International Baccalaureate

[marija_jane]

My DH and I have started the great research project on Preschools. We live in New York City and there are a *lot* of choices.

I've read some John Holt and Alfie Kohn... I'm very adamant about DS going to a progressive school, it seems Reggio is a type of progressive school... or maybe they are separate but I'm interested in either Progressive or Reggio.

My husband just found out that two blocks from our house is one of the top ten high schools in the country, which is an International Baccalaureate school. Doing some research into them I learned the IB philosophy also has a primary and middle school programs. Their literature used a lot of the catch-phrases like 'project based', 'theme based', child-led, cooperative learning that sounds very progressive (plus the international-basis rather than US-centric curriculum sounds great). But I'm not sure... I've also heard that IB is uber-competitive and assigns an extraordinary amount of homework (high school was specifically addressed).

Of course my child doesn't have to stay in one program for all his years but it seems that it makes it easier on kids if they do...

I'm wondering if anyone is familiar with IB PYP (primary years programme) and whether it has similarities to Reggio or Progressive schools, or if it is just an elite version of traditional education?

[34me]

We did not do the PYP but the MYP as well as high school. In my opinion, at least how it's been used here, it's more of a curriculum than a philosophy. My youngest is in an experiential learning school and that has been more of a lifestyle for us. My older two have gotten a fabulous education in IB and some kids do get overwhelmed by the homework and academic expectations. Like anything else it depends on the child. My dd is horribly unorganized and we pulled her after the MYP; my son has been successful while playing competitive ice hockey 15+ hours a week.

[expatmommy]

My kids are in an international school that does the IB PYP program. It has meshed really well with their previous Montessori education. I will say that some schools to IB really well & some do IB really bad, depending on other factors or flavours for the school. There are two IB schools in our neighbourhood; one is rigourously academic & ours is definitely more holistic. I think when you are considering an IB school you need to look beyond the IB/PYP issues to see what the vision & philosophy of the particular school are.

[angelarmh]

I strive to be open-- but the one aspect I am and will remain fixed i is sending our children to a school that fosters a greater sense of the world around us and language immersion is one of the keys. You are so fortunate to be in NY. My dream preschool is in San Francisco-- a Reggio inspired school that is ran BY Italians from in and around the Reggio Emilia region of Northern Italy. But alas, we are far from the Bay Area. I did find a Carden School close to us that utilizes French Immersion from Pre-School Until 2nd Grade-- when it is most critical to expose a second language (if it had not been done since birth).

I did an IB/AP program a million years ago in High School--yeah IB. I think a good program at the early stages of formal education should always include some type of immersion--maybe search for Carden schools if you are not able to find/get into a first choice Reggio School.