The IB Mission Statement
Like all organizations designed
to impact the lives of individuals around the globe through education, the
International Baccalaureate has a mission statement that encapsulates its goals
and hopes for the future. The IB mission statement, found here, reads as follows:
The International
Baccalaureate aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people
who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural
understanding and respect.
To this end the organization
works with schools, governments and international organizations to develop
challenging programmes of international education and rigorous assessment.
These programmes encourage
students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners
who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.
One of the many things to
notice about this statement is that it not only highlights the importance of
the academic component of the programme (something which you are probably very
familiar—or will be after completing your workshop), but it also emphasizes the
goals of intercultural understanding, compassion, and lifelong curiosity. All
IB MYP courses—not just those dealing with languages or the humanities—are
expected to integrate these concerns into the normal day‐to‐day conduct of the
courses; there is no separation between the intellectual goals of the class and
the broader humanistic goals of the class.
Questions for Reflection:
1.
How prominently
does the IB mission statement figure in your school's IB MYP? Do your students
know about the IB mission statement? Do their parents know about it? Do your
fellow teachers know about it?
2.
In what ways does
your school's mission statement or underlying philosophy overlap with that of
the IB?
3.
Are there ways in
which an understanding of the IB mission statement could enhance your own
classroom practices or those of your colleagues? How could it enhance the
performance of your students?
4.
What are some
ways in which you currently integrate (or could integrate) the multiple goals
of the IB as outlined in the mission statement?
(1) The majority of our students may know of the IB mission statement, but I doubt many know it in detail. I do not think most of parents are familiar with. Within in our faculty, teachers are aware of the general ideas, but I’m not sure there is a familiarity with the specifics.
ReplyDelete(2) Both sets of mission statements emphasize the idea of helping students to become “life long” learners.
(3) As a Virginia public school we are focused on our state testing. This creates pressure for students to learn content at a frantic pace. We cannot give up on our content focus, but we need to find ways to integrate more inquiry based and skills driven instruction into our classrooms.
(4) As a World History teacher, my class covers the beginning and core beliefs of many of the worlds great religions and the development and influence of key cultures. I believe that my students leave the course with a better understanding of other cultures points of view and a respect for their values.
I believe there is increasing awareness of the IB mission statement at Annandale High School. The constant focus on state SOL testing in core subjects may make it more difficult for parents and students to appreciate the importance of the IB mission statement, with its focus on broader humanistic goals. Yet for students to truly become "life-long learners," both intellectual and holistic goals are essential. I plan to work harder this year to integrate reference to the values referenced in the IB mission statement throughout my Comparative Government classes. I believe it can enhance my classroom practices by making me more sensitive to different cultural perspectives and the personal well being of my students. I feel that if students feel more valued personally, they are more likely to meet high academic expectations. In my Comparative Government class, I profile different political and economic models with an eye toward encouraging students to appreciate that other "other people, with their differences, can also be right." Asking students the right questions can challenge them to reexamine previously held views, stretching them intellectually.
ReplyDelete1. Our students may not be able to recite the IB mission statement but they see and hear it every day in each of their classes as we prominently display our “Keys of Excellence” which are matched with the learner profile attributes. Our mission statement is on our website and included in our yearly School Improvement Plan.
ReplyDelete2. “Glasgow is committed to building a community of lifelong learners who are active, knowledgeable, and caring. We teach young people as they prepare for the future by supporting them in reaching new heights of academic achievement and by growing in personal responsibility. We will create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.”
As you can see Glasgow’s mission statement is very similar to the first and last paragraphs of the IB mission statement in that we are building life-long learners who understand and respect different perspectives. While we do not declare that we will work with governments and international organizations to develop education and rigorous assessment, we do work within FCPS and IB to develop international minded students who are being challenged by higher order thinking skills in our assessments.
3. I think that both mission statements enhance our classrooms. In my own US History II classroom, we respect each others’ perspectives; we challenge each other with our interpretations of the curriculum and we actively seek out new ways to learn and teach.
4. In my classes we use structured academic controversy and Socratic seminars to encourage students to be more deeply involved with the material. We also use project learning and the design cycle in assessing both learning and teaching. Reflection on our unit plans helps us to hone our teaching and reflections of the processes of learning help our students to develop as lifelong learners.
1. The IB mission statement is known by most of the staff and permeates every aspect of our school culture here at Westland. While the learner profile is displayed in all classrooms, the mission statement is not. Just answering this question is prompting me to display it this school year!
ReplyDelete2. Our mission statement challenges Westland to meet or exceed government standards and provide extra-curricular activities to the students that will develop mental, physical, and social skills. Westland is also committed to partnering with parenets and the community to create an environment geared to student success.
The IB mission to promote rigor and a global perspective enhances teacher pracatices and creates measured improvement in student performance.
4. Students and teachers are constantly challenging their assumptions in a safe environment.
1. I think the teachers of MYP and IB classes have a very firm understanding of the mission statement. I think we have benefited from Glasgow MS doing the yeoman's work of getting the students to know the mission statement ;)
ReplyDelete2. Our school shares a lot of the same goals as the mission statement, particularly fostering intercultural understanding and looking to prepare students to be lifelong learners.
3. Particularly for the students, the mission statement can be a constant reminder that other ideas or viewpoints are not necessarily wrong; that is a difficult lesson sometimes for a smart student that might think there is only their answer to the problem.
4. I think the only part that I struggle with is rigorous assessment. I think I teach in a way that works very well with the mission statement, but how do you rigorously assess things like being a compassionate and lifelong learner?
1. The IB mission statement is aligned well with Annapolis High’s mission statement. The teachers and students see both statements it every day when entering the school.
ReplyDelete2. Both discuss diversity, academic achievement, respect, and excellence.
3. As teachers support the school’s mission statement in the classroom, they are also supporting the IB mission statement. By following the principles, teachers are encouraging students to be their best academically and successfully prepare for the future.
4. When lesson planning, I write out which MYP principles/AOI/learner profile the lessons include. We often use the AOI as a starting point to collaboratively write lessons.
1) I know IB teachers are familiar with the mission statement, and the majority of IB students as well. I doubt non-IB students know the categories.
ReplyDelete2) Our school has always stated emphasis in higher education preparation, and cultural awareness.
3) It would certainly help to utilize the mission statement as frequently as possible. I think it would really cement the courses into a cohesive unit, at least in terms of awareness of the program.
4) Although I taught IB History of the Americas, we had to balance the curriculum required for the SOLs, and discuss issues outside the US.
1. The IB mission statement and my school's mission statement's are very similar. Our school celebrates its cultural diversity and encourages life long learning just like the mission statement.
ReplyDelete2. My school strives to be in almost complete compliance with the IB Mission Statement.
3. It should ideally reinforce the idea that we are preparing students for the real world so our lessons should have real world applicability. As humanities teachers, we should definitely be trying to prepare students for a global experience and to understand other cultures around the world.
4. When I teach about various conflicts around the globe, I try to allow students to absorb information which would allow them to see the perspective from both sides of the story. Examples of this would be the Israel-Palestine conflict and the Kashmir situation between India/Pakistan.
1. The IB program and mission is prominent at our school. While I would be willing to bet that most students might not recognize the mission statement, they would recognize the concepts and fundamental goals of the IB program. Likewise, teachers outside of the program, parents of both IB and non-IB students, as well as members of the community, understand the meaning of IB.
ReplyDelete2. Our schools mission statement focuses on diverse learning communities and meeting the needs of a student population from a variety of backgrounds, as well as becoming lifelong learners.
3. With a greater understanding of the mission statement we could achieve a greater sense of continuity at our school. Even for students who do not have IB classes or for teachers who do not teach IB students, to understand what is going on in other areas of your school can help to bring the school together and aide it in accomplishing more of its objectives, IB and otherwise.
4. As a US History teacher I make a conscience effort to incorporate discussions and activities that relate the events of our nation with parallel defining moments of other nations from all around the world.
1. How prominently does the IB mission statement figure in your school's IB MYP? Do your students know about the IB mission statement? Do their parents know about it? Do your fellow teachers know about it?
ReplyDeleteWhile our students may not be able to articulate the mission statement, I believe they would recognize it and agree that it’s something many of their teachers are working on with them. We struggle with parent communication, particularly given the demographics of our population. I think many but not all teachers are aware of the mission statement but most would agree that it’s what we are striving toward at our school.
2. In what ways does your school's mission statement or underlying philosophy overlap with that of the IB?
Glasgow’s Mission Statement: Glasgow is committed to building a community of lifelong learners who are active, knowledgeable, and caring. We teach young people as they prepare for the future by supporting them in reaching new heights of academic achievement and by growing in personal responsibility. We will create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.
There are many similarities and a lot of overlap between the two mission statements, particularly in the focus on lifelong learners with intercultural understanding and respect.
3. Are there ways in which an understanding of the IB mission statement could enhance your own classroom practices or those of your colleagues? How could it enhance the performance of your students?
I believe that reflecting on the mission statement more regularly would help me focus my lessons toward more authentic instruction for my students. It is easy to get bogged down in the details of content on a daily basis but the mission statement would help remind me of the bigger picture we have in mind for our students.
4. What are some ways in which you currently integrate (or could integrate) the multiple goals of the IB as outlined in the mission statement?
I use classroom tools such as discussion and controversial topics to help engage students in caring, informed academic discourse. I use inquiry to develop my students’ natural love of learning, which I believe will help cultivate a lifelong love of intellectual pursuit. I could do more of these things, however, and would like to learn about other ways to pursue the mission statement.
- Sarah Beck