Just more evidence that Ontario’s system is quickly and surely falling behind the rest of the world.

Math is not just about how in depth you learn calculus. IB Math learns a much greater variety of subjects in Math that AP can’t compare with.

I’m not saying IB Math is the best and I do admit they stress breadth rather than depth, but it is better than AP, IMO. And I mistyped when I said “every other course in the Ontario curriculum”. I meant “every other Math course…”. I also have to say that how “good” a course is often in Ontario determined more by which teacher is teaching it rather than the material that is in the course (This explains the sometimes ridiculous discrepancies in marks, how one school’s 95% is another school’s 80%).

And how many have seen a Chinese University Entrance Math Exam Paper? I’d be surprised if more than 10% of the Ontario students going into Math and Engineering programs could pass it.

It bothers me when I hear people say something like every course in the Ontario curriculum “sucks” or is “stupid”. I agree with Kevin that overall our quality of education is degrading, but that doesn’t mean one can overgeneralize it for “every course”.

I’m going to assume you haven’t taken “every course” in the Ontario curriculum to actually make a viable statement like that. Or maybe you did, then my bad.

Now I’m not defending all courses of the Ontario curriculum, but believe it or not a course or two has actually changed my life. But that was because I actually chose courses in my electives that were useful to myself. And the courses only changed my life… because I let it.

You’ll be institutionalized if you let your institution “define” your leaning. Learning has nothing to do with what you’re taught.

(Sorry that was completely off topic.)

However, in addressing your main point. I agree with Kevin that Discrete it is probably the closest thing you’ll ever come to real math in high school, but I also agree with you that the course does is fairly convoluted with some random bits here and there and some sections that are given as methods without any mathematical basis (esp. the linear algebra portion with the determinants, Cramers Rule, etc.) All I have to say is don’t worry, if you want, you can get the full explanation a real university linear algebra course =).

-ray

Discrete was as close as real mathematics as you’ll ever get from an Ontario high school. They were teaching pure mathematics, and nothing else. Whether the course had a theme or not is a different matter.

Is it challenging because it’s fast? Well, sure – but if you were an interested math student, then the material speed would not have been ‘fast’, but just ‘adequate’. The course was designed for interested and intelligent students – not just for everybody. Perhaps you may not have enjoyed it; or maybe you didn’t belong in the class.

AP Calculus, of the BC variety (as opposed to the AB taught in most AP programs in Ontario) is in fact at about the same level as the IB exam. It is also on par with the British A-level math programs.

“RHHS AP calc is challenging cause brar doesn’t teach anything and expects u to find everything on ur own.”
-That’s the only sentence in that paragraph that I agree with.

In any case, there are things that can be done, but whether *we* can do that is another question entirely. The politicians and beaurocrats don’t seem interested in real ‘improvements’. So I guess we can only keep bugging them until they budge. Spread the word, get people thinking, and hopefully it’ll reach the right ears eventually.

For example, the OSPE (Ontario Society of Professonal Engineers) did have a good say in the process, and they helped delay the process enough for them to reconsider the calculus situation. There are other organizations, or perhaps even those in postsecondary institutions, who could have a similar say. The Fields Institute did the initial report on math, and that’s affiliated with the Math Faculty at UofT.

Is it possible to find teachers who can teach math? Of course it is. And it isn’t necessary for the teacher to have a math background to teach math. The joys of self-learning are great. All you need to do is to motivate students.

How do we get good teachers to schools? Well this may sound a bit offbeat, but I think you don’t need to get good teachers at *every* school. Here’s what you do: get a select few talented teachers, and have them go around to different schools. Have them go to, say 4 or 5 schools regularly, or maybe more. Kind of like the way motivational speakers do, but on a more regular basis, and teaching real material.

And here’s what we need to change in the curriculum: stop dumbing it down! Move material in the curriculum down the grades, not up. Eliminate more useless parts of subjects (what is with the ‘keep a journal of your math discoveries’ a la grade 6, or some really dumb writing assignments which end up being only useful for satisfying the EQAO preps?). Start connecting different subjects earlier, not later. Invest in libraries, give students something to be excited and interested about.

How do you make sure teachers are doing their job? Talk to the damn students! How many times have we seen those staged teacher evaluations? The teachers (who aren’t supposed to) tell us they have a teacher evaluation, get us on our best behaviour, and they teach an uncannily ‘boring’ lesson. The only people who know how good teachers are doing are students. Get them to fill out surveys, or get some admins/staff to talk to students. It’s not THAT hard.

Those are just off the top of my head. I’m sure people can think more about it, and get more ideas. Things can be better.