When I was a soccer coach, I was terrible at giving pep talks. So much so that after we lost a game of 10-0, I just didn’t do the post-game huddle at all, but instead retreated back to the bus in silence.
Well, suffice to say, teaching IB is a lot like coaching in a myriad of ways. It’s basically just coaching them for the IB test. In the case of History, 3 tests to be specific.
As a final “pep talk” for students on the Friday before the exam, I read them to a poem to close out the school year:
‘Twas the Friday before the IB Test, and all through the land
Everybody was studying – Yes even Aidan
It’s been an interesting year to say the very least
And it’s now time to vanquish the IB beast
If you happen to not do well, you can always blame your teacher
The old age and inexperience, just some of his features
But if you happen to do great, you deserve all the credit
So much so that you can post all about it on Reddit
Some activities in this class have largely been a miss
But I would have it with no other group, you’re such good guinea pigs
That IB field trip was very interesting, I wouldn’t call that a park
But at least seeing some firefighters lit you up with a spark
Apartheid and Civil Rights, some of the greatest protests of all time
But it’s no replacement for the best IB students in their prime
20th Century Wars are brutal and rough,
But it’s a good thing that you are all built so tough
The Cold War was a time of tension and stress
Two countries playing the world map like a board of chess
Thank you to Period 3 for the humor and laughs
The forced simulations, the brevity and the gaffes
Thank you to Period 4 for the balancing of fun and work
You’ll do great things in life, you all with your quirks
And though our time together has now come to an end
It’s so sad and tragic. How will my heart ever mend?
I’m sure I’ll bounce back, don’t worry about me.
Till then I hope you all live happily ever after in glee.
Your futures are all bright, and you will achieve much success
I expect nothing more, but I expect nothing less
Afterwards, I gave them students their own individualized IB-Trading Cards, with Spotify backgrounds listed with their favorite song. Attached to each card would be an individualized poem, reminiscent of the poems I used to write my friends every Christmas. Needless to say, it touched their hearts.
In the end, I got quite lucky this year, because many of the essay prompts they ended up receiving on the exam thoroughly matched the ones we prepped for all year! I guess we’ll have to see how they do in July though.
