Sponsored by Yew Chung International School of Beijing (YCIS Beijing) –YCIS Beijing is has a long history of academic achievement with five educational accreditations and a award from Cambridge International Examinations. YCIS Beijing is registered as a school for children of foreign nationals offering international education for students in kindergarten through to Year 13 and graduation to university. For more information, please email: enquiry@bj.ycef.com
From March 26 – 27, Yew Chung International School of Beijing (YCIS Beijing) was visited by a film crew sent by the International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO) to produce teacher support material for the new IB Global Politics course that will enter the mainstream IB curriculum in the 2015/16 academic year. The purpose of the visit was to interview YCIS Beijing Global Politics teacher Gareth Evans, who was part of the curriculum development team for this dynamic new course. Over the course of the two days, Mr. Evans was filmed providing a step-by-step guide regarding how to teach the course, and delivering two sample lessons. The footage will be used online, and at training workshops to instruct teachers from IB schools that decide to adopt the new Global Politics course.
YCIS Beijing was chosen as one of twelve schools across the globe to pilot the Global Politics course back in 2012, a course that Mr. Evans believes is a necessity for an the IB programme, “This kind of course is important for the IBDP and YCIS Beijing students because it allows students to develop an understanding of the local, national, international and global dimensions of the political activities that affect us all. By grounding the course in real world examples and case studies we take study beyond the purely theoretical and into something directly meaningful. It helps our students develop international mindedness and an awareness of multiple perspectives which are both key features of the YCIS philosophy and objectives, and important skills for them to take into the wider world, as they move on to university and work.”
As the pilot course draws to a conclusion this academic year, several YCIS Beijing students have had the pleasure of being at the forefront of its implementation for the past two years. YCIS Beijing Year 13 student Nathan Drisner believes the course has certainly heightened his cultural awareness: “Politics is people. Through politics, we can go down to an individual level from a large to small scale and the effects key decisions have. I feel that I really understand what is actually important to different cultures.” Bryan Wong is another Year 13 student at YCIS Beijing who has benefitted from studying the course and has become more sensitive and aware of news origins during his time studying Global Politics, “After understanding the key concepts of the course, I understand the world around me more and how decisions are going to impact people in the world. Now, more than ever I can read an article or watch the news and pick up on different backgrounds of issues and media angles.”
The IB Global Politics pilot has been a resounding success at YCIS Beijing and another example of the groundbreaking educational developments the school leads year after year. The course has provided students with a wide array of new and exciting opportunities such as the upcoming planned meetings with the Israeli and Palestinian Embassies in China, and is sure to meet the needs of other international students across the world in the coming years.
On Wednesday, April 15th from 10am – 12pm, YCIS Beijing will hold a Secondary Information Session on the school campus, presented by Secondary Vice-Principal Dr. Nicholas Duggan. If you would like to attend this information session, please RSVP info@bj.ycef.com
Photo: YCIS Beijing
