The Foreign Service Journal, December 2006

(Continued from page 104) 106 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 6 S CHOOLS S UPPLEMENT creative thought. Without the right teacher, however, it can be a complete waste of time, as I found out. Our TOK teacher was simply not interest- ed in anything anyone had to say, nor did he actually seem to plan any lessons.” Foreign Service families can relax a bit when considering IB World Schools in the Washington area, as most students who’ve attended them report that they are very good. Symington, who attended J.E.B. Stuart High School in Falls Church, Va., felt the IB program there was “a great synthesis of varied disciplines.” And the program is still paying off at Yale: “In a recent ‘Peoples and Cultures of Latin America’ lecture we talked about quilombos (escaped slave communities) in Brazil, which I had learned about in my IB history class.” Additionally, in the D.C. metropol- itan area, if your local high school does not offer the IB diploma, you may be able to attend an IB World School even if it’s not in your school district. Check with your county pub- lic schools authority for more infor- mation. Is the IB for You? Pamela Ward, education and youth officer for State’s Family Liaison Office, feels it is, provided you’re bright and — just as important — motivated. “I have talked with many students who have done the full IB diploma. Most think it has prepared The full diploma is appropriate for bright students who are good writers and highly motivated.