How to choose what is best for your child?

Following up on our previous article, emphasizing the importance of the Middle Years Programme, Mr.Tariq Sayeed, Coordinator IBDP, Genesis Global School directs us towards the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme.

Choosing what is best for your child can be a daunting task in the ever changing globalising world. Parents have the dilemma of choosing from a plethora of options when it comes to deciding the curriculum of choice for higher secondary school education. Should they enrol their child into CBSE, A-Level or the IB Diploma Programme? Each one has its own merits & demerits and individually prepare the students for college education in India or abroad. However, parents nowadays realize is that they must choose one that prepares & equips their child with the 21st century learning skills and grooms them into an open minded global citizen ready to take on the challenges of the fast changing dynamic world.

This is where the IB Diploma Programme comes in. Established in 1968, the International Baccalaureate® (IB) Diploma Programme (DP) was the first programme offered by the IBO and is taught to students aged 16-19. Ever since then it has evolved into the most dynamic and sought after school curriculum across the world.

The DP offers a holistic approach to teaching and learning with a keen focus on developing intercultural awareness. Students learn to explore and understand the world around them through inquiry, critical thinking and open-mindedness.

The IB Diploma Programme offers:

• a challenging academic curriculum that serves as outstanding preparation for university and higher education.
• a student-centred approach to teaching, focused on developing students intellectually, emotionally physically and socially, as opposed to preparation for test-taking only.
• a focus on international-mindedness, compassion, and understanding intercultural differences.
• respected, reliable and world-renowned academic preparation. Universities regularly cite DP students as the best prepared for higher education.
• DP graduates excel at university and often begin their studies with advanced standing.

A well-balanced curriculum and unique DP core

DP students complete courses from six subject groups (with at least one science and one humanities subject), ensuring a depth and breadth of knowledge and understanding. By engaging with a range of subjects, they experience a comprehensive education that encourages them to see connections between different academic areas. The study of an additional language is also required, as well as the completion of a compulsory programme core consisting of three components.

• Theory of Knowledge (TOK) challenges students to reflect on the nature of knowledge and how we know what we claim to know.

• Extended Essay introduces students to the demands and rewards of independent work prior to entering university, requiring them to produce a self-directed piece of research in an area of personal interest.

• Creativity, Activity and Service (CAS) is an experiential learning component where students engage with a wide variety of extracurricular activities, including community service and athletic options.

In conclusion it can be said that the IB Diploma Programme is the way forward to prepare future global citizens who are open minded, view problems from multiple perspectives and arrive at solutions that are acceptable to all stakeholders.

For more information on the DP programme visit http://www.ibo.org/diploma-guide/why-the-diploma-programme/

Stay connected for the next feature in this space that will talk about the University Placement Cell at Genesis Global School.