S P I R I T . M I N D . B O D Y . C O R D E C H O 5 The IB Classroom: Where Soccer and Math Meet Captain of the Varsity Soccer Team, Greta Bair is a dedicated team player. She is entering into her senior year season with 26 goals and 28 assists. “For me, it’s not about the number of goals. It is about me doing what is necessary so our team can succeed.” The collaborative spirit she shows on the field, also follows her to the classroom. Greta is part of SHA’s inaugural cohort of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program. She was drawn to IB because it provided an out-of-thebox experience for her last two years of high school and its reputation for excellent college preparation curricula. She was prepared for the challenge, but what surprised her about IB was how collaborative it was. “I was nervous at first about being with the same students, but it turned out to be a really great thing for us all. We have many inside jokes across all the classes and we’re super comfortable with each other which helps us take risks with our coursework and try something new or different.” She also wasn’t expecting the many opportunities IB provides for her to bring her passion from the soccer field into her academic work in the classroom. “A lot of my classwork is focused on women and sports, because those are my passions.” IB doesn’t just let students make assumptions. It requires them to test those assumptions with real data to see if the assumptions hold up under scrutiny. Such was the case for Greta in her Math Analysis and Interpretations course last year. Greta researched the statistics of height and hometown climate on a soccer player’s ability to make the College Division 1 All-American list. “It was a lot of work, but I was motivated to do the statistical analysis because I wanted to find out the answers for myself.” What Greta discovered was that her original hypothesis that most of the All-American list would come from warmer climates was simply incorrect. Greta’s assumption was based on the hypothesis that warmer weather would allow for more practice time outside and thus, stronger skills leading to more All Americans coming from warmer climates. On the surface, this seemed like a reasonable and logical conclusion. However, the data proved Greta’s assumption to be faulty. Testing assumptions against data is one of the skills students develop through their IB coursework, especially in IB science and math classes. Greta shared that “IB really challenges the way that I think. Through my coursework, research, and discussions, I’m able to see many different perspectives. I’ve learned to look beyond my initial thoughts and examine the facts for what they really prove. ” Balancing soccer, volunteering and her academics can be challenging, but Greta has found ways to make it all work. Creativity, Activity and Service (CAS), one of the core elements of the IB curriculum, has helped her integrate all of her activities and interests into her coursework. CAS, specifically, is aimed at goal setting, perseverance and recognizing connections between studies and daily life. “CAS has really pushed me out of my comfort zone, and it has been a way for me to track my progress throughout the year. I was able to set goals for myself in soccer for leadership, mindset, and individual statistics. It really helped me to focus on the positives and track all the good that I am able to do on a daily basis.” This past spring, Greta participated in the Theory of Knowledge Exhibition, a required element for the IB Diploma which asks students to identify how they see questions of knowledge interacting in the world around them. Like all other IB lessons and assessments, the TOK Exhibition allows students to incorporate their own interests and experiences, giving them real ownership of their learning. It is this element of IB that Greta loves the most. “I really enjoy the freedom IB gives me to tailor my assignments around my passions.” In the Exhibition, Greta focused her work around women, sports, education and the corporate world, areas that she hopes to study more deeply in college. “I want to find a school that fits me academically, and if I can play soccer there too, well, that’d be the best case scenario.” Greta plays forward for the Sharks Varsity Soccer Team. Greta at the TOK Exhibition where she explored the question “what constraints are there on the pursuit of knowledge?” Greta works in the chemistry lab gathering data for her independent science research project on the rate which temperature affects the dissolution of an iron pill in the stomach.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTcyNDA=