Planning 10 is a course that’s being phased out of school next school year. The Ministry of Education is changing the name and spreading out parts of the course to other classes.
The change is something that many teachers around the province might think is unfortunate. It is arguable that the curriculum being taught in the course is something that is very important. Some worry that these topics might not receive the same amount of attention if taught in separate sections in other classes as it would be being taught in one class. It was something that many students thought was helpful to them in getting job experience, especially the Planning 10 mock interviews which gave students a perspective on how actual job interviews are. The people that did the interviewing were people from the community.
Mrs. Sue Simpson, a former longtime counsellor at Riverside, came out of retirement to participate in the process. “I think the students feel too comfortable with doing an interview with their teachers, so I think bringing in people from the community who are new to them is very important because it gives students a realistic feeling as to how an interview is probably going to turn out,” said Simpson.
Grade 10 student Evan Turner was asked about the benefit of the mock interviews. “I really learned a lot from it because it’s not something that you wake up to and start practicing for right away. It was a good practice run as to how the real world actually works,” said Turner.
Current Planning 10 teacher Mrs. Adrienne Chappell commented on the changes that will take affect in the next school year. “Planning 10 will become Career Life Education, shifting Health and Finances into PE and Math respectively. Refocusing the course on Careers & Education in a more comprehensive manner will allow for a new approach and greater depth in examining the impact work has on our lives,” said Chappell.
