The New Ontario Curriculum

The New Ontario Curriculum has many advantages for the Ontario government. It also has many disadvantages for Ontarios students. The Ontario government is able to save large amounts of money by eliminating the OAC program in the year 2003. The students are at a great disadvantage by most of the reforms. The reforms include getting rid of the OAC program, Changing the number of Mandatory credits to 18 from 14, adding a required 40 hours of community involvement and introducing a literacy test from grade 10 students. These changes all have good intentions but it is my opinion that they are not beneficial to students. The only change that I feel benefits students is the way that course marks are to be determined. The government has made a set formula for teachers to decide a students final grade. This formula is that 70% of the students final mark will come from term work while 30% will come from the final examination. This is an advantage to students because it makes sure that all students in Ontario are being awarded marks in the same way. The other changes to the Ontario curriculum are not as promising to students.

The Ontario Government decided to get rid of the OAC program and at the same time limit the number of optional credits that are available for a student to take. This forces students to decide early on in high school what they want to do for the rest of their lives. Students have to be aware of the courses that they must take in order to get into university or college. They must be further aware of what courses they need to get into particular university courses. Students have less time to take these courses and because of this there is no room for students to take the courses that are fun and interesting for them. Students that attend catholic high schools must also take four mandatory religion courses which brings the mandatory course number up to 22. This leaves only eight courses throughout a students high school education that they can chose for themselves. Students are having a hard time cramming 18 mandatory credits into only four years of high school. I also know from experiencing the new curriculum that most students are planning on spending five years in high school anyway so that they can get all of the courses that they want before they leave for college or university.

Students are also required to complete 40 hours of community involvement before graduating highschool. This also seems like a good idea and it is a way to get students positively involved in the community. It can be a negative thing because forcing students to volunteer in the community will restrict kids who are not as outgoing from passing high school. I feel that community involvement is an important part of living but many students do not feel the same way. Many students find that between school, part-time jobs, family and friends there is little room to fit in 40 hours of community involvement. Students also will not put their heart into their community involvement if they are being forced to do it. Volunteering is one of the kindest acts that a person can do and the government cannot force all students to participate in this action. The grade 10 literacy test is also a difficult aspect for many students to comprehend. It is designed to catch students that are illiterate in reading and writing so that they can be special help by the school that they attend. The rules that go along this literacy test are so strict that I know many people that are perfectly literate that ended up failing the test. One student brought one pen to the test and the pen ended up not working. This student could not be given a new test and because of this he or she failed. I also feel that literacy is not necessarily a sign of intelligence. If the student is capable of passing his or her classes without being at the grade 10 reading and writing level then they should still be allowed to pass high school. The literacy test is also practically impossible for students with certain disabilities to pass. There should be exceptions so that students in the special education program do not have to take the literacy test to get their diploma.

The new Ontario curriculum has many good ideas but they will not have positive outcomes. Students are forced to complete high school a whole year earlier while having a limited number of courses to choose from. At the same time they must complete 40 hours of community involvement and pass a mandatory literacy test. Students are under a lot of pressure to be successful already without having to deal with a new curriculum. Students and teachers have both expressed complaints about the new curriculum while the government feels that it is a great creation. The government does, however, save huge amounts of money by eliminating a whole year out of the high school program. They save money on teacher wages, books, and supplies that were needed for the OAC course. The government should spend less time thinking about money and more time thinking about what is good for Ontarios students.