The following notes come from Robert Stamp’s “Growing Up Progressive? Part I: Going to Elementary School in 1940s Ontario” and  “Growing Up Progressive? Part II : Going to High School in 1950s Ontario.”  

Grade 1

  • Envisioning students working together in a social environment
  • “Activities and experiences rather than knowledge and facts”
  • Controlled environment for learning
    • Sit in rows
    • Raise hand when have questions
  • Female teachers who get married must leave profession with their maiden name

Grade 2

  • Activity oriented learning environment
  • Suggested rather than prescribed
  • Develop complexity in learning (dive deeper into literary works)

Grade 3

  • Developing bad student habits due to the unpreparedness of the young teacher
  • Learn a vast majority of things in one particular subject, Writing.  
  • Not enough time spent on writing for children to learn themselves

Grade 4

  • Teaching becomes individual
    • Working on specific skills which can progress children

Grade 5

  • Learning through teachers values and opinions
    • Leads children to fabricate reporting
  • Writing through new tool (ink pen)

Grade 6

  • Learning created through the works of music which the teacher has created

Grade 7

  • This grade blends the old teaching which creates social studies
    • Learning the economics and social construction of adult life

Grade 8

  • First male teacher
  • Activity based learning is a primary focus which has been distributed by the teacher.  
  • Learning math and real world knowledge for students to pass their high school entry exam (Traditional curriculum is put in place)

Grade 9

McArthur Curriculum

  • Common First year
  • More amount of options for learning
    • matriculation, technical, or commercial program
    • Occupations course
      • Teaching students proper study habits
      • “a year of testing…in which the boy can try himself out along different lines under the guidance and direction of teachers, that he might reach conclusions regarding his particular capabilities and aptitudes.”(Stamp)
  • Elimination of latin
    • Created tension among older teachers due to previous apretitations of the course

Grade 10

  • Girls and boys are split on trades jobs
  • Girls are more typing communication jobs
  • Boys are hands on manufacturing jobs
  • Curriculum becomes more challenging as the workload becomes heavier
    • Intermediate diploma comes from those you pass grade 10
    • “making our academic schools less academic and our vocational schools less vocational, in other words to provide all secondary schools a kind of general education which will fit our adolescents for life – as individuals, as citizens, and as workers.”(Stamp)

Grade 11 and 12

  • Begin to make choices on jobs post school
  • 90% of communicational jobs are of women
  • Technical educations move those to another school
  • Science is split up grade 11 physics and 12 chemistry
  • Completing grade 12 gives your high school diploma

Grade 13

  • ontario Secondary School Honours Graduation Diploma or “Senior Matric.
  • Fewer students make it to grade 13 (35 of 150 students from grade 9-13)
  • “13A is all boys, heavy on mathematics, physics and chemistry.” (Stamp)
  • “13B is mixed gender, emphasizing biology, history and Latin. Both classes take huge doses of English and French.”(Stamp)
  • Exams fill most of the school years as students are tested rigorously on their knowledge
  • Provincial wide exams are sent out to school for students to complete
    • Toronto creates the exam for the students
  • Getting PC on your jacket was the most important part of your school career
    • Principal praising students of their knowledge from education