My two cents tossed at the IBO.

now that the IB's all over, my fellow year 13's and i have finally crossed that proverbial finish line, one cannot help but look back at what one has experienced over the past two-ish years. things to reminisce, to regret, to remember, to want to forget; the whole package. one thing i prominently feel is that, despite all my efforts and hard work, i doubt that i have "written the exams with the best of ability". everyone would agree with me that most, if not all the papers were difficult on some magnitude. overall, i found the whole exam session quite an ordeal. is this trying to tell me that the best of my ability isn't really all that great or worthy of mention?

but here's the thing: what's there to be done about something that cannot be changed? if one has done what one has believed to be the best that one has achieved, then who is to say that they are undeserving of the merits that this programme promises? one can say that the education bestowed upon the students at hand are all exactly the same (that is, to each their own subjects), but dose that neccessarily mean that everyone is able to get 45/45?

yes. yes we could. if we were all machines, that is; manufactured at the same time, belonging to the same batch. but this is thankfully not so. it is ironic that what the IB demands effectively cancels out what the IB claims, that is, in undertaking their programme, we would not only be excellently educated in the academic sense, but we would also be able to learn of and about ourselves as individual humans (CAS? EE's? TOK? some IA's?) and yet in order to prove oneself "learned" one must achieve as close to 100% as possible, if not 45/45 itself.

the activities one does in CAS, at the end of the day, do not affect that final IB grade. it is only crucial to our diploma the same way a passport is the key to enjoying a vacation. as long as one achieves the minimum 150 hours, they are worthy of the IB Diploma provided they 'ace' their exams.

what we've all chosen to do for our EE's don't matter in the end. as long as we do it well enough to get the maximum points that contribute to our final grade.

our TOK essays and presentations? sure, there were 10 different headings for our essays, and just about everyone in front of that video recorder discussed something different for their presentations, but like our EE's, it all contributes to the bonus 3 IB points that edge us closer to 45.

the IA's? okay, for me, the only IA's that had any variance in their choice was in English and Geography. we all did the same titles for Maths, my Chemistry and Physics practicals were the same as my fellow classmates (of the same level that is, the SL's just did less. lazy buggers.), and the Spanish orals were pretty much a gamble, the odds of which could be decided by the teach herself. still, at the end of the day, the criteria in the syllabi were all exactly the same, regardless of our titles and choices.

so what has such a course proven? that the outcome of our future is based upon a mere session of microcosms that test us of what we have been assumed to learn and know and how well our minds have been able to regurgitate what was (apparently) 'uniquely' fed to us every time we sit down before a teacher for class? and that while one still has some freedom of choice for expressing their ability during non-exam projects, how well they do that is still marked the same for everyone else?

the material taught is the same. the exam times are the same. the papers are all the same. wouldn't we, the students, hence all be the same as well? nah, not really. it's impossible. that's what makes us human. just because i find writing English papers easy, doesn't neccessarily mean the candidate to my right or behind me is having a walk in the exam park. and that's the thing.

don't get me wrong, there are always exceptions. those who have the ability to get the number 45 all across their results sheets of course deserve all the praise. but shouldn't the other candidates sitting beneath the 1st place podium get some attention too? while it would look excellent to the students, their parents, the teachers and the school that an entire year of IB students got 45/45, that is not, and never will be, the case. though i would very much like to be proven wrong.

anyhoo, what else is there to do but face the music? a month and a bit from now, when we all get our IB results, there will be tears of joy, tears of sadness, and the occasional "where's the tallest building?" mentioned. but i say, be happy with whatever the hell you got, and i sincerely hope it's either the mark you desired, or better. it shouldn't be expected that every single student get 45/45. it's not human. but we are.

anyway, that's just my two cents tossed at the IBO. it is ironic that my two cents will not be the same as yours, yet two cents will always be two cents.

can't wait for prom. (=