Written by: Alessi
Edited by: Grace & Audrey
Visual by: Sofia
You have done it before: the fake nod, the forced “uh-huh,” the thumbs up when the teacher says, “We all know this, right?” Regardless of who you are, most of us have bluffed in class at some point, pretending to understand everything from photosynthesis to the finer rules of using em-dashes.
But why do we do it? Why are we embarrassed to admit we have forgotten things we learned years ago? And do these small gaps actually have an impact on our learning down the line?
The evidence says, yes.
Ingrid (9) admits, “I don’t really know how to use a semicolon.” It might seem minor, but semicolons form the foundation of clear and professional writing; they can connect ideas without creating run-on sentences. When asked what impact this gap might have later, IB student Emilio (12) did not hesitate: “Semicolons are non‑negotiables for IB, especially for your TOK essay or EE. Not knowing how to use it properly could lead to a large chunk of points gone.”
By the time students enter IB, what once felt like a small gap becomes both more visible and more costly. Points get deducted, essays start looking messy, and academic confidence takes a hit. What was brushed off in freshman year quietly compounds into something far harder to ignore.
Sophomores revealed a similar pattern, and coincidentally, all three interviewed pointed to the same subject: physics. One explained, “I don’t really know when to use joules, newtons, or watts.” Another added, “Yeah, I feel like we know how to do the most useless things like memorize formulas, but don’t understand the basics.”
These confessions reveal a broader issue of how most subjects are taught at ISM: teachers often spend the bulk of class time explaining complex ideas like inclined planes, pulleys, or projectile motion, while assuming that the fundamental basics necessary to understand those ideas are already known. In other words, the assumption is that foundational knowledge has already been mastered, creating an immense academic gap for numerous students.
On the other hand, juniors, who are already deep in the IB program, had a different answer. “Time management. We have to do the SAT, our TOK essay, and extracurriculars like clubs and sports, all while having in-class assessments too,” one junior shared.
As studies have pointed out, time management is the scaffolding that holds everything together, from our academics to extracurricular activities. Thus, without a proper understanding of how to effectively section our time, even the smartest students can collapse under the weight of harsh deadlines. Additionally, when asking the same junior if they have always struggled with time management, they added, “I don’t think it was that prominent of an issue, but it definitely grew as more things started piling up,” revealing how academic pressure doesn’t create but rather, magnifies issues already there.
Finally, when asking five tired seniors what they pretended to know, it is no surprise that they said “everything” in unison. Combining the IB, assessments from various classes, the SAT, EEs, and everything in between, seniors are not bluffing about academic skills but about survival.
To conclude, from academic struggles like not knowing how to use semicolons to time-management issues and “everything,” it’s safe to say that the issues we don’t address in our underclassmen years have a significant impact when we reach IB. Yet, larger questions remain: Is ISM unintentionally cultivating a culture of bluffing? By assuming fundamentals are already known, are we setting up students to fake their way through tests? Have we taken “fake it till you make it” too far?
