Ontario students will finally learn coding and personal finance in school

There’s an old adage every student knows that goes something like, “when will I ever use any of this?”

Whether it be learning about the formation of plateaus or symbolism in Wuthering Heights, some things will truly never matter.

This is made all the much worse later in life when you realize that many of the most useful lessons were never taught in school. How to do taxes, for example. Or that 90% of job vacancies are in software engineering and all you can’t tell the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org.

Well, the times they are a-changin’. Starting this September, Ontario elementary school students will learn coding, computer storage measurements and personal finance.

“This is the first new elementary school math curriculum in 15 years – it’s clear that has a lot has changed since 2005, and our math schooling needs to change with it,” Premier Doug Ford said Tuesday. You can check out the full curriculum here.

Ford’s new curriculum also includes some odd changes. Students will now learn how to tell time on a round clock – like, a clock with hands – in grade 3 instead of grade 1. It could very well be the case that an 8-year-old can build a website but not read a watch. #Priorities.

No word yet whether kids will still be required to learn cursive writing.