‘Why the pause?’: Educators raise questions over Ontario’s decision to delay curriculum updates

A classroom in an elementary school, photographed in Toronto on Jan. 9, 2024. (The Canadian Press/Chris Young)

Ontario’s decision to pause a sweeping set of school curriculum updates that were set to roll out this fall has led to criticism and questions from members of the school community.

“To delay (the curriculum) by a year makes no sense,” said Kirk Mark, former head of community relations at the TCDSB. “Why the pause in the first place? By the time you get to 2026, you’re going to be behind. You’ll have more frustrated parents, more discontented students, and more fed-up educators.”

The curriculum pause was announced last week, the same time as Education Minister Paul Calandra revealed that the province will assume control of four school boards, including the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) and TCDSB, citing financial mismanagement.

Calandra said the pause would allow the ministry to bring forward a “more central and consistent curriculum.”

Among the newly designed curriculum included changes to early math and reading in kindergarten and new lessons on financial literacy, Black Canadian history and the Holocaust.

Critics say the year-long pause on curriculum updates will disrupt plans already in motion, derail work on equity and inclusion, and risk turning education reform into a political wedge.

‘A sense of urgency’

Mark said the delay is “baffling,” especially in light of growing concerns about attacks on equity and inclusion in schools.

“One would think that there would be a sense of urgency,” he said. “The Ministry of Education should follow their own strategy, which is the equity and inclusive education strategy.”

That strategy, Mark explained, already contains a roadmap for reform, including eight focus areas such as inclusive curriculum and assessment practices, shared leadership, and professional learning.

“If you’re talking about adding Holocaust education — no problem. Beefing up Indigenous education — no problem. It all falls under inclusive curriculum and assessment practices,” he said. “Follow the strategy, follow the roadmap.”

“You must put aside the money… to educate teachers and parents about how to go about implementing these changes,” he said. “There’s no context.”

‘Tone deaf to school boards’

Matias de Dovitiis, a TDSB Trustee who represents Humber River— Black Creek criticized the ministry for delaying curriculum implementation after school boards had already started preparing.

“We were (already) preparing for these changes,” he said. “Now senior staff will have to go back and redo contracts… Some of these things are already out the door.”

De Douvitiis said the announcement felt sudden and disconnected from the current realities faced by educators.

“We found out at the same time as everybody else,” he said. “The Ministry of Education has been tone deaf a lot of times with school boards… They’ve given us directions to implement changes without giving us resources or instructions.”

He also warned that the pause could reflect political discomfort with progressive curriculum content.

“We need to be careful that this isn’t just a way of doing away with good pedagogical practice for political or ideological reasons,” he said. “I’ve heard from a few parents… They expect the current government to use the pause to remove some of the elements they’re uncomfortable with.”

De Douvitiis said that while some standardization is useful, a one-size-fits-all approach won’t serve students well.

“We’re not going to teach the same Indigenous history in northern Ontario as in Windsor,” he said. “There’s already a significant limitation in terms of what local communities can do to shape the curriculum… It definitely feels like catch up. It definitely feels like we need to do better for our kids.”