Forty years ago, a visionary program began in Switzerland to encourage students around the world to become active and compassionate lifelong learners.
Today, that program is reaping successful results at Jefferson Elementary, the first school in the Carlsbad Unified School District to offer the globally-oriented International Baccalaureate, or IB, Programme. Jefferson, a candidate IB school, is in training to become fully authorized. Currently, only nine elementary schools in California are authorized to offer the IB Programme at the elementary level.
The IB does not detract from academic standards or achievement at any grade level, it adds to them. According to an article published in the May 2006 issue of Newsweek, “IB high schools rank among the highest-performing schools in the nation; six in the top 10 and 39 in the top 100 high schools in the U.S.”
At the elementary level, the IB Primary Years Programme focuses on developing the whole child. California standards are taught from a national and global perspective through an inquiry-based approach that stimulates students to think, and to think outside of the box.
Jefferson Assistant Principal Jane Hartman is the school's IB coordinator. She also is a passionate proponent. In fact, her work on her doctoral dissertation at the University of La Verne centers on the IB as it relates to leadership.
“We're preparing students to navigate in a global economy,” Hartman said. “We're moving toward a new paradigm, a brave new world in which people, even within their local communities, will not speak the same language or share the same culture or customs. They probably will transition to different careers throughout their lifetime. By preparing children to be learners and by developing their curious minds, we foster the kind of creativity and problem-solving skills they will need in tomorrow's world.”
Jefferson teachers at all grade levels are IB-trained. All are bilingual and 65 percent are certified to teach Spanish, which all Jefferson students are learning to speak. In addition, enrichment clubs offer French that is taught by a parent who is a native of France and training to become a teacher.
IB promotes character development and social responsibility. Even at a young age, these children explore such concepts as beliefs and values, interconnectedness of people and civilizations, peace and conflict resolution and, at a basic level, what it means to be human.
In Arlene Gnade's first-grade classroom, students learned about integrity and fair-mindedness in a series of steps. First, they listened to a story about Abraham Lincoln. Next, they discussed how Honest Abe displayed integrity and fair-mindedness. Then, they dug deeper, deciding which of his attributes they would like to possess.
IB also encompasses service learning and social/environmental responsibility. Ultimately, the program helps each student become an internationally-educated person who is curious, empathetic, confident, open-minded and not averse to taking risks.
As Hartman says, “We're not merely teaching kids to get smart. We're teaching them to get smart so they can be of benefit to their community and their world.”
To me, that is what good education is all about.
Today, that program is reaping successful results at Jefferson Elementary, the first school in the Carlsbad Unified School District to offer the globally-oriented International Baccalaureate, or IB, Programme. Jefferson, a candidate IB school, is in training to become fully authorized. Currently, only nine elementary schools in California are authorized to offer the IB Programme at the elementary level.
The IB does not detract from academic standards or achievement at any grade level, it adds to them. According to an article published in the May 2006 issue of Newsweek, “IB high schools rank among the highest-performing schools in the nation; six in the top 10 and 39 in the top 100 high schools in the U.S.”
At the elementary level, the IB Primary Years Programme focuses on developing the whole child. California standards are taught from a national and global perspective through an inquiry-based approach that stimulates students to think, and to think outside of the box.
Jefferson Assistant Principal Jane Hartman is the school's IB coordinator. She also is a passionate proponent. In fact, her work on her doctoral dissertation at the University of La Verne centers on the IB as it relates to leadership.
“We're preparing students to navigate in a global economy,” Hartman said. “We're moving toward a new paradigm, a brave new world in which people, even within their local communities, will not speak the same language or share the same culture or customs. They probably will transition to different careers throughout their lifetime. By preparing children to be learners and by developing their curious minds, we foster the kind of creativity and problem-solving skills they will need in tomorrow's world.”
Jefferson teachers at all grade levels are IB-trained. All are bilingual and 65 percent are certified to teach Spanish, which all Jefferson students are learning to speak. In addition, enrichment clubs offer French that is taught by a parent who is a native of France and training to become a teacher.
IB promotes character development and social responsibility. Even at a young age, these children explore such concepts as beliefs and values, interconnectedness of people and civilizations, peace and conflict resolution and, at a basic level, what it means to be human.
In Arlene Gnade's first-grade classroom, students learned about integrity and fair-mindedness in a series of steps. First, they listened to a story about Abraham Lincoln. Next, they discussed how Honest Abe displayed integrity and fair-mindedness. Then, they dug deeper, deciding which of his attributes they would like to possess.
IB also encompasses service learning and social/environmental responsibility. Ultimately, the program helps each student become an internationally-educated person who is curious, empathetic, confident, open-minded and not averse to taking risks.
As Hartman says, “We're not merely teaching kids to get smart. We're teaching them to get smart so they can be of benefit to their community and their world.”
To me, that is what good education is all about.