Technolandy

Day -4 (of 2025) Horray for some university entrance changes! viva l’ History of Math 

Not for nothing, but thank goodness for statements such as this from UBC regarding entrance requirements:

For students starting September 2026:

• There are no Grade 11 requirements

Video link: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DN1mKpvwky6/?igsh=MXZtNmcybjFkYmNmeQ==

This means that History of Math 11 is now more than ‘just’ a way to get to the dogwood (grade 12) graduation… and probably the ‘best’ of the math courses because this is where we get to talk about math and not have to memorize formula or solve pages of equations… unless we want to!! It also counts for your overall average (cuz we’re still doing that…) when applying into university!

SFU is in the process of ‘updating our admission requirements for our Fall 2026 (September) intake for students studying in the B.C. 12 curriculum’ – this means they’re gonna go with the same entrance vagueness about math 11 (which is still needed to graduate from a BC Secondary School)

UVIC still has Foundations of Math 11 or Pre-calculus 11, but those are still focusing on a 2025 entrance as criteria.. 

UNBC doesn’t care about your grade 11 courses… how progressive (I mean they care, but only about the ones you care about as well…)

Being mindful, that this is exploring and focusing on students looking at entrance into the “Arts/Humanities” in university… extra math (Algebra 12) worked for me (I had a cushion of other courses to keep my application average high) AND if you’re thinking sciences or business – you definitely need Pre-Calculus or Foundations of Math at a minimum – economics too – and they often even has a minimum %, though I’m not sure which % of the course they’d prefer you to succeed in… but again, the kids who are good at Pre-Calculus are likely aiming for a study (and career??) in this realm as well!

Soar where your skills are… for those who have been burned out from the math textbooks and repeated formulas solving complex equations… there has been History of Math 11 available for almost a decade… just most math departments have dismissed it as ‘not a real math’ because universities still kept that “Foundations of Math 11” barrier for school entry… the barrier has been broken down and it is time for this beautiful math course to thrive in the open… not just as a PIE PBL course!! (Partners In Education has been refining my ‘starting points’ nicely over the past year and a half since I’ve joined the school!)

Here’s some added details:

Math 11 has long been a gatekeeper course for graduation – while some look at Math 11 WorkPlace math as the ‘most accessible’ for many of us who are much better at the humanities than the STEM side of life (admittedly after having my interest in math squashed for a large number of years, I am finding it both interesting and enjoyable – beyond my own foray into ‘Recreational Mathematics’ which remains a key part of what I still encourage… in part because it fits nicely into the History of Mathematics Framework, summarized in some of my earlier work: technolandy.wordpress.com/PBL

Forget about memorizing formulas and solving repeated problems … instead figure out more about the “Why” of mathematics… why has mathematics developed and evolved… why do we lie and say Newton invented calculus (or sometimes graciously acknowledge Germany’s Leibniz) when it was a rich branch of debate and discussion in the Indus Valley for centuries beforehand?  Does branding matter in maths??

Are the maths a valuable global language? How about universal?? Discuss and debate and put together an infographic defending your thoughts… heck, share a debate you have with an AI collaborator to see if the two of you can come up with a test that proves that indeed 2+2 =5 (I read it in a textbook, so it must be right… would aliens from 3I/Atlas agree with it? Or say that it’s more universally accepted as ‘4’?

How have the needs of society influenced the development of mathematics – what damage did Barbie saying “math is hard” have to demotivate an entire gender about math? (My mom still remembers being told she shouldn’t waste her time trying to do math… she had no talent for it… despite being an amazing pianist – lots of fractions and complex formulas that intermingle… 

Let’s look at tools and technologies as catalysts – would you believe that not too long ago, calculators were as actively being banned and blamed for students lack of knowledge… hmm, much as personal screens are now? 

Let’s talk and debate about the people connected to the maths… there are some characters – both great and … “interesting”… 

Math is beautiful. It is fascinating. It is even magical at times. But the traditional ‘drill and kill’ methodology hasn’t changed much and the number of parents I talked to who loved their math instruction remains a VERY low percentage… 

This is a fabulous step from the BC Universities to acknowledge that History of Math makes a lot of sense for those of us who do better with humanities approaches… and I’ll confess that I love reading about maths and mathers… Sunil Singh, Paul Lockhart, Jo Boaler, Kirk Savage… all great edu-mathers – and all of them speak so beautifully to the passion that seeing the beauty of math can create… it’s not all about mad minutes… it’s a mindset. To me, I am channeling my inner William Goldman who created “The Princess Bride – S. Morgenstern’s Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure… the good parts version. This is the good parts version of maths!

Behind the scenes:

My first tiktok script: “🚨 Big news for BC grads! 🚨

Math 11 has been the ultimate gatekeeper for graduation and university…

But guess what? The gates are finally opening!”

[Cut / Big Text On Screen: “History of Math 11”]

“UBC just announced: starting 2026, no more specific Grade 11 math requirement for Arts + Humanities entry.

That means… History of Math 11 isn’t just a backup course anymore—it’s a legit pathway to university. 🙌”

So…. Are you exhausted from solving the same equation… again and again and again?!”

“History of Math 11 is the BEST kind of math.

No formula drills. No pages of equations.

The course where we don’t just crunch numbers…

We talk about why math even matters!

Like—why do we pretend Newton ‘invented’ calculus when it was being worked on in India centuries earlier?

Or—did Barbie ruin math for a whole generation by saying ‘Math is hard’?

Or even—can AI help us prove that 2+2 = 5? 👀”

“This course is about debate, culture, technology, and how math shaped the world. 

It’s Math: the good parts edition!

It counts towards your Dogwood diploma ✅

It counts in your university admission average ✅

And it actually makes math… kinda magical again.” ✨

“So—if thoughts about Pre-Calc makes you cry, but you still want to soar into Humanities and Arts at university…

Ask your school if they offer History of Math 11.

“Warning: Side effects may include sudden fascination with ancient civilizations, heated debates about calculators, and realizing math is actually… beautiful. Results may vary. Check with your future self before enrolling.”