By Stephen Spahn, Chancellor of Dwight School
Today, education requires a broad vision of what it means to be a "well-educated person." We must move beyond labels and soundbites and transcend terminology such as progressive, inquiry based, competency based, transdisciplinary, real-world, liberal arts, and career education.
The International Baccalaureate embraces all of these pedagogical shibboleths. It was created to transcend barriers, boundaries, and labels. The IB vision is to prepare students to thrive and prosper anywhere in the world and to participate in solving local, national, and global challenges in innovative ways.
It is our obligation to provide students with vigorous academic preparation paired with character development, communication, critical thinking, civic engagement, and leadership skills ― and opportunities to apply them within and outside of the classroom. This requires going on an open-minded and open-hearted journey that begins with the individual talents and passions that a student brings to each class. If one label or soundbite is to be applied, it would be "to ignite and nurture the spark of genius in every child."
Chancellor Stephen Spahn is the longest-serving head of school in New York City. Dwight School is a founding International Baccalaureate Prek-12 school in the United States and the first to offer the comprehensive IB curriculum in the Americas.
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