Getting Ready for Post-Secondary!

Remember when we were high school students and had no idea what courses we should take or what each course offered. Let’s provide our students with a different experience and be there for their future. The majority of individuals say grade 9 Mathematics doesn’t matter that much, but in reality, it does. Grade 9 math paves the way on what mathematics courses you will be taking in the future. In grade 9, I had no idea what I wanted to do or what courses I should take, I just enrolled in the classes my friends were in.

We talked about this in class, if grade 9 should be an open course. Meaning no applied or academic courses. I believe this would be an amazing change for numerous reasons! 

1. It challenges the teachers! In my first blog, it talks about the importance of being knowledgeable when being a teacher. Having a classroom filled with different abilities, learning styles and interests, will provide a challenge for teachers to become better teachers by learning new ways to deliver our lessons. As teachers, we sometimes favour one way of teaching, but if you have students you learn differently, you need to be able to adapt your lessons to best fit their learning styles. Also, in EDBE 8P78 we learned that having numerous ways of delivering a lesson will benefit your students more. As they are experiencing different ways to be taught and different ways to learn, this will help them in the future. 

2. Decreases anxiety! Having to figure out what path you want to take at the age of 14 puts a lot of pressure on an individual. From this, it takes away the experience of learning. For example, many students believe they need to take this certain course and get this certain grade to become what they want to be. This affects their learning and understanding as they are focused on getting good grades than understanding the material. 

3. As teachers are labelling students. Applied and Workplace Math has a negative stereotype attached to those courses. Some stereotypes are; “They are dumb”, “Attention-seeking trouble makers”, “Going nowhere in life and probably going to drop out of high school.” From this, we are segregating students from day one. By attaching those labels early on during their high school experience,
affect how they review themselves throughout high school. In EDBE 8P78, we learned that stereotypes hold back students because they feel that is all they have. If my teachers don’t believe in me, then I don’t believe in myself. Therefore, having one course for grade 9’s to pick will decrease the stress and get rid of the stigma by explaining each benefit of each course to all the grade 9’s. 

Checking out OAME has allowed me to explain my knowledge of each math course and what they offer. Being on a straight academic Math path, I never knew what Workplace or Data Management had to offer. While researching, I noticed the workplace has more to offer than a calculus course, as the students are learning very important basic life skills. Understanding and knowing each math course will allow teachers to help their students more by gearing them towards the right path. If they want to be in the trades or their requirements for post-secondary doesn't require a math course, they can do the workplace math instead of feeling like they need to complete Calculus. As a teacher, my goal is to help my students achieve their dreams!