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Page 10 .... TERRACE BAY NEWS... October 6, 1960 WHAT ARE OPTIONS? I have been asked by the Terrace Bay High School Board to prepare for the News an explana- tion of options as they apply to the Secondary School Graduation Diploma. This topic can be more than a little confusing and will require a somewhat lengthy attempt, The Secondary School Graduation Diploma is the name currently used for the Diploma which some years ago was called Junior Matriculation, This diploma is granted by the Ontario Department of Education after successful completion of certain Grade 11 and Grade 12 (the old Third Form and Fourth Form) subjects, The requirements, which do not all have to be secured in a two year period, for a Secon- dary School Graduation Diploma are as follows:- GRADES 11 and 12 STANDING IN:- 1. Obligatory subjects -- English -- History (World History Part 1 and World History Part 2) 2. Optional subjects: any FOUR (or more) of:- Mathematics (Geometry AND Algebra) -- Science - (Physics AND Chemistry) or Agricultural Science -- Geography -- French -- Latin -- German -- Greek -- Spanish -- Italian -- Russian -- Commercial Work -- Industrial Arts or Home Economics -- Art or Music -- Agriculture, I Can safely say that no secondary school in Ontario offers all of these options. What four options, then, should a student "take"? This depends entirely on what the stu- dent: proposes to do upon successfully completing the prescribed work.. In other words, "What does the student want to be"? A High School Graduation Diploma with the four options of Greek, Spanish, Italian and Russian would admit the holder only to an institution which asks for ANY four options. In practise, however, these four choices would be of limitéd value. Here rein tae ROR ER ce ARCS cn SD I a Aa ual Ca The student, then, should take those subjects which are most often required by the higher institution of learning which the student proposes to attend, For example, minimum academic requirement for admission to schools of nursing is the Secondary School Graduation Diploma including, in practise, the Science option, i,e., Chemistry and Physics. Here, then, one option has chosen itself~-Science, A student, too, may want to go to University. This will involve, of course, the eeceeas ful completion of certain Grade 13 subjects, What subjects in Grade 13? These are outlined in the University calendar for the course which the student proposes to pursue, But almost invariably the University requirements include a language in addition to English, This Lan- guage should be French since it is, among the languages, most commonly offered in Secondary Schools (quite aside from its being the second official language in the Canadian Parliament and its being the first language of over one fifth of Canadians). In order to attempt Grade 13 French the student must have completed Grade 12 French, Therefore another of the options in Grade 12 (and thus before that, in Grade 11) has really been chosen for him, Some mathematics is also generally required for University entrance, Therefore, again, since Grades 1] and 12 mathematics are prerequisites for Grade 13 mathematics, a third option has selected itself, The most practical options then for the Secondary School Graduation Diploma are those which will satisfy the requirements of the most institutions, These amount to (four of) the following five: Mathematics, Science, Geography, French, Latin, TERRACE BAY HIGH SCHOOL OFFERS THE FIRST FOUR OF THESE, : i These four options provide the prerequisites for admission to Grade 13 in any secondary school in Ontario for the subjects required for admission to nearly every university course including, for example, the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering of the University of Toronto as outlined in their 1960-61 Calendar, But marks are important too. Most universities insist on an average of 60% (sometimes more) in the. required Grade 13 subjects. As a result, more and more Secondary Schools are insisting on an average of 60% in the grades 1] and 12 subjects for admission to Grade 13, For some years the Ontario Department of Education granted Secondary School Graduation diplomas with only three options, This lowering of requirements was effected to help alle- | viate serious shortages in several fields, notably nursing and elementary school teaching. | As of June, 1961, the three option diploma will have disappeared. Even while it was being: granted it fulfilled the requirements of only those institutions which had lowered their | standards in an emergency to a three option requirement. At no time did these institutions ; include a recognized Ontario university, { { | You can secure more details on options. by writing the Ontario Department of Education, = ; Parliament Buildings, Toronto and asking for the 1960-61 Circular on Requirements for Certi- | Ticates and Diplomas, Circular Number HS 1, _ There is no charge. } { I should be glad to try to provide any additional information to which Ihave access at the High School, There are, for example, correspondence courses, Since most investigations into further education are quite time-consuming it might be best to telephone the school, | 3345, for an appointment, You would be more likely to find someone in the school office to ; answer the telephone between 9:00 and 11:30 A.M. on school days than at other hours. | In a nutshell, the first question about himself which a student who proposes to go on to | higher education should be able to answer is, "What do I want to be?" Then it's easy. All 'he has to do is to ask questions, soietamnpmisine (Continued on page 11)