it's supposed to be meaningful to you and develop you as a person, so it is benefiting you...my brain hurts...

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  • 2 weeks later...

What?? for us, we have the 8 learning outcomes and you have to correspond them to your hours. So ofcourse they benefit you. For example, one is learned to work collabarticely, another learned eladership skills.

As for the whole 20 hour thing -- yeah, we have that too. The're really strict about it. i'm in the play and I get 100 hours (thats a hell of a lot dedication), and I can only get 20. What I'm gonna do though is try to divide it into creativity, action (lots of dancing, its GREASE btw:P), and service (providing a performance.) It does work out that way.

You know, CAS is very beneficial. I actually enjoy it.

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What?? for us, we have the 8 learning outcomes and you have to correspond them to your hours. So ofcourse they benefit you. For example, one is learned to work collabarticely, another learned eladership skills.

As for the whole 20 hour thing -- yeah, we have that too. The're really strict about it. i'm in the play and I get 100 hours (thats a hell of a lot dedication), and I can only get 20. What I'm gonna do though is try to divide it into creativity, action (lots of dancing, its GREASE btw:P), and service (providing a performance.) It does work out that way.

You know, CAS is very beneficial. I actually enjoy it.

we have to do the whole learning outcome thing to.... i don't get the taking a leadership role one, we can't all be leaders, surely there has to be some followers

and what's with this 20 hour thing, I mean I know we are supposed to spread out cas over both ib years to show commitment but where did the 20 hours come from. Is it and Ib thing or an individual school thing?

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Cas is very relative, so this20 number that is popping up is a popular one amongst the schools.

However, the learning outcomes have been installed and programmers have been instructed to follow it. its a new guideline, since CAS was definitely in the dumps with international standards.

The leader thing is just like an optimistic view on things in a way. it doesnt mean your the person in front of the podium talking non-stop, giving authoritative instructions. It just means, at a certain point did u direct someone or lead some kind of thing. Very feasible and pliable.

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  • 4 weeks later...

wow this makes my cas adviser seem nice! we get 40 hours per varsity season and we can count as many hours that we did of something as we need to (except, for some reason, you can't get creativity hours for a rehearsal for the play if you are in it because you are just following directions)

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That is really strange. For creativity, we were told that theater and music (lessons) can be used as creativity as long as you are doing it for a final performance and have an advisor who can sign off on it.

As for action, you SHOULD be able to count school varsity sports as action, otherwise what would you count? There really should be no "20 hour restriction"- if you spend 100 hours in practices/games for a varsity sport, or 50 hours in rehearsals (not including home rehearsal) in either music or drama, you should get the hours you spent. I had no idea they changed the requirements for the class of 2010- I am in the class of 2009, and am just passing on what we have been told.

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  • 1 month later...
After reading around on this forum and several other websites, I've found that I believe that my school is too harsh about the criteria for CAS.

Our adviser tells us that CAS cannot benefit ourselves in any way whatsoever, so it is basically all service, and you have to fit helping people into the creativity and action. Our sports, drama, and band/colorguard each get a maximum of 20 hours over the two years (for each one).

For mine, I used community theater shows for creativity, tutoring elementary students for service, and basically...nothing for action. I did a charity walk via National Honor Society, but so far that's all I have. I know they redid the CAS requirements for the class of 2010, but I still feel like something is a bit too strict about my school. Did any of you encounter this?

What? :|

In our school, we have to write reflections about how CAS benefitted us...

As in, what areas we developed in, how we recognized our weaknesses, etc.

The only way we cannot benefit from CAS is financially... like, anything we're getting paid for doesn't count for CAS.

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Yeah, in my school we also have to write reflections about CAS. This is the most boring task to do! Moreover, as I am kinda careless, I start filling my diary my diary just before the deadline ;D But the worst is that when I had to fill my diary, I forgot what i did in those activities - I had no reflections :) That's how i lost my 40 hours in my first semester of IB :P

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yeh i'd say your school is a little too harsh. As long as you don't get money for doing any of your activities, you should be able to do what you want (within the limits of reason evidently). Maybe it's just your advisor who is trying to lead you into some sort of activity that involves both action and service?

same as my school.

as long as you don't get paid for it, the hours can be counted for CAS

that's what my CAS coordinator says

i really think that your school is very harsh about CAS hours

at my school anything can be counted as CAS as long as you don't benefit from it financially

sports are usually for active

fund raisings are usually for service

and creativity can be guitar lessons, shows, or dance lessons

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  • 2 months later...

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