By Lily Radwan, Year 12
The year 13s are about to end it, the year 12s are about to start it, it’s The Theory of Knowledge. Every high schooler has heard about it since the beginning of their days, but what is it really? In this article, I have interviewed a 13th grader to find out what advice she could give us about TOK.
1) What does “The Theory of Knowledge” actually mean ?
The point of the class is to teach you how to think critically and to understand that there’s a lot of bias in the world. You learn there are a lot of things that we don’t actually know and that we should not trust everything.
2) Can you give us some basic tips on how to survive TOK?
- First of all, you have to remember that the areas of knowledge are the most important parts to use in both your essay and your presentation.
- I recommend that you do your presentation before the summer, if your teacher lets you, and not in November because it gets super busy.
- You should read the TOK guide because it’s super helpful since it gives you everything you need to know about the areas of knowledge.
3) What is the biggest myth about TOK?
That it’s philosophy.
4) What should you absolutely not do in TOK?
There shouldn’t be anything descriptive in your essay or presentation. You have to talk about the way we know things and the areas in which this knowledge can classify.
5) How can you make this course the most enjoyable possible?
Chose a topic that you like and not what everyone else does. The common thing that people do for their presentation is an ethical dilemma; however, most TOK teachers tell you to avoid ethical dilemmas because it’s overused and therefore they grade it much more harshly.
6) If you were to start your own school would you put TOK in the curriculum?
I think TOK is only good for the fact that it teaches you to think critically and look out for unreliability, however this is a skill that you develop throughout all of your IB classes. So I don’t think that assessing TOK as a subject is necessary.
