May 16, 1995
Dear Parents, Administrators, Teachers, and Fellow Students:
It is not only a pleasure, but an honor for me to share with you my experiences with the Integrated Mathematics Program (I.M.P.) at Whitney Young. This program can be best described in one word, SUCCESS.
Like most other students, I attended an elementary school where math was taught in the traditional textbook, paper and pencil way. This method, for me, was very monotonous and inefficient. As a result of such instruction, I acquired a dislike for mathematics. Math became something I did just for a grade. although this method may work for others, it did not work for me.
I.M.P. is revolutionary. This program has integrated the world around us with the world of math. This program utilizes technology by providing students with graphing calculators. Learning to calculate statistical probability, expected value, and standard deviation are just some of the things I have done in my first year of the program.
Each unit has a central question. To answer the question, students have to conduct experiments with certain tools. In the year one unit of "The Pit and the Pendulum," we actually recreated a pendulum to test how much time a person lying under a swinging pendulum has to escape without getting shredded. The end result gave us all a sense of pride. It seems that with each unit that is completed my expectations only escalated.
In I.M.P., students are taught to think. Many students are use to being assigned a page of thirty problems for homework. I.M.P. stresses understanding, not the ability to do many problems and not understanding, not the ability to do many problems and not understand the why's and how's. I.M.P. encourages students to explain their answers instead of just providing an answer.
When I first signed up for I.M.P., I thought I had chosen a program that was an alternative way to learn mathematics. Boy was I wrong, it is the way to learn mathematics.
As a student I strongly urge and parents and students who are considering I.M.P. to take the challenge. I.M.P. will require a student to know how to work with the basics and it will also insist that students be able to explain specific mathematical ideas.
In the end, it can be concluded that I.M.P. is math It is extremely integrated. In I.M.P. you deal with technology, the ability to express ideas on paper, and even science. There is no other alternative, the choice is I.M.P.
Sincerely,
(signed)
student, period 3