The Grade 12 University Level English course has been a prerequisite to all university programs ever since my parents’ days in high school. It’s been a staple in the Ontario education system, which begs the question: After all these years, should the course still be necessary for university-bound students?
Being first generation immigrants, English was not my parents’ first language, which made it exponentially more difficult for them to learn. Yet, in order to enroll in a Canadian university, the same requirement applied—they needed to take a Grade 12 University Level English course. As expected, it was difficult, but clearly beneficial. In order to succeed as a student in Canada, they needed to read and write English everyday, and what better way to learn than in school?
But for the many of us born in Canada, speaking English as our first language, the benefits of the course can be quietly overshadowed. We’ve been speaking, reading and writing in English fluently since we were children, leading many to casually neglect the importance of the subject.
There are those who aspire to enter university programs in areas such as Science, Math, Business, or Art, wondering how Shakespeare will come of use after high school. There are those who find themselves perfectly capable of communicating in the English language, but find grammar, paragraph and essay writing simply irritating. Or there are those such as myself, who enjoy the course, but simply find ourselves dedicating a lot more time than expected attempting to perfect that one essay or assignment.
But however it may be, while putting myself in the shoes of all these different viewpoints and personas, I still can’t seem to deviate from the government’s decision regarding this matter. I believe that Grade 12 University Level English should indeed be a requirement for entry into all university programs.
The activities and assignments in the course teach much more than the foundations of reading and writing, rather they allow students to develop crucial life skills.
I was fortunate enough to have had an English teacher in Grade 10 who taught us various note-taking strategies. At the time, the class groaned in boredom, as we were anxious to begin the exciting units such as Greek Mythology, but upon reflection, these note taking strategies have stuck with me through high school, and will most certainly help during university. This summer’s ISU: Application of Critical Theory, will provide me the opportunity to exercise these note-taking strategies in order to annotate my novel independently. University will be no different, as the professor will not be there to hand-hold the class, rather it is up to us as responsible students to take notes during lectures and come prepared by completing and annotating each of our readings.
Writing, researching and formatting skills will definitely come in handy as well, whether it be for a university psychology essay, a lab report, or a business valuation model. No matter the major, some assignments will be required in written form, and there is no better way to prepare than to put these skills into action through assignments in our Grade 12 English course. Not to forget, we receive the opportunity to establish powerful habits in ensuring zero participation in plagiarism in high school, as the consequences for plagiarism in university would be expulsion. Another aspect of writing that Grade 12 students seem so keen to forget would be university supplementary applications, which inherently require strong written responses. The English course allows students to explore different writing styles, identify our strengths and weaknesses, and use it to our advantage to craft supplementary applications that reflect both our skill and personality.
Finally, activities from the Grade 12 English course also provide us the opportunity to reflect on personal and external values, while developing the skills to express these reflections. This can be found particularly in our ISU: Application of Critical Theory and Unit 3: Writing to Make Your Voice Heard. As busy students, we can often be lost in the waves of homework, assignments and tests—learning for the sake of succeeding academically, instead of learning for the sake of learning. We put so much effort into school for the sole purpose of attending our dream university, which will be a lot less textbook heavy, and instead require us to formulate our own opinions and ideas. Learning to reflect on our course content through a societal lens, or identifying which values resonate with our personal being is important, and is much more valuable than regurgitating definitions. Once again, whether it be Science, Math, Business, or Art, at some point in our university tenures, we will be required to look into aspects of our major from different lenses, and develop a personal opinion on different subject matters. To express these opinions, defend our viewpoints or articulate our findings, the Narrative, Persuasive and Descriptive essays written in the Grade 12 English course will be another form of preparation.
All in all, I believe that Grade 12 University Level English should be a requirement for entry into all university programs. It is indeed a challenging course, and unfortunately the odds may be stacked in one’s favor compared to another. But in my opinion, the skills and key learnings delivered from the course are beneficial to all, whether or not they know it.
