Around 100 students in the class of 2012 are in a choke hold.
They are held down by an unquantifiable amount of course work and have little time to catch their breath between this and extracurricular activities. These students are the ones who have decided to defeat the monster that is the IB diploma.
They knew what they were getting themselves into when they made the choice, taking on a challenging agenda of IB course work, an extended essay and “Creativity Action and Service” hours.
Though the IB diploma is the most academically prestigious route one can take as a student at Marshall, there are flaws in the program that have manifested themselves throughout the process.
A main complaint that has been discussed at length by IB diploma candidates, either during Theory of Knowledge sessions or with IB coordinators, is in regards to CAS hours and the rule that religious activity is not valid for the service portion of CAS.
IBO clearly states in its outline of CAS that “the general rule is that religious devotion, and any activity that can be interpreted as proselytizing, does not count as CAS.”
This needs to be determined on a situational basis. Going around door to door trying to sell bibles should not be considered as service but being a classroom aid in Sunday school should. Here’s why.
The CAS guide describes service as “an unpaid and voluntary exchange that has a learning benefit for the student.” Along with this, students must be able to “evaluate the understanding and insights acquired.”
However, volunteering in a Sunday school setting does meet these needs. It fulfills the majority of, if not all of, the targeted learning outcomes the IB program says CAS hours must incorporate.
IBO supports the decision to disallow religious activity to work towards CAS by stating that it can “only partially meet the aims and learning outcomes of CAS, so there would need to be evidence from students’ other activities that all the required outcomes had been met.”
Shouldn’t this mean that that as long as there is proof from other activities that the required outcomes are met, religious activity should be allowed? Service done by the student should incorporate a variety of communities in need, but in the end, what’s important to IBO is how the student benefitted from the experience.
What’s the issue then if some of this service is performed in a religious community?
2011-10-19