Neri,1

ErikNeri
MsHamby
UWRT1101Section28
October8th,2014
UnificationamongsttheIB

DiscoursecommunitieshavebeenanextremelyinterestingandrelevanttopicEnglish
classeshavebeentryingtoanalyzethemforyearsnow.IhavechosetoobserveistheIB12th
gradeEnglishclassatNorthMecklenburgHighSchool.Thisdiscoursecommunityisvery
diverseinraceandethnicitybuttheyareallapproximatelythesameage.Theyareallintheirlast
yearofhighschoolhowevertheyareallintheInternationalBaccalaureate(IB)Program.TheIB
Programisthemostrigorouspublicschoolacademicprograminthenation,anditstrivesto
buildastrongacademicfoundationwhilealsogivingaheftycommunityservicerequirementto
teachstudentstolivebalancedandprioritizedlives.IwasoncepartofthiscommunityandI
recentlygraduatedfromitthisJune.Ichosetoobservethiscommunitybecauseitwasa
communitythatchangewhoendedupbecomingasastudentandIwanttoseehowmuchithas
changedsinceIleft.IwanttoseeifthereisstillaUnitmentalityamongstthecommunity,
becausewhenIwasstartingoutmyfreshmanyearinIB,IworkedwithmyfellowIBclassmates
todotheassignmentsandtogooutanddocommunityservicetogether.Therewasasenseof
commonunityamongstthegroupfromninthtotwelfthgradebecausewewereaschoolwithina
biggerschool.Nobodyoutsideoftheprogramwouldunderstandthecomplex
assignments/projectswedid,andthereforethatseparatedusfromtherestofthestudentswho

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wereinnormalhonorsprograms.Wehadclasseswiththesamepeopleforallfouryears,and
thatmadeuscloserlikeafamilybecauseweallknewabouteachother.Iwanttoseeifthatsame
UnitMentalityisstillprevalentamongstthesestudents,thementalityofhelpingoneanotherto
getthroughthetoughassignments,exams,projects,presentations,etc.

Methodology
FormyresearchprocessIinterviewedaboybythenameofLuke,whoisinhislastyear
ofhighschool(12thgrade)andlastyearofIB.IinterviewedhiminhislunchtimeonMonday
theOctober6th.Iaskedhimgeneralquestionsabouthowhisyearhasbeen,intermsofschool
work.IalsoaskedhimhowwellhegetsalongwiththepeopleinhisIBclasses,whichhe
respondedwithadifferentanswerthanIhadanticipated.Hefeltverydistantfromhisclassmates
inIBandhefeltasifhewasanoutcastbecausehechosenottogofortheIBdiploma.His
feelingstowardsseveralpeoplewithintheprogramwerenotverypleasant.Hestillhadtodo
mostoftheworkhispeersweredoingbutwasexemptfromdoingafewverybigassignments
thatwerevitaltoreceivingtheIBdiploma,sothereforehewasnotrequiredtocompletethem.I
decidedtoobservethe12thgradeEnglishclassbecausethoseweregenerallythebiggerclasses
andtherewasalwaysplentyofchatteramongstpeers,andthatiswhatIwaslookingtoanalyze
andobserve.
Iwantedtoseewhattheyweretalkingaboutandhowtheyexpressedthemselves.Itook
notesandfocusedonaparticularconversationbetweentwogirlsaboutaparticularassignment
thatwasduethatday,andapparentlyitwassomethingtheyhadbeenworkingonforalongtime.
ThewayItooknoteswasverysimple,IwrotedownimportantbitsofalltheconversationsI

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listenedtointomynotepad,andImostlylistenedtowhatwasbeingsaidallacrossthe
classroom.ItooktheflyonthewallstancebecauseIfeltlikethosesideconversationswould
bemoregenuineratherthanaconversationwithmeinvolved.Iwaslookingforgenuine
interactionamongstpeersintheclassandtakingtheflyonthewallapproachwasthemost
efficientwayofgatheringthemostamountofinformation.Alsothismethoddoeshaveits
limitationsbecausewheneveryoneistalkingatthesametimeitisdifficulttofocusonwhat
peoplearesaying.SowhenIwouldtrytohearwhatagroupwassaying,Iwouldoftentimes
havetomoveveryclosetothembecauseofhowloudtheclasswasattimes.Therewerealsoso
manyconversationsgoingonthattherewasnowayIcouldwriteaboutallofthem.Iwantedto
keepsthingsgenuineandunscriptedasmuchaspossiblebecauseIwantedthestudentstojust
talkwhenevertheyfeltlikeitandaboutwhatevertheyfeltlike.SinceIwasoncepartofasimilar
discoursecommunityIfeltlikeIwaspartofthecommunityandIcanwriteaboutitonadeeper
level,sothefeelingofbeinganoutsiderhasnotbeenaproblemforme.
Howeverthereisapartofthediscoursecommunitythatstillisnotavailabletome
becauseIamtechnicallyanoutsider,andthatisaprivateFacebookpage,whichisthereto
remindstudentsaboutassignmentsandanythingimportantcomingupintheIBworld.Ourclass
didthesamethingandIassumeitissimilartotheFacebookpageourgraduatingclasshad.
Therewasfrequentusageofthepage,anditwasofgreatsourcetogolookatwhatthe
homeworkwasforanycertainclasstheywerealltaking.Sometimesiftherewereessaysdue,
peoplewouldposttheirintroductionssopeoplewhowerehavingtroublestartingtheirpapers
wouldhavesomesortofbasistogooffof.Therewasasenseoftrueunityamongstthegroup
becausewewerealltheretryingtofulfillthesamegoals,andweallwantedthebestforeach

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other.IhaveonlyheardabouttheprivateFacebookpagethroughafewconversationsIheardin
theclassroombutIhavenotseenmuchoftheactualpage.ThisiswhereIwilllookforthesame
feelingsofunitythatIoncefeltwhenIlookedatmyclassIBFacebookpage.
ThereisalsoaTwitterpagethatiscalledIBMemesasignificantamountofstudents
intheIB12thgradefollowthispage.ThispagespurposeistogiveIBstudentsalookat
humorousinternetmemesonlydealingwithIBandallofitshardships.AgirlKymberli,from
theNorthMecklenburg12thgradeIBclassoftenretweetsmemesontoherownTwitterpage
forherownfollowerstosee.Thispagewasbeingdiscussedinclassbetweenagroupofstudents
sittingnexttoeachotherworkingtogetheronaprojectforEnglish.
TherewasalsoagroupoffourgirlsIsatnearthatweretalkingabouttheirshared
anxietiesaboutanupcomingBiologytest.ThiswasinterestingtohearaboutbecauseItookthat
sameclassayearago,andtheyhavethesameteacherIhad.Itooknotesonthehighlightsofthe
conversationwheneverIheardanysupportiveornegativecommentsaboutthetest.Itriedto
writeabouttheiremotionswhiletheyweretalkingaboutthetest,becausestudentstendtorelease
trueemotionsaboutacertainteacherorassignmentwhentheyareoutsideofthatclassroom.The
emotionstypicallyfoundintheseconversationsare:anxiety,confusion,frustration,discontent,
oranythingofthatsort,andthatiswhatIwaslookingforwhenIsatnearthesegirlstoheartheir
conversation.
Analysis
ThepersonIinterviewedpreferredtoremainanonymousandwasnotcomfortablewith
voicerecording.Howeverhedidgivemepermissiontotakenotesfromtheinterview.Thefirst
questionIaskedhimwashowmanystudentswereinhisgraduatingIBseniorclass.Hereplied

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thattherewere65membersinhisIBseniorclass.HecheckedtheirprivateIBfacebookpageto
makesureitwascorrect.IthenaskedhimifhekneweveryoneofhisIBseniorclass.Hereplied
bysayingthathehadbeeninclasseswiththesepeopleforatleastthreeandhalfyearssohefelt
likeheknewthemwellenough.Healsomentionsthathehasbeeninclasseswithafewofhis
peersforsixyearsbecausetheIBprogramofficiallystartsin6thgrade,butmoststudentsenter
in9thgrade.Thiswasimportantbecausepeoplewhohavebeentogetherforsolongtendto
knoweachotherbetterandhaveahigherchanceofbeingclosertoeachother.Ithenaskedhim
ifhisclassisunitedtogetthroughthisverytoughyearofIB.Hisresponsewasthatjustabout
everyoneinhisclasscollaboratestogether,exceptforfivepeoplewhoarenicepeoplebut
wouldratherworkbythemselves.IthenaskedhimabouttheprivateFacebookPagethathe
referredtoearlier,andaskedhimifIcouldcopydownaparticularpostwordforwordthat
wouldindicateevidenceofthediscoursecommunityhelpingeachotherout.
AfterreviewingasampleofaFacebookpostthatwaspostedearlierthismonthonthe
SeniorclassIBpage,therecanbeaconclusiondrawnfromthisthatthereisstillasenseofunity
amongsttheentireclass.IcouldonlyviewthepostthroughacellphonescreenbecauseIcould
notbeallowedintothefacebookgroup,becauseIwasnotpartoftheIBseniorclassof2015.
TheexactpostthatwaspostedwasbyCameronC.CansomeonepleaseproofreadmyEE?I
feellikeitmeetsalltherequirementsbutIjustneedotheropinions.Thanksinadvancein
responsetothatposttherewasacommentpostedabout30minuteslaterbyastudentnamedLily
S.sayingSurething,IhavesometimetokillsoIllgiveyousomefeedbackbytomorrow.My
emailisL******@gmail.com.Anoutsideaudiencesuchasmyselfcanlookatthatpostand
cometoaconclusionthatthereisasenseofunityamongstatleastafewmembersofthe

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community.Howeverthatisonlytwomembersofthecommunityandthatisnotenoughto
concludethatthereisacollectivesenseofunification/camaraderieamongstthe2015IBsenior
classatNorthMecklenburg.
Lukethenfollowsthisupbysayingthatthereareplentyofpostslikethisthroughoutthe
entirefacebookpage.Thisleadsmetobelievethatthereisafeelingofunityamongstthe
discoursecommunity.Whenpeoplecometogethertohelpeachotheroutwiththeirproblemsis
whenacommunitytrulythrives.Iaskedhimiftherewereeveranyunansweredquestionsonthe
Facebookpage.Herespondedbysayingthattherewillalwaysbeafewthataremissedordonot
haveananswerforbutforthemostpartthepageisagreatresourceforextrasupport,andasign
oftruecamaraderieamongstthemembersoftheIBseniors.
Peoplethatwereconsideredexpertsinthecommunitywerepeoplewhohavebeen
planningonreceivingtheirIBdiplomasincethestartofsenioryear.Thesearethepeoplethat
havealltheIBdiplomarequirementscalculatedanddrawnoutsothattheyknowexactlywhatto
do.Thesearethepeoplewhoknewalltheabbreviationsandacronymsbyheartwithouthaving
troubletolookanyofthemup.ThesekidstendedtocondescendupontheirfellowIBpeerswho
chosetostayinIBbutnotreceivetheIBdiploma.ThekidslikeLukedidnotcareaboutanyof
theextraassignments/requirementsthatIBrequiredbecausetheydidnotneedto.
IcontinuedbyaskinghimabouthowhefeltaboutknowingalltheabbreviationsthatIB
hasandifthatevergetsconfusing.Herespondedbysayingthatwhenhetalksabouthis
assignmentstoanyoneoutsideofIB,sayingthetermsheisusedtosayingtohisIBpeers,gets
confusingtoanyoneoutsidetheIBdiscoursecommunity.Forexample:The
abbreviation/acronymforExtendedEssayisEEanditisbasicallythemainresearchcomponent

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thatisworth30%ofyourtotalIBgradethatpaperisstartedinthelastmonthsoftheirjunior
year,andperfectedandfinishedbyDecemberoftheirsenioryear.Itisahugedeal,andcauses
stressamongstallseriouslystrivingtogettheIBdiploma.IBcountsontheirstudentstoknowall
oftheiracronymsthatareall20r3lettersbuttherearetoomanytolist.
Conclusion
OverallmyfindingsdidpointtoasharedcollectiveunityamongstthestudentsoftheIB
seniorclassof2015.TheIBprogramisverydifficulttopassontheirownandthroughoutallmy
researchandpersonalexperienceIhavelearnedthatitismanageableiftheproperprecautions
andplanningistakenplace.Thediscoursecommunityhasvariousamountsofacronymsand
abbreviationsforassignmentsandprojectsthatarevitaltoitsdiscoursecommunityandanyone
elseoutsideofitwouldbeconfusedandnotknowwhatthepersonistalkingabout,butinthe
endthatisthebeautyofIB.