The One Where She Goes Through The IB Program Part I

Four Years of Actual Hell - Junior Year

     Hi guys, I'm back. Before I get into talking about the dreaded IB Program, I just want to say thank you so much for all of your continuous support! I'm so glad that you all liked my last post- that was like so exciting for me. I have learned that for some reason it won't let people comment all the time. I've been trying to play around with this and figure out how to change that setting but after researching it a little, I think it is just the website. I'm not sure why but yeah. So if you want to contact me, most of you have my contact information or instagram because I'm pretty sure you're the only people who read this lmao. But if by chance you're just that bored and have nothing else better to do than read about my boring life then you can contact me through instagram. I never look at my email so don't email me- who even does that anymore??? Or I'll probably look at your email then just never respond to it because that's just how I am.  If you want to see the outcome of these past two years, just scootch on over to the other IB Senior year post and scroll on down to the last paragraph. 

     Okay! IB! Fun! So I really enjoy helping people and giving them advise as how to get through this dreaded program because it is information that I myself would have liked to know when I was in this program. I will try to be as clear as possible but I'm bound to confuse some of you, especially if you're new to this IB thing- with all these acronyms and stuff so try to stay with me. If something isn't clear or you have more questions then feel free to shoot me a text. 

     Okay so my first piece of advice to you whether you're going to be a junior or a senior is DO. NOT. PROCRASTINATE.  It's pretty funny because as I write this, I am currently in my dorm, sitting in my bed procrastinating three essays I need to write :)) But that's not the point I'm not in IB anymore so who gives a shit. But yeah, I know literally every single adult, teacher and parent says that. But let's face it. It's inevitable and its going to happen so just try to be mindful of it and attempt to not do it as much. 

     Something to understand: you need a total of 24 points to get your diploma- a MIMINUM of 9 points in your SL classes and a MINIMUM of 12 points in your HL classes.  Just because you get over 24 points toward your diploma does not mean that means you got it. You have to have to have met the minimum point requirements for the SL and HL categories. If you don't, then you don't get your diploma.

     English- so I've heard that this is changing but I don't know if that's true. I hope its not because then writing this would be a big waste of my time. So in your junior year you read three books first semester and three books second semester. For me, first semester was The Stranger, by Albert Camus, The Sorrow of War, by Bao Ninh, and We, by Yevgeny Zamyatin. You will write your EA (external assessment) on one of these three books. You must come up with a question of your own relating to the book and basically write a loongggggg commentary on it. I picked The Stranger because honestly it was the only book I read that semester. Don't be like me. Read all of the books. Second semester books are a lot more enjoyable because they're all written by American authors. They are Cather in the Rye, by J. D. Salinger, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald  and The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath. I actually read all three of the books and enjoyed them. Out of these three books you have to pick one for your IOP (individual oral presentation). This is an 8-10 minute oral presentation in from of the class about the book you choose. It is basically like an oral commentary. With this, you have a little more fun because you get to choose your own topic and you get a chance to be creative. Instead of giving a boring ass presentation, you can use props, dress up, or create a game to aid you in your presentation. For example, I used the book Cather in the Rye and created a Kahoot to go along with my presentation.

     Theory of Knowledge (TOK)- This class is, in my opinion, THE most boring class to ever exist. It is so confusing and touches a lot of abstract and controversial ideas that don't have an answer or are very debatable. This class basically teaches you how you know hat you know. Not going to lie, you just have to bullshit your way through this class. For this class you have to start on your Extended Essay (EE) which is a 4,000 word essay on a topic and subject of your choice. I think that wither history or English are the easiest to do because its easy to come up with a topic question and its pretty easy to reach word count. I myself picked English and used the book Animal Farm by George Orwell. My question went something like, "To what extent did George Orwell use satire in his book animal farm to something something something...." All I remember is that it was ling and complicated. Depending on hat subject you pick, you get assigned a mentor, or teacher, to help you write and edit your paper. I do suggest keeping in touch and going to meet with your mentor regularly. Keep up with the word count due dates because even if you think your paper is shit, at least you have something to work with in the future. When I was writing my paper, I would stay up until 1 or 2am just to make word count for the next day. I thought it was total crap but when I later looked over it with my mentor, it wasn't as bad as I thought. Also, another tip if you pick English- READ THE GOD DAMN BOOK! I know some books can be long but just read it, it'll be so much easier to write your paper. If you pick another subject such as history or psychology, then just do the research. It may be a little work, but it makes things 10x easier in the ling run.Along with your EE, you also have to complete your TOK Presentation. While your EE is completed within the span of two years( I recommend finishing it junior year the must edit it senior year) the TOK presentation is done junior year. This is a 8 to 10 minute presentation on a knowledge question of your choice. It is supposed to be very broad and abstract that can be applied to many situations. This probably doesn't make sense at all but I promise it should be clearer when you get into the class. My teacher did not exactly give me much of a direction when formatting my TOK presentation so I was on my own. If you find that you need help understanding TOK concepts or help with your essay or the presentation, I gottchyou ;) Please take this class seriously because by doing well in this class, you can get extra points which can make or break whether you get your diploma or not. It has really helped some student who were one point away, but then got extra points from TOK and were able to get their diploma. 

     Math- this is a tricky topic to talk about because you have some freedom to pick which class you want to take. At my school I could choose between pre-calc or math studies. Me being the horrible math student, yet very ambitious, took pre-calc. I have more of a geometry brain so pre-calc did not go so well to say the least. I passed the class with a B but definitely switched to Statistics senior year.  My advise to you is if you feel confident in your math skill then take pre-calc. If you decide it's not your thing then switch out it senior year. It is not a problem to switch from pre-calc to statistics but on the other hand it is a little more difficult to switch from math studies to calculus- just keep that in mind. All of the testing and papers for math come senior year so you don't have to worry about this class for now ;) UNLESS you are ahead in your classes and are testing out of it. Then in that case you need to worry about it. 

     Science- This is another tricky class to talk about because like math, you have some freedom in what class you take. At my school, environmental science, physics and biology were offered. I took biology. This class to me was not that hard, granted I find biology interesting and I loved my teacher. This class is a two year course so you can't switch between them. If you're SL-ing in science, then this year is extremely important because it is what you're going to be testing in. Even in you are SL-ing in this class, you still have to take the second year of that science. I know that's stupid and pointless because then you sitting in a class learning a bunch of pointless information that you dint need to know. BUT like I said if you're SL-ing in this class, pay attention and ask questions if you're confused. The test is so specific its annoying. You need to know the book and concepts inside and out.

     History -Similar to biology, if you're SL-ing in history, then junior year history is completely pointless. But if you're HL-ing, then pay attention. You may, depending on your teacher, start on your IA (internal assessment). This is when you pick a topic in history, literally nothing, and you create a question and write a looonnggggg commentary on it. You have to have sources and everything. This, to me was one of the most annoying papers to write. Overall, the class in general was easy, it was just the paper. I suggest picking a topic you're interested in and a topic that your teacher is knowledgeable about because then that makes it easier to write and make it easier for your teacher to help you. You don't submit your paper until senior year, but it should- theoretically- be done junior year.  

     Spanish- Again.. another class that really depends on where you are. I was ahead so I testes out of this class. That means I took the IB Spanish exam my junior year to count towards my diploma so I didn't have to take it senior year. I was in Spanish 4 and was lucky to have an amazing teach and a really small class. This subject always seems to scare people because it is literally in another frickin language. And you're expected to read and understand wtf they're saying. But anyway I ended up passing this class with an A and getting 4 points toward my diploma. This class for me was a SL class. And now as soon as I begin to finish this section on Spanish, I realize that they are in fact changing the format of the exam and stuff so that was a waste of time for you and me. They're apparently adding a listening comp section lol good luck with that. HA. So ignore all of this. 

     Psychology- This was my chosen IB elective. I could've picked art or dance but I am one of the most uncoordinated people on this planet. I don't know why I didn't pick art tho. I am fairy good at it and enjoy it. psychology wasn't a bad choice though. I loved the teacher and just in general find psych interesting. This was my other SL class that I tested out of. I passed the class with an A and got another 4 points toward my diploma! I recommend it for anyone who finds it even the slightest but of interest in it. 

     Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS)- part of the IB requirements is to have 100 hours of community service. This may seem like a lot but in reality, it's not. Anything that is creative, an activity or any volunteer thing counts. For example, if you play an instrument, you can log the time you spent practicing. For activity, if you play a sport, then you can long the amount of hours you spent at practice. And service is pretty much a given, if you do any volunteer work, that would count. You need to accumulate 100 hours within two years. I promise, its totally doable. Also before you graduate, you need to create a CAS project. This can be anything as long as you run it, or are in charge and it fits within one of the three things- creative, active or service. For example, you could start a canned food drive at your school, paint a mural, or get together a flag football team for your school. When creating your CAS project, you are allowed to have a partner. This is sometimes helpful if its a big project. If it isn't, I suggest doing it on your own because then you feel so much more accomplished and then you can say YOU did something that impacted the school or the community in a positive way and that is pretty cool. 

     Lol okay wow that was much longer than I anticipated. If you read all of that I admire you because I wouldn't lmao. I hope that by reading this you may have learned at least something.  If you want to look ahead to what the next year will look like, just click on the part II one because that sums up senior year. Anyway sorry for this being so long, I just wanted it to be as thorough as possible! I wish you luck as you embark on your own personal journey to hell and back.  - Maya