Elisabeth Palacios

The International Baccalaureate program here at McCaskey is a highly revered one, and new classes are often being introduced, such as last year’s IB Marine Science course that will be back in rotation next school year. This year, it’s IB English A: Language and Literature. 

This is only a one year course, so there is no higher level course to accompany it like the IB Language SL and HL classes. It’s great for students who are not planning to do the IB Diploma but still want to challenge themselves. 

Carol Lee Pyfer is the teacher in charge of the class this year, with a long history at McCaskey: from teaching theater to various media and english classes to the past IB Film class, this class combines everything she knows (and is passionate about) into one. 

So, if you aren’t interested in doing the IB Diploma… why not just take AP classes?

AP classes are great to take in tandem with IB courses, but the reason that both should be taken is because IB takes a more in-depth approach to learning a subject, and feels much more like a college course, whereas AP classes are more about learning a higher amount of material at a faster pace. They are still great, but are more about memorization of a lot of information than learning how to learn. 

The IB Certificate is offered at McCaskey as well, which is awarded to students who score a 4 or higher (out of 7) on the end-of-the-year IB exams. Similar to AP, a high IB exam score can be transferred as a college credit after graduation. 

IB Lang. and Lit. is not a typical english class. Besides the added rigor of an IB class, it takes on multiple formats of literature, both written and non-written. This means that not only are books and short stories read throughout the year–but theatrical plays are read, movies are watched, and advertisements are studied. Some of these forms are briefly examined in other English classes, but in this IB class, they are a significant part of the curriculum. 

In fact, the non-literary elements are what Mrs. Pyfer is most excited to teach this year. She notes that it’s a great reason to take this course, because “it helps to facilitate students to think in a way that will be authentic for their future.” This couldn’t be more true; non-literary forms of literature are such an integral part of society, and it is important to be able truly understand them past the surface level. Especially in the current state of the world, it is very important to be able to decipher what the media is trying to tell its audience. 

Mrs. Pyfer not only recommends this IB class, but other ones as well, because of the unique curriculums they each offer that reward trial and error. “We learn the most through failure, you know. And not all failure has to be detrimental… we can learn the most when challenging ourselves.” These classes come with a certain prestige and they can definitely be stressful, but that does not need to be a deterrent to taking them. McCaskey is the only high school in Lancaster County that offers the opportunity of the full IB experience–or a bit less if necessary; take it!