Hi,

Does anyone have any experience with the International Baccalaureate (IB programme) here in Canada?

Currently we are debating whether to put my daughter (she will be in grade 9 in September) into the IB programme or must she continue with the French Immersion at the local Catholic school.
She got accepted into the IB programme at the public school; she also got accepted at the Catholic High school to do the Advance Math programme.

It a difficult decision to make, not sure which way to go.

Any help will be much appreciated

Thanks

dbd has remarked on this in the past....

I tried a search on the forum, but I didn't find anything ...maybe I can't search

Ok Im so stupid . I tried the search again, this time I only put "Ib programme" in the search, got a few post. Thanks

IB is an excellent, internationally recognized programme. I good IB grade will be accepted by an university in the world. Many top institutions will rate it higher than a Canadian High School diploma or English A Levels.

Some of my kids took the bac (www.ibo.org) in French in Toronto, at the Collège français (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Coll..._fran%C3%A7ais). It worked out well.

Thanks for the info

I've noticed it is a good programme, the only problem is, it’s the school, there is only one school in our town that offers this IB programme, and this school has a very bad reputation , it’s the worst school in town , and I don't know if we really want to send our daughter to that school. But we still have a few months to decide.

What's the problem? Is it meth?

Some failing schools in the UK have taken the IB route to improve their output. but having said that I think my nephew is doing it at Eton.

The program seems to be well regarded by tertiary education

At grade 9 you daughter will start with an honors class - that's the stage my daughter is at. The actual IB programme doesn't start to grade 11, but she will have to do honors to be at the right study level.

Is there a school near you doing the Advanced Programme? My daughter had the choice between the 2. She decided to go the IB route, we were happy with that idea as the school seemed more like a school than a hangout area. She has gone to the non catchment school. The downside to this is she has found dropout kids to hangout with rather than hanging out with the good friends she had previously.

I do believe the IB or AP is a good thing to do. My daughter hasn't been swamped with homework but she does get some most nights, she's loving science class, they do more than the regular classes, and is ok with all the others.

The situation with my daughter is tricky, the move to high school has been a disaster area As I have said she knew very few people when she went (I think 3-4 kids) she was 'alone' amongst her peers in the honors class, it has taken time for her to make new friends, unfortunately she did cling to a couple of kids she already knew (dropouts) who introduced her to more dropouts, there was an overdosing/one kid said another kid was planning to rape my kid - it\s been a bloody nightmare to be honest, one kid was shipped of to Ontario, my kid has suffered and has even self harmed (once) - of course being a Mum, I had no idea about most of this and thought it was the level of learning that was making her moody and skipping classes. Her grades have dropped - apparently this is to be expected in the 1st semester.

I have spoken to her, she is desperate to stay in the honors classes, since the midterms, she has been bringing more homework home and she is getting some help (psych/medication) and she seems to be getting back to her old self.

If we could start again she would be doing the AP programme in the other school where more of her middle school friends are. IF the programmes at the schools where the other way round, I would still wish she had stayed with the bulk of her friends. It's been the friends that have been the problem for my daughter, not the school or honors classes. My daughter is trying to bring her grades back up to 80% (she's sitting around 70% in most classes) so she can continue honors, I have suggested that she drop down to regular classes or swap schools, she is not interested in those options, which is where i think it's a friend problem, thankfully we're not hearing those names so much anymore and there is a bunch of new names.

So I would say yes to doing the IB programme but see where her friends are going too. Hve you done the school visits and stuff yet? That could be the decider - your gut feeling with the school.

Good luck to your daughter with the High School transition

...I shouldn't worry too much, if it's that bad she's hardly going to make it any worse is she? Anyhow, if she starts having a detrimental effect on other pupils they can always just exclude her.

For those Expat who are not aware, there are three different alternatives to the last set of exams a student takes at high school, IB, AP and provincial 12 exams. Of the the three IB & AP are to be considered the best options if your child does well in either course. However I have to stress that your child should do well in order to get the benefit of either access to a high regarded university or credits off their foundation year.

I have spoken with the guy that manages AP in Canada and his view is that the right school is the school that can teach AP well, ie is well resourced, with good teachers and provided a wide range of AP courses.

Both IB & AP courses require a huge commitment and therefore it does boil down to the motivation of your child as well.

Hi - I've taught the IBMYP for an IB school since 2000 AD.

Is your daughter really interested and talented in math? Does she think that math is a discipline that will really interest and help her in the long run? Or is she interested by a potentially well-rounded, slightly above average state run cosmopolitan centred education? If she likes the math, consider the Catty school.

First off, IB schools are immensely popular and trendy (it seems every Tom, Dick and Harry school in the US is acquiring IB certification). The IB is a privately managed non-profit franchise to which public and private schools may subscribe. Poorly administered and documented IB schools may lose their IB certification (the IB is notoriously lax with its clients ). Well organised and staffed IB schools provide an excellent education to children for very few parental $$$ (taxes pay for 'em mostly ). This compares to well organised and staffed non-IB public and private schools that often provide an excellent education to children for very few parental $$$. Read up about the IB MYP and DP programme before you decide - and stop talking to other parents, they will basically know shit about the programme mechanics; you must ask for a tour of the IB school and see the physical plant, talk to the admin., support staff and talk to some of the teachers. You must also talk to the IB coordinator.

When at the school for the tour speak at length to their IB coordinator. Ask them for IB documentation, pamphlets, curriculum & course explanation, how long the school has been IB, when their last 7-year assessment was applied, what they had for lunch on Thursday last, etc. If you detect major BS, stalling, or if the school doesn't have an IB coordinator walk away; no successful IB school can function w/o a dedicated coordinator. The paperwork associated with IB is staggering - if you are told that the programme is "run by the teaching staff" - well this is a very bad sign and a strong indicator that the programme is administered 1/2 assed, and maybe(?) not being taught effectively to IB requirements. If the IB school looks like something out of a David Fincher film, you might want to really consider the Catholic school.

Be aware: IB is divided into two post elementary progs.: IB Middle Years Programme and Diploma Prog. . IBMYP grants a certificate at Sec V level (grade 10/11 depending on the province). Beware! The certificate is not recognised by most Canadian/UK universities as anything other than enrichment or advanced standing (it does not fall in line with completed grade 12 coursework). Second Beware! The IB Diploma Programme is recognised by some universities in Canada/UK/USA - you must check with each university for recognition policy. Buyer beware . . .

However . . .

" . . . this school has a very bad reputation , it’s the worst school in town , and I don't know if we really want to send our daughter to that school."

If your information is sound, and this causes you some reason to doubt, then don't even consider sending your daughter to the school; this makes your decision so much easier . Good luck!