Let's not forget that these are 

17 and 18 years olds

June 14th, 2024

As the school year winds down for all of us who follow the North American and European calendar, I just wanted to reach out to say thank you and to leave you with one last thought.

As IB Educators, we ask a lot of these kids, but...

...let's not forget they are only 17 and 18 years old! 

I used to say to my IB Economics students, "Look, I didn't go into the field of education to contribute to the psychological breakdowns of young adults."



The truth is, I have though.

Unknowingly, of course. But does it really matter if I meant to or not?


The IB Programme is intense. It creates these beautiful, flexible minds.  But it’s a lot.


I love the IB program. I really do. Both my kids are IB kids.



But, all it takes is two or three teachers to have their tests fall in the same week, and all of a sudden the confluence of work a student has to do quickly hits overload.



As an early mentor said to me, "Brad, we can't control the information we have to hold them accountable for, but we can control when we hold them accountable."



That sentence changed my teaching.

 From then on, I’ve told my students to let me know if they're close to overload mode.


If they are, my instructions are simple: 


  1. Send me an email. 

  2. Tell me what's up. 

  3. Be honest. 

  4. Provide me with a solution. 

  5. And we'll build from there. Together. 



 

What's the difference if the kid takes their test on Thursday instead of Tuesday?

Nothing. 

Literally nothing.

None of us want to contribute to the mental breakdowns of young adults. We just gotta tune into them, trust them, and listen. 



They do incredible things, these 17 and 18-year-olds.



And as we head into our long summer break, let’s never forget that!

 

 

Lastly, I just want to say thank you for all of the support and feedback you have provided me this year.

I love what I do, and it’s because of the inspiring stories and people I work with every day.

So, as you head into summer, relax, refresh, regroup, spend time with those little ones if you have them, visit your folks, and get outside a bit too if you can.

See you again the first week of August as we begin the cycle anew!

Sending you my best from the foothills of the awe-inspiring Andes!

With tons of respect,

 

Brad

Whenever you are ready, here are 4 ways I can help:  

IB Core Workshops - Join my colleague Kurt Supplee and me for three different IB Core Workshops designed for IB Coordinators, EE Coordinators, TOK Teachers, and Extended Essay Supervisors.  Our upcoming workshops include The Cohort Model for the Extended Essay, Strategically Managing the IB Core, and our most popular workshop, Effectively Supervising Any Extended Essay.

Custom IB Faculty Training - Reach out and let me know how we can help work together to build a more robust and well-structured IB Programme at your school. We’ve worked with teachers and coordinators from hundreds of schools around the world. 

IB Economics Teacher Workshops - Join me for both my live and on-demand teacher workshops which cover all aspects of the IB Economics curriculum including the Internal Assessment, Extended Essay, Understanding IB Assessments, and content-based courses on Teaching Macroeconomics, Market Power, and The Global Economy. 

IB Economics New Teacher Workshop - New to teaching Economics in the IB Diploma Programme?  Together we will study the essential components of the International Baccalaureate Program, every section of the IB Economics syllabus, every IB assessment, every mark scheme, and discuss practical teaching strategies that will allow you to excel in the classroom.