<p>My daughter and I always joked that IB stood for Irritable Bowel - for her and for me!</p>
<p>Yes, it was a PITA. Yes, it was a lot of work. I remember very well when her friends started dropping like flies out of the program and I became the evil ogre who wouldn't let her bail, like the kinder, gentler parents of her friends. Every Thursday night she became convinced that all the kids in the program were smarter than she was (this was BS). I knew that she could do it. She is interested in languages and travel and I thought IB was a good fit for her, and no one ever said school was supposed to be easy. Something that you work for is always more precious than something that comes easily.</p>
<p>Bottom line is that she is very glad that she persevered and she is proud of her diploma. She did very well on the tests. I am 100% confident that she will do well in college because of the preparation IB gave her.</p>
<p>Let's face it, there's a lot of cachet to an IB diploma and to the school that offers the program. It's just the way it is.</p>
<p>(I know it's a little late, but better now than never, eh?)</p>
<p>As an IB student, I can honestly say the "IB Bubble" is nonexistant at my school. The only real difference between the IB kids and the non-IB kids is the classes they're taking. Maybe I just have a really lucky high school, but I think the "bubble" myth is just something perpetuated by teen movies. There are no cliques, the football players don't shove kids in lockers. The cheerleaders aren't the most popular girls in the school. And the IB kids and the AP kids and the Honors kids and the regular kids all hang out together.</p>
<p>And as far as the rigor of the classwork, PIB (freshman and sophomore years) is a joke. I can't really say that I learned much of anything, except in French and Math, where I'm ahead a year, until this, my Junior year. And, at the risk of receiving comments about my insensitivity, I have no real sympathy for the suicidal and stressed-out kids. IB is as difficult as you make it. If they're depressed because of the coursework, its their own faults.</p>