Curriculum Review

 The first thing that caught me off guard while reviewing the curriculum was the variety of courses offered to fulfil requirements. This is less to do with the specific content or philosophy of the curriculum, but I think it is emblematic of the approach that the Department of Education is taking with regards to student choice and embracing all elements of mathematics. It's possible that these courses have been offered for many years, but I know that my own high school in BC only offered two courses at the Grade 11 level and three at the Grade 12 level. Obviously, there are also administrative constraints, but I was very impressed by the inclusion of things like History of Mathematics and Statistics, neither of which were offered at my school. 

The second surprise (also pleasant) was the heavy emphasis on teaching math for citizenship. In the past, I have seen and heard strong focus on teaching math for personal use and use for employment. These have some merit, but generally are persuasive to only a fraction of students. The emphasis on numeracy and citizenship is I believe a much stronger argument which applies to all students. Especially in the data-rich climate that we live in, understanding the use of statistics and number to inform opinion is crucial. Seeing the curriculum specifically draw attention to the "ethical use of mathematics" was especially shocking, as I think of math in school as working very hard traditionally to avoid such realms.