Need some advice? Write to us!

You could be better at thinking in daily life, here's how | Think

Welcome to another article of our blog! Today, I bear exciting news: the launch of our brand new advice column... 

Here, you will find that no question is too dumb or embarrassing for us IB students to answer. Whether your queries are about IB in general, workloads or how to draw the best out of every class, we’re here to help!

Simply email us at amyandross.parkside@gmail.com and we’ll get back to you ASAP! All queries may be anonymous if you wish.

 

Today, Ross will be answering this query from a concerned prospective student on balancing a social life with school after secondary school.


"Dear Ross,

I heard about your blog through an older friend that does the IB and although I’m wouldn’t describe myself as academic, I enjoy reading your tips on revision.

My main question is how about managing to stay in contact with friends after you leave secondary school and move on to different schools. I’m considering studying philosophy, psychology and BTEC Sport at A-levels but my best friend is leaning towards the IB and completely different subjects. I’m worried that our friendship may not survive our sixth form years. What would you suggest I do to ensure this doesn’t happen?

Also if the IB is really as difficult as you make it out to be, how can I support my best friend? I don’t want to sound unsupportive and yell ‘it was your own choice’ whenever they’re stressed out. My older friend studying the IB said that he had a problem with his friends when they would be okay with complaining about their workload but he never felt comfortable discussing his own issues. I don’t want my best friend to feel uncomfortable. What would you do if you were in my shoes?

Thank you for reading this.

Have a nice day,

Sk8terboi"

 

Dear Sk8terboi,

Thank you for your query, it is sure to help many others in the future. I too have had some concerns about the consequences of going to different schools and its strain on certain friendships. What I did was accept that some friendships wouldn’t make it because a friendship needs to be 50/50 and there was no point in me putting in all the work only to have someone write monosyllabic replies to messages or not even reply at all!

However, some of my friends and I cycle to school together one or two mornings a week- despite all of us attending different schools. It’s been really nice to catch up with them even if it’s only for 10-20 minutes a week. I would also recommend seeing where you can make time for each other because if time isn’t made, it’ll vanish like

its scent wasn’t even there. If you’re both willing to make time for one another, you might find your friendship even strengthens over your time at sixth form!

About support, I wish I was asked this question more. Every IB student is under immense pressure and I might sound a tad biased but I am also aware that A-level students get stressed out and I’m not ignoring that.

On the other hand, IB students have Tok, CAS hours and reflections, the main CAS project and the EE and that’s only the core. My main advice is don’t make your workload sound bigger than theirs. If they ask if you have any summer work, please don’t talk about the long withstanding prestige of your sixth form or how it’s known for overworking its students. Speak of your troubles but don’t finish the conversation there! Ask them how they’re doing and when they speak of the core of the IB, try not to compare and contrast to your own A-levels core. Your friendship will be fine as long as you both continue to support one another through all your moments of stress.

I hope this helps!

Kind regards,

Ross

 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Making Progress

Image
"If you believe it will work out, you'll see opportunities. If you don't believe it'll work out, you'll see obstacles." ~ Wayne Dyer   Overcoming insecurity is not about convincing everyone around you that you have no weaknesses or faults. Just as being brave doesn't mean you're not afraid - it means you do something despite your fear. To become confident in yourself, you must first be self aware. You must know both your strengths and weaknesses, otherwise you'll either be stuck and held back or desend into plain arrogance.  The first hurdle is to believe that you are capable of reaching your goals. That you can become like those you admire. You go from there. We all fall back into past patterns of disbelief, but with each fall we should get back up - we won't fall so easily the next time. Step out of your comfort zone. Personally, I used to be terribly timid and greatly looked-up do those who were so effortlessly outspoken and
Read more

The Devil in Disguise: Multitasking

Image
  In this article, Amy (2nd year SL psychology student) explores the myth of multitasking and how to become more productive !    Student life can become extraordinarily busy: with classes, homework and extracurriculars needing more time than there are hours in the day - thank goodness for multitasking, right? The skill of being able to perform more than one task at the same time (Mirriam-Webster online dictionary definition of multitasking) is often seen in a positive light as a way to be more productive and efficient by juggling multiple activities at the same time. But as research has shown that multitasking can be detrimental to our concentration and output quality, is it worth it? It is relatively common among students to watch or listen to something while doing work or studying, but Cynthia Kubu, who has a PhD in neuropsychology, says that instead of being the multitasking martyrs that we think we are, we are in actuality “doing individual tasks actions in rapid succession, or ta
Read more

Welcome to our Blog!

Image
Hello and welcome to our blog!  We are a trio of Year 12 Cambridge IB students here to give the tips and tric ks of the trade!  Between us, we study: art, biology, chemistry, economics, English (literature), history, French, German, maths, physics, psychology, Russian, and Spanish. Along with an insight into the IB and our experience, we hope to support students both already doing the IB or considering choosing this path after secondary school with a variety of articles and interviews with both students and teachers every week. Our next post will be up on Saturday, with tips on managing exam stress. 👀📚 Over the next few weeks, you can expect posts about: motivation and maintaining academic momentum why we chose the IB news on the IB globally how we stay organised is it important to come from an international background when doing the IB?
Read more