A new math curriculum; Are our teachers and student ready?

BY PAUL JUNOR

As over two million students return to school from 72 boards in Ontario, since the closure of schools on March 13th, 2020, elementary students will face a new mathematics curriculum. This back to basics curriculum was introduced on June 23rd, 2020 and the Ministry of Education indicated that it would be implemented in the fall.

The four teachers’ unions: OSSTF, ETFO, OECTA, FESSO in a joint statement requested that it be implemented over a two-year period. The statement reads, “At a time when school boards and educators are preparing for schools to safely re-open and addressing student learning gaps, it is short-sighted to require that resources be diverted from these efforts to try to comply with an unrealistic two-month timeline set by the government.”

The release of the provincial government “Guide to Reopening Ontario’s Schools” plan on July 30th, 2020 had given school boards the power to formulate their own plan by August 4th, 2020. Ministry of Education, Stephen Leece stated in response to the request for the delay, “I appreciate the broader challenge around us, but we must move forward with these necessary reforms to give hope to these students, so that when they graduate, they can assure to get good paying jobs. If we get this right today we can literally change the course of the workforce,”(Canadian Press, August 28th, 2020).

The new curriculum, which Grade 1-8 students will be exposed to emphasizes: financial literacy, coding and memorization of multiplication tables. The Ministry of Education had assigned three days of professional training for teachers before the start of the 2020-2021 school year. Liz Stuart, president of OECTA argues, “Time, resources and supports are needed. Furthermore, the government’s insistence on rushing the release of a new mathematics curriculum, while we are still grappling with the uncertainty in education during a public health crisis is foolhardy, disrespectful and counterproductive.” She is aware that professional development sessions has to be an on-going process.

Mary Reid, an expert in math curriculum is supportive of the new math curriculum. “It’s a really good curriculum. It is needed and it’s got some really excellent revisions to it that will support mathematics education for Grades 1-8. However, the timing of the implementation of the curriculum couldn’t be worse.” She is particularly concerned about the lack of professional development support. She reiterates, “The results may not be as expected because there’s a lot of new content in the curriculum. There is going to be a lot of frustration. There is going to be an incoherent vision of math curriculum.”

Several teachers have expressed concerns. Karl Fernandes, a Grade 4 and 5 teacher in a Toronto Catholic school said, “It just seems that our plans are not where they should be, and the math curriculum is one more piece that hasn’t really been properly prepared. Of all the things that we have to come to terms with right now, a new math program seems to be the one that you could put off. Yet, we are being told, just go right ahead.”

Another teacher, Jeff Halbut, who teaches a Grade 7/8 split class in Windsor stated, “Because the document was released so late, and we’re still waiting on information as to what September is going to look like, we’re juggling a lot of balls right now.”

Parents/guardians are left wondering what will happen in September?