On Sept. 22, International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma candidate students fill the Bonita Vista High (BVH) gymnasium from the beginning of the school day at 8:30 am, to the end of fourth period at 1:30 pm to complete their Theory of Knowledge (ToK) exhibition. This is a requirement every year for seniors in the IB Diploma program. The exhibition in the gym ended with a lunch among all IB student participants, ToK teachers and IB coordinator Jared Phelps.
“The lunchtime was intended for students to get a chance to sit and talk to one another, even interact with students from other schools. They will be meeting, talking about this event and having some bonding time together,” Phelps said.
Phelps scheduled this bonding time after an exhibition that includes two interactive 45 minute presentation sessions. These sessions involved senior IB Diploma students from three IB World schools in the San Diego area: BVH, Castle Park High and Granite Hills High. According to ToK and IB English teacher Jason Good, this is the first year the ToK exhibition has expanded to this level.
“We have done [these IB] presentations for the last couple of years, but with the seniors of this class, this is the first year where it has been this big. It is the first year we have invited other schools to do it as well,” Good said.
The seniors began their preparations for the presentation in their second semester of junior year and worked to complete this project up until the exhibition. All senior diploma candidates from the three invited schools were split into two separate sessions. The first session presented to the second session of senior presenters and IB diploma junior candidates. This allows the juniors to understand the presenters’ thought process behind each item representing their prompt.
“The seniors get a chance to present to other senior and junior candidates, as well as the teachers from other schools. At the same time, the juniors get a chance to see this process authentically from the beginning, as opposed to just seeing it as something that they are worrying about in the future. So there is a lot of benefit for everyone,” Phelps said.
The students chose one of 30 prompts and worked to answer them by bringing together three real world objects that have personal significance to them. IB Diploma Candidate and senior Andrea Amador presented a rosary, family photos in a picture frame and a Tiffany necklace to answer her chosen prompt “How does culture relate to knowledge?”.
“I brought three artifacts that I thought expressed my culture very well that I can talk about for a long time. [Bringing these objects] is my personal interpretation on the cultural shift, cultural taboo and the knowledge that I have been brought up with has been used as a filter of how I filter my culture,” Amador said.
Throughout her presentation, Amador noticed many students showing interest in her prompt answer and seemed to understand this deeper sense of identity. Amador explains the opportunity the IB seniors presentations offer to its viewers.
“I think [my prompt] gives [the IB students] a different perspective. It can have a shift on their opinion on how we share a piece of culture, [and] how they perceive their culture. They can take the answer to my question and apply it to their own lives,”Amador said.
The presentations have allowed IB Diploma students like senior Manuel Jurado to reflect on themselves and understand the number of stories that surround their personal history. Jurado showcased a piano, a physical copy of the movie Under the Same Moon and a LEGO Saturn V rocket model to answer his prompt, “Does certain knowledge belong to certain community members?”
“I am deeply involved in music, the physical copy of the movie under the same moon means a lot to me in the sense that I come from an immigrant family background […]. There is this idea I am exploring that ineffable experiences relate a lot to certain knowledge belonging to certain people,” Jurado said.
Good mentions how an exhibition like this can give students like Jurado, a new skill set that will benefit them outside of school. It develops students’ skills in being able to develop an idea on the spot, allowing more long term advantages to this exhibition.
“This would be really beneficial for anyone who is trying to get into a career where you have to network with a bunch of people. The beautiful part is [students have] written their ideas out but if they have an idea on the spot, they can share it and can add that to it,” Good said.
The presentations allowed students to present items that are connected and significant to them. This allows the students to be more engaged in the assignment as they create a personal connection. Since many schools do not offer the IB program, this type of exhibition provides students participating, a unique experience setting them apart from other students.
“My presentation is something I have really enjoyed doing because it lets me explore different areas of my future, which is very important to preserve and have. I really enjoyed it and think [ToK is] a great class. It is a very unique experience that not a lot of high schools and students get to experience,” Amador said.
As it is the first year the IB program is doing this type of exhibition, Phelps and Good look forward to continuing it in future years. They have find it to be more beneficial than the previous ways it has gone in past years.
“We knew even before we did this [exhibition] that it was going to be a really good and successful day. [When] talking to the other teachers, all of us are [saying how] this is way better than we thought it was going t be. We are so happy with this,” Phelps said.
