In this reflection, I will target my organization, work style & work ethic and growth strategies but also my academic achievements.
To many of us moving from MYP to the “IB” haunted many of us, scared many of us.... But to me, I always thought to myself how hard could it actually be? And if millions of people around the world have graduated already we can do it too. And yes, I may not have graduated yet. But in a year I will be, and to be completely honest I feel like my work ethic and my approaches to learning are major contributors to what I would consider being a successful IB student.
Firstly, my organization skills have not always been the best. However, by noticing the problem early last year midway through year 11 I decided to find a strategy to make sure that I get all my work on time and don’t procrastinate. This was done by using an app called “wunderlist” which allows me to put all the tasks and works that are coming up which include homework but also assessments. By putting assessments beforehand reduced the chances of me procrastinating. Additionally, having a visual way to see what I need to get done and what I have done so far has helped me to become more organized.
I strongly believe that it is more important to have 8 hours of sleep than to finish an assessment the night before. This may seem crazy to many, but this is my logic and reasoning behind it. Which is what I believe to have had the most impact on my work ethic. At the start of year 11, I would be sleeping less than 8 hours each night, sometimes 4 hours sometimes 6. I was never consistent with the time I would go to bed. As a result, I was sleeping in class, falling behind, having more work to do at home, physically and mentally I would be drained. But after the first semester, I set myself a goal to get at least 8 hours every night and see how that would impact my learning and overall being. From having a few “E’s” effort and getting primarily 5’s and 6’s I was able to transform to a new more efficient person. I believe that as a result of getting 8 hours of sleep every night, I was able to work hard in school which was how I got all E’s for all my subjects at the end of year 11. My grades improved, I went from a 45/56 to a 53/56 for year 11. Since then, I was able to see the importance of sleep; as when I get at least 8 hours of sleep I am so much more efficient in school. Always eager to learn in class, and instead of revising as much at home I contribute to my maximum potential in class. Which results in me having to spend less time at home to do work as I would be done with most of my work from doing it in class anyway.
Since then, I am in currently in the third quarter of year 12 I have not slept later than 10:30 the whole school year regardless what work I have due the next day (as I hardly procrastinate anymore). Many people think it’s crazy how much I value my 8 hours of sleep, but I believe there is a strong correlation with sleep, work ethic and thus not being only academically successful but also being physically and mentally healthy. Currently, I still have straight “Excellent” effort for all my classes and a growth mindset which I have been developing since year 11 and will still develop.
Moreover, evidence of my growth mindset is through the development of my understanding and ability in English. At the start of year 11, I really despised English. I was never into reading whatsoever and didn’t bother much to try understand poems cause bluntly I thought English was not as important as it actually is.
However, after researching about jobs and different skills required to be a specific profession, I saw how important proficiency in both the ability to read and write was in the field of both economics and business. After realizing that I was wrong for doubting the importance of English, I slowly tweaked and changed my mindset. So instead, of not reading any sort of book at all because I was scared to understand it (for instance the MacBeth play), I worked harder to make an effort to read it before class, come to class and discuss, but then after class ask Ms.Vivian any questions I had left. Since then, I started to enjoy the play of MacBeth as I was able to understand more and more each time I kept rereading and doing all my work; sometimes even extra work. I continued with a growth mindset and started to seea development in my understanding which helped me develop my grades. At the start of year 11, I was on a 4 overall in English. But after changing my mindset, I started to enjoy reading a little more and I was able to ‘legitimately” read my first book called “The Book Thief” where I reread each part I didn’t understand as many times as needed to ensure I understood the book as well as I could. Long story, short, Since year 11, the work ethic I developed specifically for English as English is a subject I struggle the most with has benefited me. I started from a 4 in first semester year 11, then a 5 in second semester year 11 but now I’m currently on a 6 in year 12 English; which I expect and hope to maintain.
I have also shown excellent development in not only my higher level subjects such as economics but also my standard levels such as in Spanish and Maths. With economics, everything was new to me, I didn’t know what each paper required and how to approach them. In my first paper 3, I got around a 16/25 which was fairly bad as I put a lot of effort into it. However, looking over my paper and finding mistakes such as not putting titles on graphs and using currencies I was able to improve slightly on my next paper 3, which I got a 18/25. I was happy there was small improvement however I knew I could be doing better so instead I changed my studying style. Instead of practicing a few questions and skimming through them, I decided before my semester 1 exams I will do practice questions and if I make any mistake I will keep repeating it until I have learnt from my mistake. And BOOM a solid 100% on my paper 3 on my first semester exam. Similar development is evident from my paper 1s, as I started with a low 6, to a medium 6 then a low 7 for my semester exams. What I had to work on the most was ensuring I had a good example which I could use to evaluate throughout my answer, but also my structure in the first paper was very poor which affected my chain of analysis. However, I worked on my structure which has allowed me to get a 7 on my first semester exam but there is still room for improvement. Other than my development, something I am very proud of is my ability to maintain high standards in every subject but specifically for business as I am currently averaging at 87% and above which is a high 7. And what I hope to continue to maintain and hopefully even increase to get as many marks as possible. Additionally, with my design project (where I reinvent a "street cart" ) is also another piece of evidence to demonstrate that I am excelling in with an average grade of 8/9 for my course work. Where, evidence of my project is shown below:
Currently, my grades are quite good (semester 2 overall 38/42) without additionally points for TOK/EE, which is why I believe my work ethic and my academic achievements demonstrate advanced academics. Just to add on, I also ensure a balanced life as many students do complain about work overload however I believe that I still have a considerable amount of time everyday to relax, go the gym and occasionally play games as well; whilst also being a part of two service groups where I am a co-leader in one of them!
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