The International Baccalaureate(IB) program at Cape Coral High School consists of some of the brightest and most driven students. These are kids who came into high school wanting a more challenging and rigorous curriculum, and IB seemed like the best opportunity for success.
However, IB has recently become less about allowing students their academic freedom and disallowing students to shine beyond the one academic path that the student is put on.
We at the Seahawks Eye are firm believers in the protection of the values of the IB program and of the students who chose to be a part of something great, a protection that is being violated with the difficulty of gaining electives for junior and senior year.
A potential solution to this detrimental issue would be as simple as adding another class to the schedule. Lee County is already lengthening the school day by minutes. By making each of the seven classes 40 minutes and putting the extra time into that eighth class period, all students would gain an elective.
This article is in no way targeting our principal, Ryan Jackson, or our wonderful counselors, Katelyn Uhler and Caroline Toadvine. In fact, they are doing their absolute best to offer aid for IB students struggling with finding space for an elective.
To break it down, for this school year, an AB schedule was introduced for seniors and juniors in IB. This essentially meant that they could have one elective, and they would go to that class every other day. On the days not in their elective, they would go to their Theory of Knowledge(TOK) class.
Although this was a curveball for these students, it was appreciated because it still meant they got an elective. However, the district decided to change the schedule after three years, announcing that for the upcoming school year, juniors and seniors in IB would not be able to take an elective.
This was met by outbursts from students, teachers, and parents alike. This is especially detrimental to students in the Pharmacy Technician program. This is a valuable career opportunity because it provides the chance for students who participate in the class for four years to become pharmacy technicians straight out of high school.
These students completed this class for two years and were told that they would no longer be able to take it while in IB. While this was a problem, the wonderful counselors at Cape High have been working hard to allow them to complete this course. While it is now more difficult, with students having to take multiple Pharmacy classes online, IB is appreciative and thanks all who work hard to make this possible for us.
Also, for students in Newspaper and Yearbook, not being able to take it in their junior and senior years could mean the death of these important pillars of Cape High.
Alternative solutions have been proposed, with the help of our counselors, more than one one-year course selection is available for certain subjects. However, these one-year options, such as Sports Sciences, require extra work for the majority of students, as they have to take Anatomy and Physiology over the summer to meet the requirements for the class.
This act of disrupting young IB students’ flow of their initiative and bravery to take their education into their own hands is upsetting. This has caused major distress in the IB community and has ultimately led to several students dropping out of the program.
It is disappointing to see determined and intelligent students forced to drop down to a level that doesn’t challenge them in any way, just so they can have an elective.
It is unjust for all, including the counselors. Toadvine and Uhler work day in and day out for their students’ success.
They try their hardest to ensure that kids get a balance between being able to enjoy learning while also focusing on their future and ensuring success.
At the Seahawks Eye, we believe in the value of education and the importance of IB to help mold young scholars. However, we also believe this should not come at the expense of their sanity.
The inability to have an elective in the schedule provides no break for IB students, who already experience burnout and unbelievable amounts of stress. Generations of IB students should not have to endure this struggle, so we advocate for change in this policy enforced by the district. These high school kids already have enough on their plates; let’s not add any more.
