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By Anna Janowski
May 2022
The IB Diploma Program is hard.
The IB Diploma Program is hard.
There’s not much debate on that point. 11th and 12th-grade ISB students know firsthand how much homework they get on a daily basis, how much work it takes to keep up with all their classes, and how much time they need to put in to get good grades.
But is this intense workload made even more difficult to manage by the academic expectations and pressure that ISB students feel?
Most ISB Diploma Programme students say they do feel pressure to do well academically. In fact, of DP students surveyed, over 75% said that the pressure they feel, on a one-to-ten scale, is at a six or higher.
“There’s a lot riding on your performance,” says ISB senior Elijah Purry of the pressure students face.
Sources of Pressure
Sources of Pressure
Valerie Owusu-Hienno, another senior, thinks having teachers who are understanding of students’ stress absolutely helps to decrease this pressure. She comments that Spanish teacher Mr. Frewing often tries to avoid scheduling assignments for his class at the same time that his students have tests in other classes so as not to increase stress.
She also says that Spanish is her favorite class.
If teachers’ actions can help students de-stress in this way, then, does that mean all the pressure comes from teachers? Do they, in expecting students to do well, create more stress?
According to students, not entirely. A lot of the pressure comes from the students themselves. “I think to some extent my peers, other students, expect me to do well because I have a reputation of doing well and it feels natural to uphold that,” one junior says.
Mete by Helena Lieu. Lieu, an IB Art student at ISB, explores the effects of pressure, expectations, and aspirations through the artworks she made for her IB Art exhibit, such as this piece (Lieu 2022).
Self-pressure may play a big part for many students, but it’s also not that simple. Outside sources of pressure, such as teachers, peers, and the general community, can increase pressure as well, creating an environment in which students feel like they need to perform well academically. Senior Sophia Wagner cites “ISB culture” as a source of pressure and high expectations.
These expectations often revolve around good grades. Many ISB students care about their grades, and the general attitude of the student body, in many ways, supports and perpetuates this focus. Students comment that good grades are mostly important for getting into selective colleges; one junior also notes that aiming for good grades can “motivate you to engage in the material, gain broader and deeper perspectives, and learn things you never would have learned otherwise.”
Not everyone puts all their focus on good grades or strives for perfection. Though many ISB students focus on grades, there is a wide range of attitudes. Senior Carter Morrison, for example, comments that good grades can open up “so many opportunities to you” but that “perfect grades are not worth it.” However, as many students have observed, the pressure to get good grades can be significant.
Impacts on Students
Impacts on Students
Whether a student benefits from or is harmed by that pressure is highly variable, but pressure such as this certainly has negative effects. Stress is perhaps the most evident of these; one junior comments that stress is the first thing that comes to mind when they are asked about ISB’s defining qualities.
However, it’s not necessarily all bad. Wagner says the high expectations “can be a good thing,” motivating students to perform better.
ISB juniors working in a Diploma Program Language & Literature class. Image from Logan McClure’s short film What is ISB? (McClure 2021).
There’s no denying that pressure to do well in the Diploma Programme exists at ISB. Whether it’s ultimately helpful or harmful, motivating or detrimental, or anywhere in between is much more complicated. Every student will feel the effects of this pressure differently; each will respond to the challenges and expectations of the Diploma Programme in their own way.
For many students, this doesn’t mean that they are on their own. “Among students, especially in the DP program, we try to help each other as much as possible academically and with mental health,” a junior says. However, this same student observes that the adults at ISB don’t always fulfill the needs of students. More support and action from these adults would help alleviate stress and help support the mental health of students.
It’s difficult to find ways to entirely avoid stress and pressure in the Diploma Programme at ISB. What can be done, then, such as creating a supportive community of students and staff that will fulfill the needs of the student body and of individual students, is incredibly important and will positively impact students’ experiences. The IB Diploma Programme is a lot to take on, and the support systems of students, teachers, friends, and family are critical to doing it successfully.
This doesn’t mean students shouldn’t care about their grades. It does mean that it’s important to take the time to be aware of the stress and pressure students are feeling, where it comes from, and—whether it’s starting a conversation about this topic with classmates, taking time to relax, or something else entirely—how they can best address it.
Bibliography:
Bibliography:
Lieu, Helena. Mete. 2022.
McClure, Logan. What is ISB? International School of Beaverton, https://isb.beaverton.k12.or.us/about-us. Accessed 24 May 2022.
Morrison, Carter. Personal interview. 3 May 2022.
Owusu-Hienno, Valerie. Personal interview. 15 March 2022.
Purry, Elijah. Personal interview. 22 April 2022.
Vejo, Alen. Personal interview. 20 April 2022.
Wagner, Sophia. Personal interview. 20 April 2022.
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