The unique learning style of the International Baccalaureate program at SM East was what teachers advertised to students the most during enrollment season.
Daily open class discussions and the unique styles of testing, or lack of, are what students are usually drawn to. But, for junior Mae O’Connor — though the style played a large role — the opportunity to travel abroad was the biggest selling point of the IB program. It gave her the possibility of studying internationally due to the classes being set upon global standards.
After hearing about her parents going to college out-of-state and her grandpa giving her the idea of studying outside of the country, O’Connor started looking at universities in France. Due to O’Connor previously attending Académie Lafayette — a French speaking school in Kansas City, Missouri — she had years of French already ingrained in her mind.
“[My parents] lived all over the world, in like the East coast area mostly,” O’Connor said. ”But it just encourages me to travel and see what I want.”
As a part of the IB certificate program, O’Connor fulfills the set requirements of two IB classes with IB Psychology, French and English. These classes, along with all other IB courses, are structured to teach and possibly inspire students such as O’Connor to attend college outside of the U.S.
The IB program is set up upon global standards, meaning, no matter the language or country, all IB classes follow the same structure. IB teachers teach with these international standards in mind and set up classes that connect to a global view, according to Meredith Sternberg, an IB Philosophy teacher and past IB coordinator at SM East.
“[European schools] recognize an IB kid and know it's an excellent curriculum and they often have an easy time in terms of sending in their IB scores,” Sternberg said. “Many students choose IB because of that.”
Many units in the IB classes revolve around differences, such as technology, culture or social life, between the American school system and schools in different countries.
Discussions based on these topics are particularly prominent in O’Connor’s IB French class where most class periods start with a 30 minute conversation prompted by a question on Canvas.
“It's mainly about the lifestyle differences between the U.S. and France,” O’Connor said. “Those are a lot of questions that come up in discussions for IB and AP testing. It's making sure that you understand the differences between our society and theirs.”
Senior Ishaan Home has experienced the same benefits from the IB diploma program, and he believes these assets have helped him receive multiple acceptances from his five applications to European schools, including Edinburgh University — a prestigious university in Edinburgh, Scotland.
His IB classes showed him there was a “whole, wide world” outside of the U.S. to travel.
“I think I always had a thought that I might apply somewhere [outside the U.S.] but I never really was thinking about [the IB program] to get in,” Home said. “By the time I started thinking about colleges, I was in the IB program, and my friends were also applying abroad. I was like, ‘I might as well apply abroad as well.’”
From learning about the Korean War in the IB History of the Americas class to reading works in translation in IB English class, Home’s IB courses have offered a worldly view he wouldn’t have gotten taking a different route.
According to Home, IB classes and their international curriculum, makes international applications easier and for European schools to understand an American student’s academic level.
Senior Sage Licktieg joined the IB Diploma program for that reason. Being accepted to Westminster College in London, England was one of her biggest goals, and something she thought only IB classes could prepare her for.
“Knowing that [school] will be [based on] conceptual [learning] when I go to Westminster will be really valuable, because I already have been able to do it really well [in IB classes]” Lickteig said.
Lickteig started the IB diploma program purely for the structure of the classes, wanting to attend an SEC college with football games and Greek life. Now, after the skills and global knowledge IB classes have given her, Lickteig is close to graduation and is headed to London.
“I've always wanted to [immerse myself] where I get to spend months in other places,” Licktieg said. “I knew that it would happen somehow. I just didn't know how, and [the IB program] seems like the best option.”
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