Survive the IB!: 2011 Edition Paperback – June 15, 2011

4-star book for the reader who is in the process of investigating IB to decide whether or not the program would be a good fit. Most of the material in this book is pretty much lifted directly from the IB website, but the convenience of having key points compiled in one place makes it worth buying--especially if you'd rather not click through a ton of links on a website. You'll find a decent explanation of how IB works, along with course descriptions.2-star book for the reader who is already a student of IB and is looking for ways to cope. Save your precious time and put it toward getting homework done or working on your EE. Most of the info you'll find here is common sense that's been cobbled together from other sources. You'd be better off asking your parents, guidance counselor, or IB coordinator for help.For parents who are considering the IB diploma for their child, please let me give you some food for thought. Since this book doesn't directly speak to the IB organizations's claim that it "is designed to address the intellectual, social, emotional and physical well-being of students," the fact is that your child will experience quite the opposite. Case in point--this is how the author (an IB diploma graduate) describes the EE: "...an Extended Essay is a simplified version of the PhD thesis." And that's just the EE--which is an independent project on top of the daily course load and 150 hours of CAS.IB students have no time for a social or athletic life because they face an insane and inhumane course workload that will keep them chained to their desks at school and at home for nearly every waking moment. Students can expect between 4-8 hours (with an average of 6 hours) of homework a night, 7 days a week--including school vacations. They will be lucky if they can routinely get 6 hours of sleep a night. As for their emotional well-being, the stress they will experience will likely be off the charts. If you care about your child's mental health and overall well-being, please re-read this paragraph and take it to heart. Unless you have an incredibly laid back child who really doesn't care about grades, I can't recommend the diploma programme. I can heartily endorse taking a couple of IB classes.If your child (or you) care about GPAs, class rank, honor rolls, playing varsity sports, having time for extracurricular activities or are counting on scholarship funding, stay away from the full diploma. Again, consider just taking a couple of IB courses instead. Also, if your child is on a heavy science/math/engineering track s/he will be better off going the AP route. Not enough engineering and tech schools recognize IB yet.

My daughter requested this book to use in her new assignment teaching the IB class, and she is pleased with it.