How IB’s core curriculum shaped my personality

I am about to complete high school. Winter is giving way to ‘Fruhling’. We also waived goodbye to our face masks for the first time in three years and enjoyed the ‘Rosenmonatg’ carnival without any restrictions. I spent the last two months applying for universities and winding up my IB syllabus. I even had a graduation photo shoot. It feels like I am leaving not just my school and friends, but also an essential phase of life behind.

Pursuing the IB Diploma for the last two years, I have come a long way. I am thankful for its rigorous curricula especially the core components. The holistic and diverse experience in the last two years helped me grow as a person. Studying at an international school with students from more than 30 countries, I was fortunate enough to experience a diverse environment that coincides with the IB’s approach to developing a broader perspective in life.

The IB Core curricula consist of the following components that extend beyond the academic rigor and contributed to my overalll growth during my crucial teenage years:

Theory of Knowledge (TOK)

Through the TOK component, we explored different areas of knowledge and ways of knowing it. It includes a presentation in the first year based on real-life experiences and a 1600-word essay in the final year. This abstract, meta, core element taught me to question ‘Why’ and gave me a taste of the philosophy of life. During TOK classes, we enjoyed numerous discussions on areas of knowledge like Natural science, Human Science, Math, and others. The open-ended discussions helped me understand several perspectives, critically analyze my knowledge and beliefs as well as understand others’ thoughts and ideas.  

I selected the prompt, “Are somethings unknowable”, for the TOK presentation and gave real-life examples of my intuition course and discussed about quantum physics to explore how some things can never be totally explained through logic and analysis. Presenting an abstract topic like this was challenging. But it helped me understand knowledge, achieve coherence of thoughts, and express myself overcoming my hesitation. My essay topic, “Does it matter if our acquisition of knowledge happens in “bubbles” where some information and voices are excluded” inspired immense brainstorming. I researched for days, compiled information, created multiple drafts, substantiated facts, and learned to squeeze info within word limits.

Presenting examples for both claims and counter-claims helped me develop an unbiased attitude while exploring varied pieces of inormation. Throughout the process of research and realizations, I understood how my perception, emotion, reason, imagination, faith, intuition, memory, and language (known as ways of knowing in TOK) helped me explore knowledge.

Extended Essay (EE)

This includes detailed research and writing a thesis on a chosen topic from an IB subject. Physics is one of my high-level subjects and playing guitar is a hobby that relaxes me. I chose a topic which combined the two in a way appropriate for experimentation suitable for my EE. My investigation topic was Mersenne’s law, which is used to predict the output frequencies in instruments. I experimented and analyzed in detail to deduce if it was accurate for all the 6 strings of my acoustic guitar.  

Researching and working on the topic for more than a year was an amazing experience. I got new guitar chords, tuned my guitar innumerable times, looked for variables, and indulged myself in precise measurements and data collection. I developed patience while repeatedly collecting and organizing data and then analyzing and evaluating it. During the process, I not only developed a deeper understanding of the law I was trying to prove but also fell in love with my guitar all over again.

I must confess that writing a 4000-word essay prepared me for writing college application essays and statements. The process definitely honed my language and grammar skills.

Creativity, Activity, and Service (CAS)

CAS counterbalances the strenuous academic component of IB and has helped me stay active and all-rounded alongside my studies.

I took up courses in Python, AI, App development, others to develop skills in IT. During my school breaks, I built models based on engineering skills. I continued learning guitar as a creative activity that proved to be a stress-buster during long study hours. I practiced Yoga and attended follow-ups on my intuition course to keep myself mentally and physically fit. Beyond personal growth, I participated in many voluntary initiatives like training students through the IT club, editing my school magazine, cleaning the Rhine river, raising funds, or creating breast cancer awareness.

Together with a challenging academic schedule, the activities helped me grow as a person and provided opportunities for community service and volunteer work. I became a more responsible person realizing broader goals and purpose in life. Periodically, the documentation of my experiences as a CAS reflection helped me introspect and improve my activities. I learned team spirit, time management, collaboration, and problem-solving skills.

With IB core components of TOK, EE, and CAS I have learned some great life skills and soft skills. This includes critical thinking, analyzing, problem-solving, cooperating and collaborating with others. I have become more confident and tolerant as well as empathetic towards others. Also, both my written and oral communication has improved. These qualities would be helpful as I step into adulthood and start my university life.