Dr George Rupp was recently appointed as the Chair of the IB Board of Governors. In an interview with C.M Rubin for The Global Search for Education series in The Huffington Post, he shares past experiences and gives insight into the future of global education.
With his vast experience in international education, Dr Rupp has long been working to promote inclusivity and diversity. In this interview, he talks about how the IB’s work towards a curriculum that embraces both these aspects contributes to building communities where both global and local perspectives are valued.
“Academically rigorous grounding in core disciplines will continue to be the hallmark of the IB. But that core will be complemented with learning based on local and regional traditions,” Dr Rupp said.
Dr Rupp highlighted that the IB has a solid foundation and a broad global reach, but that a great emphasis now lies on making the IB curriculum available to more students in underrepresented regions. He also underlined the importance of adapting education to the needs of both students and the society around them.
“Education has also in many institutions become more focused on practical outcomes or career training. While this focus can all too easily serve to undermine the rigors of more classical educational aims, it need not be detrimental to educational attainment. In a sense, the IB's programs express the effort to nurture both ambitions.”
As Chair of the IB Board of Governors, Dr Rupp hopes to build on the organization’s strong foundation to make the benefits of an IB education available to more students worldwide. "Education that is academically rigorous, deliberately multi-cultural, and concerned with developing personal values that include a commitment to community service is an invaluable resource for any and all of us. For students to complete their secondary education with such educational attainments is a significant benefit for them both personally and socially. The IB is proud to contribute to the continuing development of such impressive human capacity. We look forward to providing this enormous benefit to increasing numbers of students in thousands of schools around the world," he concluded.
You can read the full story on The Huffington Post’s website.
