IB Philosophy - Pulaski International School of Chicago

International Baccalaureate Philosophy

Pulaski International School of Chicago is an authorized International Baccalaureate (IB) Primary Years Programme (PYP) and Middle Years Programme (MYP) IB World School.

IB World Schools share a common philosophy—a commitment to improve the teaching and learning of a diverse and inclusive community of students by delivering challenging, high quality programs of international education that share a powerful vision.

Pulaski Mission Statement

Pulaski is a caring community that provides a culture of collaboration, intellectual rigor, civic consciousness, and holistic growth, while embracing the mother tongue and fostering second language acquisition. We are committed to student-centered learning, enhanced by the process of inquiry, action, and reflection with the goal of developing innovative global citizens.

What is the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO)?

It is a non‐profit educational foundation established in 1968 in Geneva, Switzerland. The IBO offers three programmes of international education for students aged 3‐19 years old:

The Diploma Programme at the high school level for grades 9‐12.
The Middle Years Programme (MYP) for students 11‐16 years old.
The Primary Years Programme (PYP) for students 3-12 years old.

Currently there are 651,000 IB students and 2,390 authorized schools in 129 countries.

The IBO provides curriculum and assessment development, teacher education, information sessions, electronic networking and other educational services to IB schools.

International Mindededness

Citizens who are responsible, active participants in the world in relation to culture, language and learning to live together. Pulaski International School of Chicago provides students with rich opportunities to learn about world issues and to get involved in activities that encourage responsible citizenship. Students at IB schools display the characteristics of the learner profile shown below. The attributes of the learner profile express the values inherent to the IB continuum of international education and is infused in all three IB programmes. The learner profile inspires, motivates and focuses the work of schools and teachers and unites them in a common purpose: recognizing a universal humanity and shared guardianship of the planet and helping to create a better and more peaceful world. At Pulaski the learning environment fosters students as they learn to be:

Thinkers
Communicators
Risk-takers
Knowledgeable
Principled
Caring
Open-minded
Balanced
Reflective

Best Practices

Differentiated and educational materials and diversified approaches based on scientific research is recognized in schools worldwide as being most effective in meeting the needs of students from a varied range of backgrounds and abilities. Additionally, assessment is integral to all teaching and learning. How will we know what we have learned?

The assessed curriculum provides appropriate forms of assessment and benchmarking to make informed, data-driven instructional decisions that are engaging, challenging and significant within the framework for international education.

Inquiry

interest and curiosity about the world. The integrated IB curriculum encourages children to actively engage in their learning by questioning, exploring, practicing, manipulating, and responding while moving to a new, deeper level of understanding.

Service-Oriented/Second Language

Students apply their learning through service to others in their school, community, and world. In addition, while receiving support to continue developing their home language, all IB students are instructed in an additional language different from their home language in order to deepen their awareness of, and appreciation for, other cultures. At Pulaski all students deepen their international-mindedness by learning Spanish as a second language. Spanish instruction is part of the curriculum beginning in kindergarten and continuing through eighth grade. (Adapted from www.ibo.org)

IB Attitudes

towards people, the environment, and learning. These are the day to day attitudes we use: appreciation, commitment, confidence, cooperation, creativity, curiosity, empathy, enthusiasm, independence, integrity, respect, and tolerance. These IB-PYP Attitudes are meant to be an explicit part of daily learning, modeled by both students and staff. These are woven into daily school life— the classroom, the cafeteria, at recess, etc. Students also reflect on the attitudes during learning experiences and assessments. When reinforced at home, these attitudes become second nature for children.

Appreciation – Appreciating the wonder and beauty of the world and its people.

Commitment – Being committed to their own learning, persevering and showing self-discipline and responsibility.

Confidence – Feeling confident in their ability as learners, having the courage to take risks, applying what they have learned and making appropriate decisions and choices.

Cooperation – Cooperating, collaborating, and leading or following as the situation demands.

Creativity – Being creative and imaginative in their thinking and in their approach to problems and dilemmas.

Curiosity – Being curious about the nature of learning, about the world, its people and cultures.

Empathy – Imagining themselves in another’s situation in order to understand his or her reasoning and emotions, so as to be open-minded and reflective about the perspectives of others.

Enthusiasm – Enjoying learning and willingly putting the effort into the process.

Independence – Thinking and acting independently, making their own judgments based on reasoned argument, and being able to defend their judgmentsIntegrity – Being honest and demonstrating a considered sense of fairness.

Respect – Respecting themselves, others and the world around them.Tolerance – Being sensitive about differences and diversity in the world and being responsive to the needs of others.