Written by: Pallavi
Edited by: Sofia
What ifs and whys fill classroom discussions and fuel lunchtime talks. The abundance of IB courses loom in the heads of incoming juniors. Pieces of information on each course are jumbled in their minds. It is incredibly overwhelming for most students. Sophomores are currently confronted with such an important decision and yet, the need for a true understanding of each course makes these choices so difficult.
In particular, social studies is filled with options for students to take, with there being seven courses in total: Economics, Business, Global Politics, Psychology, History, Geography, and Environmental Systems and Societies (ESS). These classes offer a variety of topics, but students don’t have any background on the courses, with the exception of History and Geography which are studied in the first two years of high school. The lack of previous experience in each class makes this decision incredibly daunting and confusing.
What’s the difference between Business and Economics? What historical time frame is studied in Global Politics? What even is ESS? With all these questions left unanswered, students won’t be able to make the best choice for their courses, thus, Mr. Baek, Mr. Thibodeau, Mr. Sheard, Mr. Kramer have each provided their insights into the courses.
Environmental Systems and Societies (ESS), is not only a social study but also counts as a science. Mr. Baek, one of this year’s ESS teachers, says the course is a “mix of biology, human populations, the environment, and how they all interact together.” This class is predominantly more science-based, but it does involve characteristics of a social studies class. As such, it can be taken as either a science or a social studies class but it cannot be used to meet both class requirements.
Psychology is the study of human behavior and mental processing and is also one class students seem to deeply enjoy. The course is first introduced in IB and involves studying a wide range of topics such as ‘Memory, Group Conflict, Love, and Relationships’ as well as ‘Mental Health and Illness’. The course involves written assessments and allows students to work on projects and performance-based tasks. An assessment the students partake in is the creation of a “Love Mocktail”, which is a hands-on project where students are tasked with filming themselves as if they were in a cooking show, and they have to build an analogy between the mocktail ingredients and the “ingredients” that go into experiencing love.
Geography is a class covered in students’ freshman year of high school but IB geography focuses on going deeper into the study of real-world issues. Mr. Sheard teaches this class and finds that “the course is living and breathing, in the sense that any event, both locally and globally, that occurs in real-time can be harnessed for the benefit of the course. [This includes] environmental events such as natural hazards, to political decisions such as trade deals and investment.” IB Geography involves hands-on activities that push students to learn more about the world and their interactions with it. However, Geography class sizes can be smaller than other classes, but that is not to say the class isn’t incredibly interesting and it is still in demand amongst students. While it is perceived to be less popular due to students wanting to try new classes like Psychology, Mr. Sheard says, “If you enjoyed Geography in grade 9, you want to build on your skills and examine some new topics then give IB geography a go!”
History is another class that students get an introduction to in their sophomore year, but once again, the IB course is a much deeper dive into the subject. They aim to develop an understanding of the past and they also dive deeper into topics that are only grazed upon in 10th grade, like fascism. Students examine World History topics as well and study shorter time frames, but go very in-depth. The class is one to take if you have an interest in History, and it is an IB subject that is universal and is featured in many schools across the world, even those that don’t have an IB program. Students who may transfer out of ISM amidst the IB program can easily transition into another IB History course.
Global Politics (GloPo) is quite popular in the school community and has larger class sizes and multiple sections each year. The course focuses on concepts of power, equality, sustainability, and peace in many different contexts. GloPo helps students understand abstract political concepts by teaching them through real-world examples. Students also do an engagement activity, where they complete a study on a political issue through an experiment. The course offers a perspective on modern-day issues, and is a great class to pair with many other social studies!
Lastly, Economics and Business Management are two incredibly popular social studies in IB, and these are usually the most-taken social studies classes per year. Economics allows students to see the complexities and interdependence of economic activities in the world. The course goes deep into microeconomics, macroeconomics, and the global economy through the lenses of nine key concepts: scarcity, choice, efficiency, equity, economic well-being, sustainability, change interdependence, and intervention. Given the rapidly changing world, students in the class are encouraged to research real-world issues, much like other IB classes.
On the other hand, Business Management is designed to develop knowledge of business content, concepts, and tools to assist with business decision-making. Mr. Kramer says “Through the exploration of four interdisciplinary concepts (creativity, change, ethics, and sustainability), this course examines how business decisions are influenced by internal and external factors and how these decisions impact a range of stakeholders.” Business is a very sought-after subject because it applies to life and students generally love taking it for that reason. An added benefit to the course is the Entrepreneurship Competition at the end of Grade 11, which is a wonderful way to get hands-on experience by trying to pitch ideas. Business is also a great class to pair with any other social study. There are lots of connections between Psychology, Economics, and Geography, so pairing this class with any of those is a great way to mix your social study classes whilst also connecting an element of them.
Each of these classes offers opportunities to learn about a new topic and deepen the knowledge that students already possess. Not only are most of these courses incredibly popular, but many IB students also lean towards taking two different social studies courses. Junior, Pia takes two social studies classes, Economics and Glopo, and those classes are very much intertwined as “There would be no Global Politics without Economics, and vice versa.” Taking both classes allows her to apply things she has learned from one to the other, and understand the topics in each incredibly well. She chose these classes because she is truly interested in both, and she gets to delve deeper into topics she’s always had an interest in. “Students should take classes they are genuinely interested in”, and as she does so, it makes learning a joy!
The seven different IB social studies courses provide incredible insights into a variety of topics that are not only a new learning experience but interlinked with real-world ideas. Social studies are incredibly popular not just because of the variety of options but because of how the students get to learn about topics that truly interest them, and the classes involve hands-on learning. Regardless of which social study students end up choosing, it’s a guarantee that each class will provide them with a riveting understanding of new ideas, and experience that go beyond high school.
