Everyone at Marshall knows about International Baccalaureate. Everyone at Marshall is encouraged to take IB classes—and honors classes at Marshall are preparation for IB’s workload and demands.
IB diploma candidates only make up about a quarter each of the junior and senior classes. Students who take mostly IB classes are less than half. Yet most of the resources and support that students are offered are geared toward the IB program and the students who take its classes.
When my sister comes to Marshall next year, she won’t be planning on taking many IB classes, and I get the sense that a lot of what made Marshall special for me isn’t going to be available to her because of that choice.
The disparity between IB kids and non-IB kids is growing. Even on this newspaper, most of what we cover is based around the IB kids, IB events and exams and the like. Intentionally or not, they are the focus of the school, and the image they present isn’t really representative of Marshall.
Academic honor societies are primarily composed of IB students, and events like the senior art show are exclusive to IB students. For those for whom IB is a bad fit, or whose schedules prevent them from devoting to school the time an IB workload requires, there is no other pathway to be a part of the community that their peers have.