Growing Up Progressive? Part I: Going to Elementary School in 1940s Ontario
- There was a new reversion of the curriculum in 1937
- “There was a shift from content to child, and then from child in general into the individual of the child” (Stamp, 2005)
- They started to change the way classrooms looked and were structured so it made a better learning environment for the children at these schools
- They begin to separate the grades more
- There was an increase in the importance of reading, writing and mathematics
- Every grade that the child enter will teach them something new from the year before
- “The 1937 revisions propose that children advance naturally through the eighth grades of the new elementary school, not held back by the artificial barriers of formal examinations” (Stamp, 2005)
- Some students skip class while others are help back a year
- All the teachers were asked to use new things that they were unaware of how to use to be able to teach their classes
- With all the new freedom from all the revisions, teachers were always teaching different things and making certain topics to them more important than others
- The revisions were based on the WWII that was occurring around the same time
- “We marched from a progressive, activity-oriented playground, into a traditional desks-in-straight-rows, sit-down-and-be-quiet 1940s Ontario elementary school” (Stamp, 2005)
Growing Up Progressive? Part II: Going to High School in 1950s Ontario
- “The provincial curriculum includes English, social studies, health, mathematics, science or agriculture, French, home economics or general shop, music or art, and business practice” (Stamp, 2005)
- Things like home economics or general shop weren’t meant to be use to find an occupation after school, they were meant to help you in your home life after you have finished school
- There was both a Grade 12 and Grade 13 diploma
- WWII still affected the way that high schools ran as part of their curriculum
- There was rewards for students that were succeeding in their class and particular topics
- There was a public speaking event that took place at PCHS in the 1950’s
- There were lots of extra-curricular activities that students could participate in after school
- Most of these activities were public speaking, it was part of North America’s part in character building that wanted students to be more involved in their communities
- “Schoolwork was routine, and it meant homework, memorization, and frequent testing” (Stamp, 2005)
- “Our curriculum was never meant to address the contemporary world directly. It was designed by provincial authorities to expose us to the best of our Judaeo-Christian and classical heritages, and give us basic critical skills for adult life. And to get us through our Grade 13 departmental exams!” (Stamp, 2015)