Best of the Week 2022-2023: Excellence in College Prep

RISING IBDP SENIORS ENGAGE IN "CALL TO LEADERSHIP" SEMINAR

Last week, students in the IB History of the Americas/20th Century World History HL class recorded their Call to Leadership Seminar, a discussion culminating their historical analysis. Within this course, IB students demonstrate a historical understanding of the Americas, including the United States, Canada and Latin America, through a comparative multi-regional analysis of cultural, socioeconomic and political issues. In the second year of the course, students conduct an in-depth study of the causes, practices, and effects of war, independence movements, and an in-depth investigation of Kosovo and Rwanda in the 1990s. Students comprehend, analyze, evaluate, and integrate source material critically as historical evidence through a series of internal and external assessments, including the Call to Leadership Seminar.

The seminar invited students to have a roundtable discussion analyzing the leadership traits that make or break a successful or revered leader. Diving into the decisions made by national leaders from Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy to Trudeau and Diefenbaker, students compared and contrasted these leaders' leadership styles, the impact on their people, and their forward-thinking ability to provide security, innovation, and unification of their country.

"For me, what was most striking about this seminar was how the students facilitated an hour-long, critical discussion of these key historical figures with zero intervention from an adult or teacher," says Dean of Academics and IB Coordinator Nick Kuhar. "It was clear that the students not only had done rigorous research and intellectual prep, but were also emotionally invested in the debate. It's a testament both to the students, and to Mrs. Fairfield, who designs such excellent exercises for her young historians."