rockermcr

I'm in Toronto, and I don't know if any other fellow Ontarians on here have heard, but Calculus might be cut out of the Grade 12 math curriculum because it's too hard, etc. Here is an article about this in one of my local school's newspapers: http://schools.tdsb.on.ca/jarvisci/j...006/News1.html

What do you think about this?

MKDaMan1818

It's being cut out next year, this year is the last year that Calculus will be offered. Next year, they'll have an Advanced Functions course, followed by a Vectors and Geometry course... which means apparently they are taking out the Geometry and Discrete Math course. (thats what i heard)

B407

Yea i heard about this too. Sucks for anyone who wants to study something math related, like engineering in the U.S.

Blobof

Not that much of a surprise, given how weird (watered down how I've heard it described) Ontario's calculus program is...

doppler89

they have a standardized curriculum? silly socialists

tanman

I'm not familiar with the Ontario school system, but does this mean that students aren't required to take calculus, or they don't even have the opportunity to take it?

QNYergrl

Haha! But even most US public schools offer Calculus!

Did Ontario even have AP Calc before this? Do they even offer APs in Canada?(excuse my ignorance, but I know next to nothing on Canadian education systems)

christalena2

They offer AP's in Canada.
http://collegeboard.com/student/test..._sum/2006.html

There is the Canadian Summary Report.
11,241 AP Tests were taken in Canada last May.
Around 3500 students took AP Calc exams.
Not as much as America, but a lot.

14_of_spades

ontario used to be a five-year high school jurisdiction (i.e. grade 9-13). i'm not making this up. the five year thing was cancelled very recently (like 2002 or something).

even back in the days of 5-year high school, i think we were really only taught what most other jurisdictions learn in 4 years.

koker

I tried googling it and found this:
http://ogov.newswire.ca/ontario/GPOE...=&lang=_e.html

At least it's under "extended review"
Can't you just skip a lot of geometry? Maybe that'll help. I mean, I didn't reallly learn it in depth. My friend told me it was because nowadays you can just make a computer do it. So the advanced stuff is mostly obselete, according to him. I really don't know about the Canadian highschool system but maybe it's because of mathematics in middle school? Because I remember I started algebra in middle school, and the teachers had no problem keeping the class from falling behind. Of course, not everybody takes Calculus but everybody who actually studied was ready for it, if they wanted to take it.

Dam1727

Holy crap.........I never thought I'd see the day!!

I was a part of the 5 year high school system in Ontario .... and let me tell you grade 13 (OAC's) [for the American people on this board it stands for Ontario Academic Credits, and it was similar to the AP courses] was crucial to university studies.

I felt grade 13 could have been more in-depth than it was........but for them to remove grade 13 a few years ago and now to cut those courses........man.......these kids are going to be at a HUGE disadvantage in university. They wont know a thing, and they will struggle in their university studies.

I have no idea how universities will deal with this. Calculus and all the maths are requirements for admission in almost all programs. This is a very disturbing trend........i think they want to dumb-down the kids.

Newbyreborn

I thought it was still going to be offered, just as an optional course right?

Dam1727

I've looked into it a bit more........

And it appears that two years ago they were considering keeping it as an optional course, but decided to completely eliminate it (along with other math courses and content).

They felt that universities would have more time to teach it properly, and that they would be able to focus on important points.

But several groups and teacher federations felt this was a really bad idea (since 1st year courses are so large that students wouldnt be able to get any one-on-one help if needed). They also noted that this was a push towards privatization in schools, because private schools offered advanced mathematics far beyond any public school does, and it does so at an earlier grade. So they felt it left Ontario public schools far behind private schools and also behind the public schools from other provinces.

Now, apparently, the Ministry is also considering eliminating (or cutting down the material) in several other courses such as chemistry, physics, biology, history............but increasing content in english and the arts.

Blobof

FYI, in Canada, education is a provincial jurisdiction. Each province has a different system (with lots of variation).

HeavenWood

Yeah, in the US, the typical curriculum goes up to trig. You don't take calc unless you're in an advanced track (at least in most publics).