I had similar experiences in ToK, and I think your idea of giving rationality talks to ToK students is a great one.
What kinds of people sign up for the IB Diploma? It is considered more rigorous than A-levels in Britain, and dramatically more rigorous than standard classes in the United States (I would consider it approximately equal to taking 5 or 6 AP classes a year). Most kids engaged in this program are intelligent, motivated and interested in the world around them. They seem, (through my informal survey method of talking to lots of them) to have a higher click factor than average.
Your description of the types of students who sign up for the IB Diploma Programme (IBDP) is probably accurate for schools where the IBDP is not compulsory or expected, but I think it is too favorable for non-selective schools where most students do the IBDP.
For instance, at my former secondary school, 152 out of 154 seniors did the IBDP, with 150 students receiving an IB Diploma. This is an international school in Hong Kong, and the students are not especially bright since the school has non-selective admissions. There are of course students who are “intelligent, motivated and interested in the world around them”, but I would apply this description to a minority—not a majority—of the IBDP students at the school.
(I would have failed the “motivated” criterion—I had no love for half the subjects I took, and did little homework apart from the required IB coursework in these subjects.)
I had similar experiences in ToK, and I think your idea of giving rationality talks to ToK students is a great one.
Your description of the types of students who sign up for the IB Diploma Programme (IBDP) is probably accurate for schools where the IBDP is not compulsory or expected, but I think it is too favorable for non-selective schools where most students do the IBDP.
For instance, at my former secondary school, 152 out of 154 seniors did the IBDP, with 150 students receiving an IB Diploma. This is an international school in Hong Kong, and the students are not especially bright since the school has non-selective admissions. There are of course students who are “intelligent, motivated and interested in the world around them”, but I would apply this description to a minority—not a majority—of the IBDP students at the school.
(I would have failed the “motivated” criterion—I had no love for half the subjects I took, and did little homework apart from the required IB coursework in these subjects.)