An early sign that the pandemic grip is easing and things are getting back to normal came Wednesday: The Ford government and its critics are more likely to talk about what students are learning in school than about COVID protocols and ventilation systems.

Minister of Education Stephen Lecce introduced Ontario’s new math curriculum for Grade 9. Promise it would better prepare students for the careers of the future and teach them important life skills.

At first glance, there is a lot to like.

It’s a single 9th grade math curriculum for all students. It puts an end to the unscrupulous early influx of students into an academic class (also known as a university) or a less applied one. No child should be determined about their future at such a young age, especially in a system that disproportionately hinders racist and low-income students.

It’s also good to see the government turn away from Premier Doug Ford’s misguided and simplistic election slogans about returning to the basics of math.

Ontario students don’t need dumb math for them. They need a well-designed and well-taught modern curriculum that prepares them to use their skills in a variety of science, technology, engineering, and commercial professions.

The updated curriculum is a welcome step in this direction. It includes compulsory learning in coding, data literacy, and mathematical modeling. It focuses on financial literacy and concepts of personal budgeting, saving, debt, and price comparisons.

As all parents know, telling children that it will be good for them later if they learn something now is not enough. It has to feel relevant as they learn it.

Therefore, updated examples in lesson plans such as sports analysis, calculations of various cell phone plans or the impact of social media on the economy are welcome. The old curriculum dates back to 2005, so it’s not hard to imagine how relevant this must be for students who weren’t even born then.

But an improved curriculum is nothing but paper until it is taught in schools. And, as always, the Ford government seems to have thought of the teachers who are critical to the success of the new degree until the last minute.

They are expected to be teaching this new curriculum in September and because the government stopped it so late, teachers will do most of their training in the new course while they are already teaching it to students.

And they will do that as they deal with all of the pandemic learning gaps from so much of the last school year that went online. This is hardly a recipe for success, so it is no wonder that the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation is already calling for a delay in its introduction.

The even more important question is whether the Ford government will provide the necessary resources to adequately support the students in this transition.

Lecce says yes and points to the multi-million dollar that is part of the government’s four-year math strategy.

But this government keeps pointing out sounding numbers in education that don’t come close to meeting real needs when the money is distributed to thousands of schools and millions of students.

It is important that the Ford government not try to make this cheaper. If more funding is needed to make this new math course a success while tackling the learning gaps of the pandemic, the government must be ready to provide it.

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It’s right to stop early math streaming, but it will be a failure if Ontario doesn’t support students in order for them to be successful.

Getting students into a more academic math class without adequate support will close as many doors to their future as integrating into applied math now.

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