Being an IB School in 2022 means being “Future Ready”Olli-Pekka Heinonen, Director General of the International Baccalaureate (IB) recently published a paper, “Past, present, future: the IB is a leading edge in a changing world”, in the Spring 2022 edition of the International Schools Journal. The article is available at the ibo.org website – and below are excerpts that inspire us as we prepare for the new school year.
On the challenges ahead:“…we are experiencing an era of change or even a change of era. The challenges that we face today, although in many ways different from those confronted by the founders of the IB 54 years ago, have renewed our passion and sparked courage to create a better world through education. For students to thrive and make a difference, we are called to engage in open, forthright conversations about what we teach and how we teach it; how we can help our students become the agents of change we so desperately need. It is never easy, but I believe the IB is uniquely placed to empower the next generation of students with the confidence – and the agency – to make a significant impact on the world they are to inherit. So, what is the role of the IB in 2022? How do we help today’s world as it faces its own unique challenges and uncertainties? The IB’s founders would not have wanted us to stand still in the face of this opportunity, but instead to evolve, and turn the COVID-19 crisis into a chance to renew and refresh their vision. Certainly, the challenges confronting us today are different in nature from those that came before. They are more complex, more global, and more multifaceted. They demand that we think differently. Take for example the climate emergency. It is conventional to think that it is problem for scientists to conquer – and that we should support and fund them in this endeavour. Although we do need scientists, to overcome the enormous challenge of global warming we also need social scientists, behaviourists, communicators, and business experts to all work together.”
On student wellbeing:“…it should come as no surprise that anxiety among young people around the world has rocketed in the two years since the pandemic began – but it was already soaring. As adults, we have experienced many difficulties and understand that, in time, the COVID-19 pandemic will pass. But, for our youth these uncertain times are notably unsettling as they struggle to navigate the school system. Will schools stay open? Will my teacher be well enough to come to class? Will I be mandated to wear facemasks in the corridors? Will the protective bubble around my school day burst? Will I be able to master enough of the curriculum to succeed in my exams? Will there even be exams? The issue of school wellbeing is now at the top of the agenda. We are talking more and more about the need to depressurise schooling; to think about the whole student, and the whole school community, not just curriculum models and exams.”
On student agency:“…what it is we want young people to take away from time spent engaging with the IB? The answer I keep coming back to is agency. Education is not only about what knowledge, skills, values and attitudes students should get, but also learning to value what the world is asking from each one of us. If humanity is to survive the climate crisis, if it is to thrive in a digital world … and be more inclusive and more progressive, then we will need students to think critically, to look for solutions, and take on these challenges. And we will need inspiring teachers who are with them each step of the way. Agency is central in creating conditions for young people to flourish, as individuals, but also as communities taking into consideration the planetary wellbeing and flourishing of future generations.”
Olli-Pekka Heinonen started his tenure as the eighth Director General of the International Baccalaureate (IB) in May 2021. Previously he served as the Director General of the Finnish National Agency for Education and, prior to that he held various positions in the Finnish Government, including State Secretary 2012–2016 and Minister of Education and Science 1994–1999. He graduated with a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from the University of Helsinki in 1990. In May 2022, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Faculty of Education at the University of Turku, Finland in recognition of his outstanding contribution to education.