I am writing this letter on behalf of the students in my school and those in other schools in the district. I am a Grade 10 student attending Bowden Grandview School and currently taking Math 10C. Math 10C is the new math course that combines two of the previous math courses; these previous math courses were structured to allow for choice between an academic math, and a more hands-on course for kids who may not be headed for a university degree, but may want to attend college, NAIT, or SAIT. Now there are only two mainstream math courses available for Grade 10 students, one that is strongly academic, and one that is non-academic and does not open the doors for college nor university.
It has come to my attention that a significant number of kids are struggling with our province's new math program, specifically Math 10C. For some, it's the work itself that is causing grief and stress because it is simply too hard for them; for most of the students who want to attend post-secondary education they need the class. Others find that the work itself is understandable, but the amount which needs to be completed weekly is immensely stressful and is taking up the time to finish other assignments in other classes. Teachers have indicated that it is incredibly difficult in getting through all the lessons within the given amount of time in the semester; this is compounded by the number of struggling students to whom they need to give additional support. Kids are having to come to a tough decision, fail Math 10C and not be able to attend college/university or take Math 14, graduate and find a job that that doesn't require a college education, which will probably inevitably give poor pay.
In my opinion, I think that the new Math 10C curriculum is not an efficient course, simply for the fact that certain students cannot do the mixture of Math 10-Applied and Math 10-Pure. There is a large scale of difficulty between the two, and to combine them creates chaos for a significant number of the students.
Sean Carroll
Bowden
