SPRING/SUMMER 2022
Math to the Nth Degree Flexible and far-reaching, the new math program encourages broader, deeper, and more individualized exploration, enabling each student to get the most from their George School math experience.
For over a year, teachers across disciplines have been reshaping the curriculum to realize the potential of the Signature Academic Program. For the Math Department, the solution has proven greater than the sum of its parts. The topics students can learn about and the routes they can take are growing exponentially. Students arrive at George School with a range of math preparation, and an equally wide range of math interests and long-term goals. As Math Department Head Hamilton Davis puts it, “Trying to leverage the f lexibility of the seventerm schedule helped us to realize we could tailor an academic experience more closely to the needs of the individual student. For some that means deeper, further math offerings. For others that means being able to tack a bit more towards applied mathematics. For still others that means access and exposure to mathematics they might not have otherwise seen.” Kevin Moon, the previous Math Department Head, explains a fundamental change in thinking: “We are not locked into ‘years’ any longer. Instead of saying, ‘Precalc junior year, then calc senior year,’ we are able to see the four-year path as a development of a single whole.”
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Flexibility starts immediately. Where initial placement and future prospects were formerly dictated—and limited—by prior coursework, the new curriculum meets incoming students where they are and takes them where they want to go. The module-based calendar enables them to start midway through a traditional course if that’s what they need, cover more than a traditional course in a year if that’s what they want, and take topics traditionally taught together (e.g., calculus and statistics) when it’s right for them. Doubling up (taking more than one traditional course in a year) and test driving (trying a topic before committing to its full length) are also easier. Myriad permutations and combinations create an all-you-can-eat math buffet designed to leave each student sated. Where f lexibility increases, so does equity. Regardless of their pre–George School math prep, all students can pursue the IB diploma if they choose. And speaking of IB, the school now offers all IB math courses (as well as all AP courses), allowing students with different interests to make those programs work for them.
