An article on washingtonpost.com discusses IB (International Baccalaureate) classes that are available for students in some elementary schools. Parents wanting the best education for their young children were told to check out Randolph Elementary, a school affiliated with IB education.
The Primary Years Programme, designed by the Geneva-based International Baccalaureate Organization, is becoming a hit in the United States with the Judy Blume and Beverly Cleary set. It's now in 72 US. schools, up from six in 2000. Driving the growth is a desire among education officials to ramp up the rigor, the earlier the better.
The program seeks to mold students, from preschool age on, into "transdisciplinary" and bilingual scholars who can deliver a major academic project by fifth grade and then move into deeper studies in secondary schools and beyond. (IB middle schools also exist.) Critics wonder whether it's all a bit much for a student demographic that still receives scratch-and-sniff stickers on written work.
Students at IB schools are expected to think through material, devise their own questions, realize the importance of other cultures, and of course, score high on standardized tests. It costs school systems nearly $10,000 for each of their schools to receive authorization from the IB organization. Schools definitely show "IB" pride.
At Randolph, for instance, students every morning sing a very multisyllabic anthem that begins like this: "I am a star, a Randolph star. I am a curious and inquiring International Baccalaureate student."
The IB program sounds a lot like the "critical thinking" and "problem solving" approaches used in other schools. It also reminds me of classes designated for the gifted and talented. It will be interesting to see how the IB elementary school students perform as they continue through school. It is nice that parents are being given choices for their children. I just hope that children aren't pushed too hard and have time to be kids. Hopefully, there is a happy middle ground.