“Do we really have to remember all of this?”
Fellow students in the IB History class kept asking the question as they filled in a map of the Middle East. They had started learning about the Arab – Israeli conflict, and one of the standards for the unit was demonstrating understanding of Middle East geography. As an assessment at the end of the unit, they would have to label a blank map of the Middle East.
Nothing too difficult, though. The students may have thought otherwise; many seemed overwhelmed by the list of foreign countries, geographical areas and bodies of water. This is in no way an insult towards the students. In a country where geography is not taught as a separate subject, and in many cases, not taught at all, it is easy to see why students have such a hard time grasping it.
There are steps being taken to resolve this issue, albeit indirectly. Recently, IB coordinators Matthew Axelrod and Carlota Shewchuk discussed the possibility of introducing IB Geography as a ‘Group 3’ elective.
“I think that if it does become a class, it would not be next year,” Axelrod said. Noting that Economics and Personal Financing will become a required high school course, Axelrod suspects that the sections of IB Economics, which covers the credit, will increase. Thus, with anticipated additions to the social studies department, Axelrod assures that there is “no set plan” yet.
So while IB Geography’s debut is not absolute, it is still in the workings. If it were implemented, it would at least be a step in the right direction. It may even lead to a heavier emphasis on geography in non-IB social studies classes; after all, the Economics and Personal Financing class came after IB Economics was introduced.
In that sense, IB Geography ought to be adopted as a class. If it means less complaining about a subject as basic as geography, it is worth it.