IB Alumni Share Advice on How to Choose Your IB Subjects
And the full interview of two recent IB Diploma graduates who are talking about how they went about choosing their IB subjects is now out!!!
Anyone whose worked with George Papasotiriou and George Tsalas knows that they are GREAT role models for future IB Diploma generations. One of the things I love about George Tsalas and George Papasotiriou is how they never let their ambitious academic goals (both achieved over 40 IB Diploma points) get in the way of treating the people who were rooting for them and supporting them, with the utmost respect and appreciation. They weren’t just ‘takers’, focused on ‘taking’ all the knowledge and time they could from their teachers or community without any regard for the needs of the people they were working with; they were also incredibly kind, compassionate, considerate and more than happy to “give back”, or pass on, any knowledge they had gained with peers and their community. Their experience as IB Diploma students shows that (though rare) it CAN be possible to demonstrate empathy and considerations of the human needs of their peers and the professionals with whom they are working, while still getting over 40 IB points.
This is a combination of characteristics that is often lacking in IBDP graduates who manage to get over 40 IB points.
If you haven’t done so already, make sure to watch my video where I interview a Senior EU Diplomat about his concerns regarding the increasing trend, over the last 10 years, of IB Diploma graduates applying for future jobs in the EU diplomatic service who got over 40 IBDP Points. In his experience, a clear correlation has been noticed between how close IBDP graduates are to getting full marks in their IB Diploma, and a lack of empathy and social skills – a lack of interest in ‘giving back’ to their community.
Yet, as for every rule, there are exceptions. George Tsalas and George Papasotiriou are certainly among those exceptions.
Giving up time to plan and film this video with me is just one of many example of how they embed ‘giving back’ to the people they interact with, and to world, into their daily lives. In this video, they share their personal advice and knowledge that they gained from their experience of doing the IBDP, for the benefit of future generations of IB Diploma students all over the world.
I’d also like to add how happy I am to have had George Tsalas and George Papasotiriou as my guests on my Youtube channel, because these young men represent (for me) what it truly means to be ‘Greek’; Greeks are people who value both quality work and humanity.
These values can easily be seen in the way “The Two Georges” live their lives, and in the way they interact with the world around them on a day-to-day basis. After teaching both for 4 years straight in high school (and observing as them approached new challenges with determination, teamwork – and a great sense of humor!), I can confidently say that future employers will be lucky to have them in their business/organization.
If you’re a student, I hope you enjoy this video and you find it helpful for your studies.
If you’re an IB teacher, I hope you find it useful as a resource for helping look after the pastoral needs of your schools’ IB students.
Take care,
Ms Vardaki
P.S. Know someone who’s worrying about what subjects to take for their IB Diploma? Or someone who’s just keen to get a head-start in thinking about what subjects they could take in the IB? Why not help them out and share this video? #sharingiscaring
