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Ryerson's Curriculum Analysis

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The curriculum that Ontario students were taught is important in order to understand the experience of youth during the nineteenth century. As school attendance began to increase, the curriculum became more regulated and structured. During the time when the curriculum was being designed during Ryerson’s tenure as superintendent, there were questions and debates concerning the content that children were taught, as well as assessment methods. The main debate concerning content was centred on textbooks (resulting in Ryerson eliminating the majority of American textbooks) . The curriculum was critiqued by reformers, who believed it was highly impractical. However, the view that the majority of government and educational officials held was that …show more content…

The curriculum had very little focus on creativity, as it emphasized drilling students on fundamental concepts, as well as controlling the classroom (setting the expectation that children needed to respect their teacher’s authority). The curriculum, as it became more diverse, became increasingly unequal between male and female students. The curriculum was primarily based on the textbooks (which often contained all the necessary information). The first book used in the schools taught children basic language. It is assumed that this book covers oral language, as the second book emphasizes reading, and grammar (with content relating to morality. The third book is much more advanced, covering history, poetry, and novels. Most children stopped attending school once they completed the third book. If the person continued their education, books four and five covered science and philosophy. It is important to note that teachers were not required to use the prescribed textbooks. One letter that Margret wrote to her mother on November 5th 1870s suggests that teachers did not give out grades to students, but did provide rankings instead. From the contents of the letter, these rankings appear to have been very important to …show more content…

In Palmer’s study of English and French Canadian History textbooks, she noted there were significant differences in how an event was portrayed in French Canadian textbooks against English Canadian textbooks. These differences were significant, as they would help shape a child’s perspective on government, and the political situation, in a process Palmer calls “political socialization”. This process of “political socialization” was especially significant in matters related to English-French relations, as the biases presented in the textbooks could reinforce the perception of the other group. Reinforcing these notions was important in education for the nineteenth century, as the various governments wanted to create citizens who supported (and fully believed) in their policies, which would result in them being easier to govern. In the majority of the examples provided by Palmer, the French Canadian History textbooks often portray French Canadians as being more civilized than the British, who often needlessly targeted the French for no apparent reason. English Canadians, however, portray French Canadians as inferior, and and as having less rights. In addition, while the English Canadian History textbooks were often “largely sympathetic” to the

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