In 1994 the OAC (Grade 13) Philosophy course was introduced to Ontario high schools, making Ontario the first and only (English-speaking) educational jurisdiction in North America to have philosophy as part of its official secondary school curriculum. Since then, interest in the course has grown rapidly. In 1998-99, for example, over 6000 secondary school students were enrolled in the course, in over 150 high schools across the province. In 1999, the Ontario Philosophy Teachers' Association was founded, an association that hosts annual conferences for high school philosophy teachers, and represents the interests of high school philosophy teachers at the local, provincial and national levels. In 2001-2002, with the introduction of the new secondary school curriculum in Ontario, two new philosophy courses were introduced to replace the OAC, one at the grade 12 level and one at the grade 11 level.

Two new philosophy textbooks have accompanied the launch of the new courses: Philosophy: Questions and Theories (McGraw Hill Ryerson, 2002), for the grade 12 course, and Philosophy: The Big Questions (Canadian Scholars Press, 2003), for the grade 11 course.

Any Philosophy Majors or Minors who are interested in becoming high school teachers, and who would be interested in teaching this new course, should contact Professor David Jopling, the Philosophy Department's representative for the Ontario Secondary School Philosophy Project. He can provide you with further information and guidance about the OAC course in Philosophy.