The IB Pressure Cooker

The journey of IB is quite perilous in itself. I still

have to Google the
correct spelling of Baclaureate. Sorry, I mean
Baccalaureate. No
critic to the wonderful curriculum, this is a fresh
perspective of a student
who is yet to complete the frightening expedition.
With ever
extending submission deadlines (which are a so-called
pre-taste
to college life), internal assessments, pesky class tests,
homework and CAS hours, looming over heads, it is
nearly impossible for the student to predict the
near future.
When I finished my IGCSE, I was confident
about taking five HL subjects in the Diploma
program. Quite sooner than expected, I was
from Candy land. Five became four. And finally, three.
down further, you see.

shaken back
Couldnt go

Along with my dream-count of the number of HLs, the numerators on exam

papers started reducing at a rate greater than what Calculus in IB has taught me
to calculate. The so-called downfall in grades initially was sudden, precipitous,
and measurable on the Richter scale at some of my friends houses. Getting
scores I had never expected, helplessly outnumbered by the tasks at hand, I
started losing focus. Believe it or not, what smart and famous people say about
organization and making planners, works! Tried and tested. It may not increase
your scores directly, but at least you know what to do at a particular time of the
day, and can help track you work patterns which leads to better understanding of
oneself.
While sharing my personal experiences, I am in no way discouraging aspiring
students. Each of us is different, and should have different takeaways from the
course. However, somewhere, embedded in the rigorous program, there is a
small packet of life-skills which is priceless. This packet, which I guarantee most
of us will take back, will be with us beyond just college. Certain Math concepts
and Chemical equations might not come with you beyond your academic career
into your real life, but this little packet, stays forever. With this program, I have
had the opportunity to connect and interact with numerous people with different
perceptions of the world and worked with some very creative ideas to make the
world a little bit better in my own way. These dealings and experiences are
beyond what you learn in school, in a class, sitting on a desk, looking at the
board; and teach me how I will have to make my own path in the big world,
where those Chemical equations and Math concepts will actually be secondary
for me. All these little activities and skills are invaluable for me. This is what I
think will make me a better individual, and something that we all want to be a
good citizen. For me, every seemingly-small activity in IB is equally important as
the other HLs and SLs. These co-curricular activities in form of CAS in the course
build my communication skills, social skills and entrepreneurial skills along with
many others, which will actually help me when I am thrust out of college, into the
real world where Chemistry might abandon me.
Picasso said, every child is born an artist. Each of us have special, creative
abilities the skill to imagine and innovate, make mistakes, but try harder again.

Young children are less afraid to fail and make mistake than adults. According to
me, beyond just plain academics which educate the student out of creativity,
the IB aims to retain this set of natural abilities, by giving chances to students to
think out of the box, create, and make changes in the society. My IB score might
get me into some famous colleges all over the world, but will not get me across
real life problems and situations, where in, the invaluable experience throughout
the journey of the program, and the skills developed through the experience, will
come to aid.
Throughout the journey, amidst all the impediments, I have always looked upon
my teachers as guides and sources of motivation. We are actually quite lucky to
have an understanding set of teaching faculties, who are supportive till the end.
These small bursts of motivation a simple pat on the back, have a tremendous
effect on the student, perhaps lifting the whistle-weight briefly, releasing some
pressure, and giving him space to wish to do more.
One thing I realized while writing this article Life is quite simple. Taking
unnecessary stress complicates it further, entwining and twisting it, until it
leaves you in a tangled mess. What you learn while doing something, is much
more important that what you would possibly achieve at the end. It is the same
for IB. IB is for life, they say that, dont they?

Raahish Kalaria