BC High Schools Now Offer Classes That Will Actually Help Students Get A Cool Job One Day

On Tuesday morning, the B.C. Ministry of Education has just announced big changes coming to the B.C. grade 11 and 12 2019 curriculum this year. This may sound radical, but they're adding classes that will actually prepare students for real-life post-graduation careers.

New classes have been introduced into the curriculum including Robotics, Fashion, Photography, New Media, Web Development, and a whole lot more.

In a press release, the Ministry of Education outlined what high school students can expect to learn this fall. The changes will help students graduate with the knowledge and experience they need "to adapt and thrive in the ever-changing careers of tomorrow," said Rob Fleming, Minister of Education in the release. Now isn't that a novel idea?

In addition to the classes mentioned above, students can also take courses on relationships, housing, childcare, e-commerce, digital communications, media design, engineering, drones, 3D arts, career education, and so much more.

Each discipline has also been divided into multiple streams. For example, what was just “English 11” has now been broken up into composition, creative writing, literary studies, new media, and spoken language. This is how post-secondary education is already offered, so it makes total sense that kids should be learning this way in high school too.

On top of countless new and updated class offerings, the new curriculum is much more personalized and flexible to each student's needs and interests.

The new graduation program requires students to do two new career education courses and an in-depth project for more hands-on, real-world learning. Therefore, students will graduate high school with the experience or portfolio "for their chosen path, whether it's college, university, trades training and, ultimately, the workforce," the press release explained. "Students can develop the skills that post-secondary institutions and future employers are looking for."

The new B.C. curriculum will also place additional focus on indigenous education in collaboration with local Indigenous communities. Teachers will also be equipped with new resources and tips for teaching important health topics like “consent, stress and anxiety, safe sex, mental health stigma, cyberbullying and online safety.”

We don't know about you, but we sure wouldn't mind heading back to high school if these courses were up for grabs. We're excited for the students who will now gain applicable knowledge and experience. We'll just be over here practicing the square dance moves we learned in school.