IB - After six years - Teachers are frustrated and Student performance unchanged!
http://www.grandcanyonnews.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=9167
Quotes from the article (emphasis added)
"'The workload is crushing,' said Laura Kelso, Grand Canyon School (GCS) fourth grade teacher.
When the International Baccalaureate (IB) program was adopted, no one could predict those words would eventually echo the sentiment of most teachers at the school, who, after six years of implementing the program, are showing signs of strain.
'I was a wholehearted believer in the beginning, but as it has continued on every year it becomes more of a nightmare rather than a simplistic idea. It is meant to be flexible, but sometimes I feel like this flexibility is really breaking my back,' McBroom said.
"As I am trying to learn IB, I'm finding that it's requiring me to do things two and three times that I'm already doing,' McBroom said. 'It's frustrating to me because it's taking away from time I would like to spend doing things with my class because I'm trying to get planning done for IB instead.'
Arizona's Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS) testing scores have remained steady at the school over the years, but IB's promise of improvement has not transpired.
Former GCS employee Peggy Houghton said her observations over the years have led her to wonder if the students are benefiting from IB, and if test scores reflect it.
Houghton went on to say it is obvious that staff at the school is frustrated with the program.
One 'benefit' of IB, according to music teacher George Haughton, has been the round about way the program has brought GCS staff closer together.
'In the hallways and during private moments, dislike of IB has always been a topic of discussion,' he wrote in comments submitted to the board."
Quotes from the article (emphasis added)
"'The workload is crushing,' said Laura Kelso, Grand Canyon School (GCS) fourth grade teacher.
When the International Baccalaureate (IB) program was adopted, no one could predict those words would eventually echo the sentiment of most teachers at the school, who, after six years of implementing the program, are showing signs of strain.
'I was a wholehearted believer in the beginning, but as it has continued on every year it becomes more of a nightmare rather than a simplistic idea. It is meant to be flexible, but sometimes I feel like this flexibility is really breaking my back,' McBroom said.
"As I am trying to learn IB, I'm finding that it's requiring me to do things two and three times that I'm already doing,' McBroom said. 'It's frustrating to me because it's taking away from time I would like to spend doing things with my class because I'm trying to get planning done for IB instead.'
Arizona's Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS) testing scores have remained steady at the school over the years, but IB's promise of improvement has not transpired.
Former GCS employee Peggy Houghton said her observations over the years have led her to wonder if the students are benefiting from IB, and if test scores reflect it.
Houghton went on to say it is obvious that staff at the school is frustrated with the program.
One 'benefit' of IB, according to music teacher George Haughton, has been the round about way the program has brought GCS staff closer together.
'In the hallways and during private moments, dislike of IB has always been a topic of discussion,' he wrote in comments submitted to the board."
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