The HL Option: planning and execution

September 18, 2013

Many IB schools tend to focus on the HL option in the first year of the IB program for a number of reasons.  For those doing Route 2 one reason is that the HL Options begin around 1750, rather than 1900 (starting point for the 20th century core).  Another reason is...

General Curricular and Assessment Requirements for IB History

August 16, 2013

Many of us in the northern hemisphere are gearing up for a new school year so I thought that it might be a good idea to offer a refresher and overview of what is required in IB History.  All of this is readily available in the History Guide but there are so many...

The Immaculate Reception: December 23, 1972

December 22, 2012

There are still teachers diligently working away in China, for example, but there is some form of holiday for most of us. December 23rd is the 40th anniversary of the most famous mystery in US sports history. Let me set the scene for you: In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,...

Downfall parodies the IB

November 6, 2012

If you type “Hitler fails IB math” you come to one of the most clever parodies of both the IB student and the movie Downfall.  In it, Hitler receives his IB results, clears the room of all but his closest associates and ruminates over his poor...

50th anniversary of the beginning of the Cuban Missile Crisis

October 16, 2012

This is an auspicous date in history as it reflects the beginning of the crisis that is, to the best of our knowledge, the closest that the superpowers ever came to nuclear confrontation. In the United States, the John F. Kennedy Junior library has created a video...

ToK and History

October 6, 2012

At this point in time I think it’s a good reminder that we are supposed to spend 2 hours on how Theory of Knowledge is addressed and explained in our history classes. I find that there is the easy, simply daily support of using ToK terminology and reminding...