Why can't I simply quit this program in my school?

[FANGER]

OK. 

I'm a grade 11 student, I'm currently enrolled in art ib and bio ib; which is not that stressful compared to some of you, but I hate it. I'm taking art ib, bio ib, social studies 20-1, math 20, and TOK. We all know that bio ib is a 1.25-year program but 1 month after the actual program, I'm so fed up with it. Maybe it's just my time management(yeah I have bad time management and that is probably not a good thing especially when you're in ib), but I find those monotonous simple labs we do taking too much of my time I not only don't have time to do creative stuff but also math and social homework. 

Almost 2 months into the school now and I haven't find time to do my math and social homework for a month. And I feel that the workload is building up, and bio ib is dragging my other marks down and destroying my mental health, I go to school free of makeup with a mop that hasn't been washed in 5 days. I don't think this is worth it, so I decided to talk to my teacher about it and the ib coordinator in my school told me I can't drop out without offering a reason except for I'm doing pretty good and that once you're enrolled in the program you can't get out. But I'm determined to get out.

Does anyone have a similar experience or their school has a different policy because I have a friend who attends another school and she said they can get in and drop out of ib at their school anytime.  

[Nomenclature]

Hi, welcome to IB Survival. I'm sorry to hear that your experience with IB hasn't been great.

There are a lot of factors here. Whether your school is public or private, their rules, etc.

At the end of the day, if IB is a negative weight in your life, you should consider dropping it.

I don't know if you told your IB coordinator about how it's been very stressful, but if you haven't, you absolutely should. If you already have and his/her response was just to stay in and nothing else, then that's out of line on the part of your coordinator. Let your parents know and proceed accordingly.

I hope all goes well; it may seem overwhelming but just know that you'll get through this. Good luck.

 

Edited October 12, 2017 by Nomenclature

[saarad_]

IB is definitely not for everyone; time management and extreme dedication is required. 

Regardless, even if it was for you, your mental health comes first. If its affecting your health, its definitely a valid and serious reason for you to be able to drop the program. 

If it were me in that situation, I would definitely get my parent/guardian to talk to the councillor. 

In my school, we are allowed to drop out of IB. Our councillor definitely will go out of his way to convince us to stay, but in the end, its your choice. Also, I'm pretty sure you can drop the program anytime. I had a friend who dropped IB after 11th grade even though she did her Math and French SL IB Exams. 

But yeah, as I mentioned before, ask a parent/guardian to get involved; they can't force you in a program you don't want to be in. 

Hope all goes well!

[VeronicaG]

Based on those course codes, are you from Alberta?

If you're having a lot of trouble and are sacrificing too much, drop it if at all possible. Maybe your school is collecting fees which makes it hard to drop, but getting your parents involved might speed up that process. My school got $2k a person for IB and has one of the highest fees in the province (Ontario). Obviously they hated it when someone tried to drop.

The Albertan curriculum is hard enough on its own so you're not any less if you don't take IB. Most universities in Canada also don't put any significant weight on IB classes, so post-secondary success isn't directly related to taking those IB classes.