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by Philip Yaffe
“I was 24 years old when I first began thinking and speaking in a foreign language. It was like being released from prison. I saw my cell door swinging open and my mind flying free. That was over 40 years ago, but the picture is as fresh now as if it had just happened.”
I am a linguistic iconoclast. Throughout my life (I am now in my seventh decade), I have heard the mantra that learning a foreign language gives you invaluable insights into the cultures of the people who speak it. I don’t believe it.
In addition to my native English (I grew up in Southern California), I have become fluent in two other languages and have a good working knowledge of three more. I doubt that all this effort has given me any insights into the cultures of the people who speak these languages. At least no insights that I couldn’t have acquired more easily in 30 – 60 minutes by reading a well-written essay or in a few hours by attending well-crafted social-cultural lectures.
By contrast, I have acquired a deeper understanding of science.
What does science have to do with language? Actually, very little. But it has a lot to do with flexible thinking. And this is where science and language learning converge.
Contrary to the common belief, science is not about certainty but rather uncertainty. Good scientists are always looking for what has been overlooked, i.e. they are always searching for surprises and welcome them when they happen. They know that moment we believe a phenomenon is “natural” and must be that way, or that it is “unnatural” and cannot be that way, we are either heading for trouble or missing out on something important.
For example, Albert Einstein investigated the “unnatural” belief that a beam of light in space must always have the same velocity; other scientists had spent decades trying to disprove this. He wanted to see where this “unnatural” might lead. In fact, it lead to e = mc², the formula for atomic energy, and transformed the world.
It is not necessary to be a genius like Einstein (who spoke German, French, Italian and English), or even a scientist at all, in order to profit from the mind-stretching benefits of learning foreign languages. In our daily lives we all make assumptions about how the world works; often we are not even aware that we are making them. And that’s the danger. If we are insensitive to our assumptions, we are almost certain to end up believing things that aren’t true and refusing to believe things that are true.
Learning languages can help correct this parlous state of affairs. How? Quite simply, because nowhere else are our assumptions more rapidly and forcefully challenged by other assumptions about what is or isn’t natural that are equally valid.
Here are some simple examples.
1; Trailing Adjectives
It is “natural” to put adjectives before a noun, e.g. “an unidentified flying object”. Well not really. Many languages put adjectives after the noun, e.g. “un objet volant non-identifie”. You could argue the “naturalness” of these conflicting practices both ways. In English, we prefer to describe something before identifying what it is, as if to build up the suspense. In French, they prefer to identify what it is first and describe it afterwards. Who is right?
2. Optional Pronouns
English speakers take it for granted that constructing a sentence requires a subject and a verb. The subject can be either a proper noun (John talks) or a pronoun (He talks). If you have any acquaintance with Spanish, you know that in this language the pronoun is usually not necessary. You would still say “Juan habla” (John talks); however, in most cases you would simply say “Habla” for “He talks”. In fact, if you use a pronoun where it isn’t required (“El habla”), you would be committing a serious error.
3. No Distinction between Male and Female
English speakers learning French are often puzzled by the language’s apparent inability to distinguish between male and female. For example, “This is his book” and “This is her book” in French are both “C’est son livre”. The possessive adjective “son” means both “his” and “her”. If it is absolutely necessary to distinguish between “his” book and “her” book, there is a way of doing so. However, it is employed only when absolutely necessary.
But isn’t it always absolutely necessary? It seems so unnatural not to specify whether the book’s owner is male or female. Isn’t this fundamental information?
It may seem so, but it isn’t. By the same logic, it should be fundamental information to distinguish between male and female when saying “This is their book”, but we don’t. “This is your book” can be either male, female, or both, but we never specify. Even “This is my book” can be either male or female, but again we don’t specify.
Having grown up speaking only English, you probably have never noticed this inconsistency in the language. Neither had I. I simply knew that is was “natural” to distinguish between his and her book, until a Frenchman asked me why. I couldn’t tell him.
4. Inclusive and Explicit Forms of “You”
In English, we have only one way of saying “you”, which covers all situations. Many languages have several ways of saying it, notably the “formal you” and the “familiar you”. English used to have a familiar “you” (thou), but it has essentially disappeared. But in French and Spanish, for example, it is still widely used, making speakers of these languages feel that English is somehow “incomplete”.
Spanish speakers are particularly poorly served. In their language, not only do they have a formal and familiar “you”, they have them both in the singular and plural. In other words, in Spanish there are four ways of saying “you”: formal singular (one person), familiar singular (one person), formal plural (several persons), familiar plural (several persons). For Spanish speakers, having these four options is natural and necessary; not having them in English is unnatural and constricting.
5. Exclusive and Explicit Verb Forms
English has very few verb forms. For example, in the present tense we say “I cook”, “You cook”, “He cooks”, “She cooks”, “We cook”, “They cook”. In other words, there are only two forms of the verb, “cook” and “cooks”, depending on whom we are talking about. In the past tense English has only one verb form, e.g. “I cooked”, “You cooked”, “He cooked”, “She cooked”, “We cooked”, “They cooked”. Likewise in the future tense; everyone “will cook”.
In other languages this is quite unnatural, because they use distinct forms for each different person being talked about. For example, in French and Spanish “I” is associated with one verb form, “you” with a distinctly different verb form, “we” with yet another form, etc. And of course there are distinct verb forms for the “familiar you” and “formal you” (singular in French, and both singular and plural in Spanish).
But doesn’t all these differences make other languages significantly more complex than English? Yes, indeed. However, they also make them significantly more precise. For speakers of these languages, it is crucially important to make these distinctions, because this is how their minds have been trained to work. Just as it is crucially important for English speakers to distinguish between “his” and “hers”, because this is how our minds have been trained to work.
Examples of these different ways of doing things from one language to another are endless. Each time we encounter them our mind opens up a little bit more, because the unexpressed assumptions we all carry around with us are continually being challenged.
Growing up in California, I used to be strongly opposed to language learning because it seemed so difficult and pointless. I have since changed my mind. I now strongly advocate language learning. Not because knowing a foreign language teaches us very much about others, but because it teaches us so much about ourselves.
Accepting that language learning is more about mind expansion than culture implies that language teaching must be fundamentally reformed.
I live in Belgium, where speaking two or three languages is the norm rather than the exception. This is generally true throughout Europe. In these countries, teaching languages in the belief that people will actually use them makes sense. The mind-expanding aspects of the effort come along as a welcomed bonus.
However for English speakers in general, and Americans in particular, it is almost impossible to learn to speak foreign languages because it is so difficult to practice them outside of the classroom. Here, the mind-expanding aspects of language learning should be the primary objective, and courses designed and taught in consequence.
If this were done, I believe that the American fear – and dare I say loathing – of other languages could be reversed. The schools would lay down the foundations of a language without trying to force students into the hopeless and demoralizing task of trying to speak it.
With this foundation firmly in place, when a person traveled to an area where that language is spoken, he would be able to rapidly turn his passive knowledge into active use. Even better, even if he traveled to an area with a totally different language, he would understand how languages work and therefore be ready to learn the new language rapidly and without fear.
Finally, the general aversion – and again dare I say loathing – many monolingual English speakers have of science and technology might also moderate. A mind made flexible by language learning would find it much easier to grasp and appreciate scientific principles than one still imprisoned in single-language rigidity.
In an age dominated by science and technology, surely this would be a benefit of ineffable importance.
Philip Yaffe is a former reporter/feature writer with The Wall Street Journal and a marketing communication consultant. He currently teaches a course in good writing and good speaking in Brussels, Belgium. His recently published book In the “I” of the Storm: the Simple Secrets of Writing & Speaking (Almost) like a Professional is available from Story Publishers in Ghent, Belgium (storypublishers.be) and Amazon (amazon.com).
For further information, contact:
Philip Yaffe
Brussels, Belgium
Tel: +32 (0)2 660 0405
Email: phil.yaffe@yahoo.com
Philip Yaffe is a former writer with The Wall Street Journal and international marketing communication consultant. Now semi-retired, he teaches courses in persuasive communication in Brussels, Belgium. Because his clients use English as a second or third language, his approach to writing and public speaking is somewhat different from other communication coaches. He is the author of In the “I” of the Storm: the Simple Secrets of Writing & Speaking (Almost) like a Professional. Contact: phil.yaffe@yahoo.com.
www.imsa.edu/
The Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, or IMSA, is a three-year residential public high school located in Aurora, Illinois, with an enrollment of approximately 650 students. Enrollment is generally offered to rising sophomores, although rising freshmen who have had the equivalent of 9 years of education may be invited to skip ninth grade and enroll as sophomores. All applicants must undergo a competitive admissions process involving grades, recommendations, essays, and the SAT. Rising sophomores are usually chosen over rising freshmen if IMSA has to decide between two applicants. Historically, nearly one third to one fifth of all applicants in any given year are admitted. Due to its nature as a public institution, there are no charges related to tuition or housing; however, there is an annual student fee which may be reduced or waived based on income.
Contents
1 History
2 Admission
2.1 Historic admission statistics
3 Academics
3.1 School day
3.2 Course requirements
3.3 Course offerings
3.3.1 Math
3.3.2 Science
3.3.3 History
3.3.4 Fine arts
3.3.5 English
3.3.6 Foreign language
3.4 Other academic programs
4 External programs
5 Student life
5.1 Residence halls
5.2 Study hours and work service
5.3 Publications
5.4 Athletics
5.5 Competitive activities
6 Student Leadership and Development (SLD) Programs
6.1 Student council
6.2 Peer Multicultural Educators (PME)
6.3 Leadership Education and Development (LEAD)
7 Awards
8 Notable alumni
9 See also
10 External links
11 References
//
History
Nobel laureate Leon Lederman, director emeritus of nearby Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Illinois, was among the first to propose the school in 1982, and together with Governor Jim Thompson led the effort for its creation. (Thompson has noted with pride that he chose to build IMSA instead of competing for the ill-fated supercollider project.) The school was established by the Illinois General Assembly in 1985, and first opened to students in 1986. The Academy is housed in a building originally constructed in 1978 as the north campus of West Aurora High School, with seven outlying dormitories built after IMSA took over the campus. IMSA’s first class graduated in 1989, with the commencement speech delivered by Lederman. IMSA is one of the few high schools to possess a .edu second-level domain.
The founding president of the school is former Batavia Superintendent Stephanie Pace Marshall, winner of the Lincoln Laureate Award, who was involved with the project from the start and helped write IMSA’s original legislation. Marshall retired from the position on June 30, 2007, and was later named President Emerita by the Board of Trustees. She still has an office on campus and continues to position IMSA on the national and international stages. Marshall serves on the board of several non-profit and for-profit institutions, including nearby Tellabs.
Although the school received a significant budget cut in financial year 2002, its budget has since increased, with the support of former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and House Minority Leader Tom Cross.
Admission
Front entrance
View of campus from southwest
Prospective students, who are usually freshmen in high school but in some cases can be students in eighth grade, must fill out an extensive application to gain admission to IMSA. This application can now be completed online and can be found here.
The applications consists of an official transcript from the student’s last 2 1/2 years of school, scores on the SAT I, several long and short essays totaling roughly four to five pages, three teacher recommendations in science, mathematics, and English, and a list of awards and extracurricular activities. Since it draws students from across the state, it is sometimes considered a magnet school.
Historic admission statistics
Class
Number of Students Invited
Average Incoming SAT CR Score
Average Incoming SAT Math Score
2012
252
590
665
2011
253
577
637
2010
231
587
652
2009
242
594
634
The invited Class of 2012 consists of 252 students, and is as of June 2010, the second-largest invited sophomore class in IMSA history. “The average SAT mathematics and critical reading scores for the students, most of whom are high school freshmen, are 665 and 590 respectively.” The largest class invited was the Class of 2011, which consisted of 253 students. “The average SAT for the in-coming class of 2011 was Critical Reading – 591 and Math – 651. The average GPA was 3.88/4.0.” However, due to dropouts, there are now there are fewer than 200 members of the Class of 2010, which originally admitted 231, and only 213 students from the Class of 2011.
In order to draw greater numbers of applications and “transform teaching and learning,” IMSA has an extensive outreach network run by The Center for Advancement and Renewal of Learning and Teaching (The Center@IMSA). Some students who are invited to attend IMSA are admitted on the condition that they successfully complete a three-week, intensive preparation course, known as EXCEL, over the summer. IMSA has a fairly low retention rate; incoming sophomore classes number roughly 240, but graduating classes are only about 200 (Class of 2006 had a graduating class of 185). The reasons for this may include the difficulty of the IMSA curriculum, home-sickness, disciplinary expulsion, student’s family moving out of state, and the inability for Illinois students to matriculate to IMSA after their sophomore year.
Academics
Students at IMSA take rigorous college preparatory courses, with all classes being taught at the honors level, though IMSA philosophically spurns the Advanced Placement curriculum. Each student must fulfill a set of specific credits in order to graduate. This set of credits is broken down by academic subject. Each semester-long class counts for 0.5 credits, unless it meets with greater-than-normal frequency.
In addition to the academic program, IMSA also offers over 50 clubs ranging from political groups and religious clubs to volunteer organizations . All these clubs are chartered by the Student Council, colloquially referred to as StudCo.
IMSA bills itself as an “educational laboratory”, and as such is frequently trying out new and experimental pedagogical techniques. These range from how classes are laid out to what is taught and even to who takes them; in the early 1990s IMSA received national attention for an exploratory study on whether girls learned physics better in single-sex or co-ed environments, as conducted by charter physics faculty, Dr. David Workman. IMSA’s main math sequence, entitled “Mathematical Investigations” and in development by IMSA faculty since 1991, was published in handbook form in 2005 and is beginning to be adopted by other school districts in the state of Illinois, such as Community Unit School District 303 in St. Charles (at St. Charles East & St. Charles North). IMSA’s core science curriculum has been through a number of ground-up restructurings. Its current implementation divided the old scientific inquiry curriculum into four classes: Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Methods of Scientific Inquiry.
IMSA does not use report cards, but instead uses an online “student information service”, PowerSchool. All grades and attendance are recorded in PowerSchool, where both the student and the parents can view these at any time.
School day
The school day at IMSA runs between 7:30 am and 4:15 pm; however, most students do not have classes for all of the school day. Every school day is divided into 20 mods of equal length. They are 20 minutes long with a 5 minute break between mods. Therefore, 2-mod classes are 45 minutes long, 3-mod classes are 70 minutes long, and 4-mod classes are 95 minutes long. Currently, there are no 5-mod classes, although there have been in years past. Between mods 10 and 11, there is a 35 minute break, the midday break, usually utilized for eating lunch.
Unlike conventional public high schools, a student does not have the same class schedule for every day. The days are instead divided into A, B, C, D, and Inquiry (I) days, each with their own class schedule. For the most part, A days are Mondays, B days are Tuesdays, C days are Thursdays, and D days are Fridays. IMSA students usually only attend class for four days per week, with most Wednesdays considered I days, days reserved for research and co-curricular activities. A given class may meet all four days, but need not meet for the same amount of time nor even begin at the same time each day. However, some classes may meet three, two, or in some special cases, only one day per week. Generally, A & C days have the same schedules and B & D days have the same schedules, although for students, usually sophomores, this is not the case. The pattern for each class is usually reduced to a pair of numbers: a 3-2 class meets for 3 mods on A and C days, and only 2 on B and D days, while a 0-4 meets only on B and D days, for 4 mods each day. As a result, there is considerable variation as to how many classroom minutes each course has per week:
Class schedules
Configuration
Minutes per week
3-0 class (or 0-3)
140 (2h20m)
2-2 class
180 (3h)
4-0 class (or 0-4)
190 (3h10m)
3-2 class (or 2-3)
230 (3h50m)
There are a small but growing number of courses which vary even from this structure.
Course requirements
IMSA students have a fairly rigid set of requirements at a departmental level, but within each department (especially in math and the sciences), they have many options for meeting each requirement. The class requirements are as follows, along with the typical meetings times of courses in that department (for clarity the symmetric alternatives are omitted—e.g. “3-2″ below means “either 3-2 or 2-3″):
Math: 3-2 for six semesters, though a small number of upperclass math electives are 3-0.
Science: two 4-0 classes for two (sophomore) semesters, but some classes can be tested out of, then four semesters of electives. Most electives are 4-0, but some are 5-0, and some are 3-2.
Foreign language: 3-2 for four semesters.
English: 3-3-2 for two (sophomore) semesters(new as of the 2006-2007 school year one day a week without English), then 3-0 for four semesters.
History and social science: 3-3-2 for two (sophomore) semesters (same as sophomore English), then 3-0 for three semesters.
Wellness: 3-2 for one (sophomore) semester, then 3-0 for one semester.
Fine arts: 3-2 or 4-0 for one semester.
There is also a two semester additional requirement that can be filled by either math or science electives. Once these requirements are complete, students are free to take electives in any area. Most students take a full six semesters of foreign language, for instance, and despite its nominal status as a “math and science academy”, IMSA offers a variety of electives in English and History as well.
Course offerings
IMSA offers a wide variety of rigorous courses spanning a number of academic fields. For all core academic disciplines (math, science, history, and English), there are core academic requirements. Once these are met students are free to take electives in that subject. Some electives may be taken concurrently with core classes.
Math
Core curriculum includes the Mathematical Investigations (MI) series, from MI I to MI IV, covering topics from Algebra I to Precalculus, and the AB and BC Calculus series. Students may be placed into either the AB or the BC Calculus tracks depending on performance in the MI courses or based on a placement test. Many elective options are offered including popular ones such as Multivariable Calculus, Differential Equations, Discrete Mathematics, Number Theory, and Statistics. However, there are also various others on a which cover a variety of mathematical topics including Advanced Geometry, Graph Theory, Polyhedra and Geodesics, Mathematica, Problem Solving, and Mathematica.
The computer science courses are considered math electives. Courses on Web Technologies, Object-Oriented Programming, Assembly Language Programming, as well as various others are offered.
Students who exhaust a significant portion of the elective curriculum are eligible to take advanced courses that are offered on a by-need basis. Examples include Linear Algebra, Abstract Algebra, and Group Theory, among others. If a student wants, he/she may also conduct an independent study of his or her choice under a member of the math faculty. Popular independent studies include Group Theory, Game Theory, Set Theory, in addition to various others.
Science
Core curriculum includes the Scientific Investigations (SI) series, which are a series of four semester-long courses taken during a student’s sophomore year. They include SI Physics, SI Biology, and SI Chemistry, classes which introduce students to the respective courses subject matter, and Methods in Scientific Inquiry, a course which teaches scientific writing, basic experimental methodology, and basic statistical analysis. After a student’s sophomore year, they are free to take science class so long as they meet the prerequisites and graduation requirements.
Electives include Advanced Chemistry, Biochemistry, Organic Chemistry, Environmental Chemistry, Advanced Physics, Calculus-Based Physics, Modern Physics, Planetary Science, Electronics, Molecular and Cellular Biology, Microbes and Disease, Physiology and Disease, and Bioinformatics.
History
Core curriculum includes American Studies and World Studies, year-long courses taken during a student’s sophomore and junior years respectively. These courses cover various aspects of American and World history and focus on using primary source documents in analysis.
Students may take elective courses after completing the core requirements, although this is not required. Electives offered include International Relations, European History, Political Theory, Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, History of Philosophy, History of Biology, History of Astronomy, as well as various others.
Fine arts
There is no core fine arts curriculum. Electives include Band, Orchestra, and Choir, as well as Photography and Ceramics.
There are multiple bands, choirs, and orchestras in which a student can be placed depending on playing ability.
English
English core curriculum includes the Literary Explorations (LE) series, a series of courses spanning three semesters covering topics in American and British literature. Electives students may take include Romantic Poetry and Prose, Idea of the Individual, Portraits of Creativity, IMSATube: Film, Graphic Novels, Film Studies, as well as others.
Foreign language
Foreign language courses are year-long courses in which students are “immersed” in the language. Languages offered include Spanish, French, German, Chinese, Russian, and Japanese. Spanish, French and German are offered up to level 5 while Russian, Chinese, and Japanese are only offered to level 3. Students who are native speakers of any language are not eligible to take that language. Additionally, a linguistics course is offered to interested students.
A complete list of IMSA course offerings can be viewed on the IMSA website, in a document titled Learning Opportunities.
Other academic programs
Intersession
During the week before the second semester students are required to participate in Intersession, a week they choose from among dozens of enrichment sessions and off-campus trips. Most students choose to participate in two half-day or one full-day on-campus course(s), while a relatively small number travel abroad on faculty-sponsored trips to countries including France, Spain, and Russia, and others perform a week of mentorship. Classes range from “Build Your Own Computer” to studying lighthouse keeping at Washington State. Alumni often teach Intersession courses and lead overseas trips along with faculty members. Clubs are also allowed to take trips and do activities during this time. The scuba club takes a trip to the Caribbean, while the FIRST Robotics team 2022 spends the entire week building the current robot.
Student Inquiry and Research
Most Wednesdays are “I Days” (for “inquiry”) and are usually reserved for research in the SIR programs. These programs give students the opportunity to develop their own scientific research and/or to work with scientists, primarily from around the Chicago area. All IMSA students are encouraged to participate in this program, and several every year publish their research results in academic conferences and journals.
Usually, only students in grades 11-12 participate in these programs. Sophomores go to Navigation (first semester) or other required activities, usually seminars, (second semester) from 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM, where they are helped with adjusting to residential life and other affective issues; they then have the rest of the day off to work on assignments from their classes.
External programs
Unlike many other secondary schools, IMSA boasts a broad array of extracurricular and summer programs for the teachers and students of the state of Illinois. The Center @ IMSA, the branch of the academy that coordinates these programs, is composed of the Kids Institute (KI), the Problem Based Learning Network (PBLN), and Excellence 2000+ (E2k), the Illinois Virtual High School (IVHS), and, until recently, 21st Century Information Fluency . KI runs several summer experiences dealing with science, math, and/or technology, including some residential programs. PBLN is largely the professional development arm of The Center that aims to certify teachers in Problem Based Learning, a philosophy deeply rooted in many of IMSA’s cirricula. They do run one summer program for middle school students called Summer Sleuths, in which students are challenged to solve a serious problem affecting the state of Illinois; to formulate a solution with the assistance of newly certified PBL teachers, the Sleuths must develop research and analytical skills as well as scientific and mathematical knowledge. E2k is an after-school enrichment program that aims to stimulate schools and students in the instruction of math and science. They also “place a special emphasis on students who are historically under-represented and under-served in math and science.”
Many IMSA students help out with these external programs. Kevin Bock ’04, and Katie Linder ’04, were crucial to the development of IMSA on Wheels, a KI program that brings science demonstrations to schools and films videos for distribution across the state. The Summer Sleuths are also guided by “Watsons”, IMSA students whose charge is to help develop the students research and analytical skills on a more interpersonal level.
The Center is also partly responsible for the export and implementation of IMSA curricula in other institutions, the most notable of which is Mathematical Investigations (see above).
Student life
Residence halls
Residence halls on campus
There are seven residence halls on campus. Each hall is composed of four wings housing up to 24 students each. Three halls are all-male, three are all-female, and a seventh contains two all-male wings and two all-female wings. All rooms have their own attached bathroom and standard residence hall furniture for two students. Furniture includes a desk, wardrobe, bed frame, mattress, and desk lamps for each student. Two pairs of rooms in each wing (“quads”) have connecting doors that the residents can petition to have opened. One room per wing is built to be more accessible to disabled students, with a different room layout and a larger bathroom. One room per hall has a hypoallergenic room, with tile flooring instead of carpet.
Each wing also has a lounge area with a kitchenette and a television. Many wings have accumulated a variety of other furniture, including chairs, couches, and entertainment centers.
Study hours and work service
Study hours are a two-hour block set aside from 7 pm to 9 pm on Monday through Thursday for all sophomores. Study hours are almost always waived by the second semester of sophomore year.
In addition, as a graduation requirement, each student at IMSA is expected to complete a mandatory amount of service work for the school (60 hours per year for juniors and seniors and 20 hours per year for sophomores). Like the federally-funded college work-study program, a variety of jobs are available, both skilled and unskilled. The program serves two purposes: to expose the residential students to work experience and to assist the school’s state-controlled budget by providing free laborers.
Publications
Hadron is IMSA’s student-run math and science magazine, a periodical which focuses on science and its application to current events and popular culture.
IMSA students also produce the Heliotrope, an art and literature magazine that produces an annual edition.
The Acronym is IMSA’s newspaper. In 2008, the publication began publishing online, ceasing paper publishing in the 2008-2009 school year and turning the newspaper into more of a blog format.
IMSA’s Yearbook, The Gallimaufry, was featured in the 2006, 2007, and 2008 “Yearbook Yearbook”, Taylor Publishing’s books of exemplary work.[citation needed]
Athletics
IMSA competes independent of conference affiliation, and is a member of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA), the organization which governs most sports and competitive activities in the state of Illinois. Teams are stylized as the Titans.
The school sponsors interscholastic teams for young men and women in basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field, and volleyball. Young men may compete in baseball, while young women may compete in bowling, cheerleading, and softball. While not sponsored by the IHSA, the school also sponsors a dance team for young women.
Competitive activities
The following teams have finished in the top four of their respective IHSA sponsored state championship tournament:
Chess: 4th place (199798, 9899); 3rd place (199091, 9495, 200304, 0405); 2nd place (198990); State Champions (198687, 8788, 9596, 9697)
Scholastic Bowl: 4th place (199192); 2nd place (199293); State Champions (198889, 8990, 9394, 9596, 9697, 9798, 9899, 200001)
Student Leadership and Development (SLD) Programs
Student council
In addition to its primary role as the mediator between administrators and students, the Student Council controls large aspects of the residential life. The Student Council Website maintains a trip wiki, which lists trips to local restaurants, stores, and venues that are taken by residential conselors. The website is also used by all student council chartered clubs as a means of communication. Campus-wide events are displayed here and students have personalized calendars listing all their club meetings.
Peer Multicultural Educators (PME)
As an institution with competitive admissions, IMSA has taken initiatives to improve diversity within the community. PME represents the student body’s initiative to improve the condition of living at IMSA by combating racism, sexism, residence hall stereotyping, segregation, and more. PME conducts research on student perspectives, manages funds for cultural clubs chartered by Student Council, and conducts diversity work including various workshops and programs.
Leadership Education and Development (LEAD)
IMSA is unique in that it is one of few high schools that has a program whose main purpose is to educate students about leadership. The LEAD program, which is mandatory to incoming sophomores, teaches essential skills and concepts that serve as an integral part of leadership. The first semester of the program consists of teaching concepts; the second semester of the program focuses on applying concepts learned in the first semester to the real-world. The 2007-2008 LEAD program introduced an organization simulation as the real-world integration. The LEAD program is almost entirely student-run, with two student co-coordinators and approximately 20 facilitators each year, in addition to a faculty member that simply oversees the program.
Awards
IMSA consistently ranks at the top of the nation in standardized test scores (of roughly 200 students in the senior class, about 50 are National Merit Semifinalists), as well as in the prestigious Siemens and Intel Science competitions. The class of 2005 produced six semifinalists each for Siemens and Intel. There was also one finalist for the Siemens competition (Rohan Bhobe c/o 2005), and three finalists in the Intel competition (Timothy Credo, Lyra Haas, and Abhi Gulati, all c/o 2005). In addition, two of the finalists in the Intel placed in the top ten; one student stood second overall, while another won sixth place. The class of 2006 continued the success, with five students being named semifinalists in both the Intel and Siemens competitions. In the class of 2009, five students were named Siemens Regional Finalists and ten others as semifinalists.
Six mathematics teachers have been honored with the Edyth May Sliffe Award: Titu Andreescu (1994), Ronald Vavrinek (1995), Micah Fogel (2001), Steven Condie (2002), Michael Keyton (2003), Don Porzio (2004), and Steven Condie (2nd award) (2007). Asteroid 21441 Stevencondie is named after Dr. Condie.
IMSA has repeatedly been included on Newsweek’s annual list of “Best High Schools in America”, along with approximately 20 other schools, due to the above-average SAT and ACT scores of exiting students.[citation needed]
IMSA was also one of the top four High Schools in the Mandelbrot Competition in the 2003-2004 school year.
Notable alumni
Dominic Armato (1993), voice actor[citation needed]
Steve Chen (1996) is the co-founder/Chief Technology Officer of YouTube, and an early engineer at PayPal.
Rob McCool (1991) is the author of NCSA HTTPd web server and an early Netscape employee who was a member of the team which invented the early web browser, Mosaic. He also invented the forerunner of the Apache HTTP Server.
Ramez Naam (1990) is a software developer and author. He helped develop Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and Outlook.
Yu Pan (1995) was one of the six co-creators of PayPal and was the first employee at YouTube.
Tay Zonday ’00, YouTube Celebrity (“Chocolate Rain”) attended but did not graduate from IMSA[citation needed]
Sam Yagan ’95, is one of the original co-founders of SparkNotes and has also co-founded OkCupid, one of the largest (free) web-based online dating sites in the world.[citation needed]
See also
North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics
Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Humanities
University Laboratory High School
Carol Martin Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science in Kentucky
External links
IMSA’s website
IMSA’s School Profile (2008)
IMSA Student Council Website
School newspaper The Acronym
IMSA Cross Country
References
^ “IMSA President Dr. Max McGee – President’s Bio”. biography. IMSA. https://www3.imsa.edu/president/bio. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
^ “Trustees”. IMSA. https://www3.imsa.edu/board/trustees. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
^ “Message from the Principal”. IMSA. https://www3.imsa.edu/learning/principal. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
^ a b “Aurora (Illinois Math and Science Academy)”. Illinois High School Association (IHSA). 16 December 2009. http://www.ihsa.org/school/schools/0131.htm. Retrieved 19 December 2009.
^
^ a b c “Clubs and Organizations”. directory. IMSA. 2009-10. https://www3.imsa.edu/living/activities/clubs. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
^ https://www3.imsa.edu/news/releases/2009/06/24/imsa-announces-invited-class-2012
^ https://www3.imsa.edu/news/releases/2009/06/24/imsa-announces-invited-class-2012
^ https://www3.imsa.edu/admissions/FAQ
^ http://www.imsa.edu/news/releases/2007_2008/classof2010.php
^ Hadron Website
^ a b c “Athletics”. Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy. https://www3.imsa.edu/living/athletics. Retrieved 19 December 2009.
^ “IHSA Season Summaries”. Illinois High School Association (IHSA). 16 November 2009. http://www.ihsa.org/school/records/sum0131.htm. Retrieved 19 December 2009.
^ Siemens Foundation. November 2008. “MATHEMATICAL SUPERSTARS FROM MISSOURI, INDIANA AND TEXAS HONORED FOR RESEARCH IN NATION PREMIER HIGH SCHOOL SCIENCE COMPETITION”
^ IMSANews. (December 2004).”IMSA Math Teacher is Sixth to Receive Prestigious Award”
^ Ceres Connection. Lincoln Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “2005 Award Honorees”
^ JPL Small-Body Database Browser. “21441 Stevencondie (1998 FC144)”
^ “2008 Alumni Award Recipients”. IMSA. https://www3.imsa.edu/alumni/awards/recipients08. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
^ a b c “2007 Alumni Award Recipients”. IMSA. https://www3.imsa.edu/alumni/awards/recipients07. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
Categories: Gifted education | High schools in Illinois | National Consortium for Specialized Secondary Schools of Mathematics, Science and Technology schools | Magnet schools in Illinois | Educational institutions established in 1985 | Education in Aurora, IllinoisHidden categories: Articles needing additional references from July 2009 | All articles needing additional references | All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements from August 2009 | Articles with unsourced statements from December 2007 | Articles with unsourced statements from December 2009
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Islam and Science is a collection of Islamic books written by Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, Edward G. Browne and M.A.Karim.The titles in this series are God Arises, Islamic Medicine, Religion and Science and Simple Guide to Islam’s Contribution to Science.
The evidence of God in nature and science is discussed in God Arises. This book is the result of thirty years in exhaustive research, attempts to present the basic teachings of religion in the light of modern knowledge and in a manner consistent with modern scientific method.
After a thorough investigation of the subject the writer has reached the conclusion that religious teachings are academically valid and are understandable and intellectually acceptable as much as any of the theories propounded by men of science.
This book deals with issues such as the challenge of modern knowledge, the method of argument, nature and science speak about God, argument for the life hereafter, affirmation of prophethood, challenge of the Quran, religion and society and the life that we seek.
There is an explanation in simple language of how 20th century research has on academic grounds totally demolished the atheistic claims put forward in the 18th and 19th centuries. The title of the book was inspired by a verse of the Bible.
Islamic Medicine is an Islamic book that indicates the part played by scholars and physicians, especially of Persia in the transmission of medical science through the dark ages from the decline of the ancient to the rise of modern learning and to suggest to lovers of Persian and Arabic literature that they have allowed poets and euphuists to take up a disproportionate portion of their time.
This Islamic book deals with such concepts as the meaning of the term ‘Arabic Medicine’ to periods of Arabian and Islamic history, transmission of Greek learning, Syrian and Persian contributions, evolution of scientific terminology in Arabic, Arabian popular medicine, practice of medicine in the time of the Crusades, Persian medical works, introduction of European medicine into Muslim lands, outlines of Muslim cosmogony etc.
Religion and Science is a book that deals with two kinds of knowledge, knowledge of things and knowledge of truth. In the case of truths unlike for things only indirect argument can throw light upon them.
In the case of scientific truths the validity of indirect or inferential argument is a matter of general acceptance. Religious truths are also governed by inferential arguments and hence are deemed to fall into the same category as scientific truths.
A Simple Guide to Islam’s Contribution to Science and Civilization discusses how Islam furthered the cause of science, Muslims and the foundation of physical science, western civilization as the offspring of Arab civilization in Spain and the intellectual achievements of early Muslims.
Goodword Islamic Books has published a collection of Islam Books . For more information about other Islamic Books please visit Islamic Bookstore.
Recitation 2 License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA More information at ocw.mit.edu More courses at ocw.mit.edu
R. K. Singh. Using English in Science and Technology. Bareilly: Prakash Book Depot, 2010. Pages 336, Rs. 95/-. ISBN 978-81-7977-386-4.
In learning a language, the aim is to be able to utilize the language in day-to-day tasks as also to meet the career demands. The needs of the students are crucial in teaching and one should ensure that learning does take place and the learners do achieve their long-term goals which include learners’ ability to communicate in the target language outside of classrooms and realization of various professional/career opportunities.
The concept of ESP contains a presumption that adult students learn English for a certain purpose, and there is a constant awareness of the purpose on the part of students as well as teachers. The main concern of ESP is ‘specific’ needs of students with the objective of solving their specific linguistic difficulties.
English for science and technology or EST is a subcategory of the larger field of English for Specific Purposes in which EST shares some basic characteristics with the larger field of ESP.
The language in EST is also more specialized. This is not surprising given the fact that scientific inquiry is a very specific process which relates to control, manipulation and observation of situations and involves research assumptions, hypothesis formation, and theory construction.
Textbooks are a key component in most language programmes. These serve as the basis for much of the language input learners receive or the language practice that takes place in the classroom. In some situations, the textbook may function as a supplement to the teachers’ instruction in the ESL teaching and learning process. For most teachers, textbooks provide the foundation for the content of lessons, the balance of the skills taught, as well as the kinds of language practice the students engage in during class activities. The use of English to teach Science and Technology reflects the importance of having effective English textbooks in helping learners acquire the necessary language skills.
Using English in Science and Technology by R.K. Singh has been republished with considerable revision and addition to help tertiary level students of science and technology to improve their written communication skills. To quote the author”Using English in Science and Technology, though not an ESP textbook per se, meets an important and urgent need in the area of English language teaching in India. It generally emphasizes development of students’ capacity for self-study, and language and communication skills, particularly the skills for effective academic writing, just as it prepares them for studies in English in many scientific and engineering fields like physics, chemistry, economics, geology, mining engineering, ecology, etc.” (p.vii).
The book is divided into nine sections. In the first section, the author describes the characteristic feature of scientific and technical writing, and the process model of writing. The Interactional Process Approach he discusses is a revised version of his most referred to research paper published in English Teaching Forum in 1994. One becomes aware of both the process and product as one proceeds through pre-writing, writing, and post-writing stages and organizes the contents.
The second section deals with English in scientific discourse. This section is the real strength of the book and deals with using impersonal passive voice, writing instructions and describing/reporting, describing objects, describing processes and graphical presentation of information, writing definitions, writing narratives, writing classifications, writing explanations, using comparison and contrast, writing hypothesis, prediction and conclusion, generalizing and exemplifying, and using thought connectors. The author discusses these rhetorical functions in detail. Firstly, he provides a description of the way language is used, and then, he offers suitable exercises for practice. Whatever discourse one produces, one has to use these rhetoric to write. The description and examples provided in this section are not only meant for science and technology teachers and students, but also for general ELT teachers who may be interested in teaching written communication by additionally providing suitable exercises. At the end of this section the author includes a discussion of thought connectors to develop a sense for achieving cohesion and coherence in the text.
The third section, a new addition in this edition of the book, deals with using punctuation, which is a most difficult and confusing part of written communication. The author deals with the use of punctuation marks such as commas, ellipses, semicolon, colon, dashes, and apostrophe.
The fourth and fifth sections of the book discuss study skills such as outlining, paraphrasing, summarizing, and note-making. Learning these study skills is necessary for all the professionals and researchers. The section provides a discussion on the method of outlining, paraphrasing, summarizing, and note-making with various exercises for practice.
The sixth section is based on understanding instruction verbs. Most of the time we commit mistake in using instruction verbs. As a teacher we need to set question papers and we have to write instructions for the students to write answers. Understanding instructions is necessary for the students to answer questions in the examination accordingly. This section provides a solution to the problems of both the teachers and students.
A new section is added in the book on use of polite expressions in communication. This should help students in their day to day conversation as also in participating in seminars etc.
The second last section is devoted to organizing references in writing. Students commit mistake in writing references. This section will help students to improve their reference writing skills.
The last section of the book provides sample lesson texts and text-based exercises for “consolidation of skills and language use learnt in the second, third and fourth sections.” The section also provides a possible model for teachers to develop their own practice material in the class.
The book is written keeping in view the prevalent system of teaching English language in technical institutions, and revised on the basis of the tertiary level students’ newer needs. This book is an outcome of the author’s experience in the classroom. The book has been used as a textbook in B. Tech, M. Sc. and M. Sc. Tech classes in Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad for nearly two decades. The exercises in the book are repeatedly tested in the classroom.
An English language teacher, particularly the teachers teaching in Technical Institutions, can use this book easily and without any formal training in ESP. It is a common belief that one should know science for teaching EST. But it is not possible for English language teachers to know science. This book will be handyl for the English teachers who do not know science but have interest in everyday science. The author has tried to produce a sort of general ESP/EST textbook which can be conveniently by providing additional exercises according to the needs of the students.
Except for some typographical errors, the book makes a smooth reading. It is nicely got up and the price is affordable. As a teacher and EST practitioner, I strongly recommend it to all English language teachers and students keen to improve their language skills in Technical Institutions.
Reviewed by:
M. Mojibur Rahman
Associate Professor of English
Department of Humanities and Social Sciences
Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad-826004
Education sector is growing at a great pace and constantly adding to the growth of the country. The sector of education is always in the stage of development, due to adoption of new techniques and education forms from the foreign countries. The students are always in the search of new fields, which could add to their skills and explore their opportunities in one or the other productive ways. The main aim of getting educated for a student is to earn a respectable amount of salary and frame for himself a bright career route leading to prosperous future. The school and college education these days, are also aimed at the growth of the students. Many new career prospects are coming and grabbing the interest of a large number of students.
Actuarial sciences are one of those fields, which are slowly attracting students to opt it as their career option. Actuarial science is a field, which basically deals with the mathematical and statistical numbers, to further assess the various risk factors in the insurance and the finance sectors. Actuarial science is a word, which is mostly referred to as a field related to the insurance sector. Professionals of this field are called Actuaries, and they generally provide services in the health, life, general, retirement and many other benefit plans. The students aiming for the course in Actuarial science need to have maths as their subjects in the senior secondary examination. There are colleges in India, which provide graduation as well as post graduation courses in actuarial science. Some of the colleges in India, providing actuarial science courses, are:
v Bishop Herber College, Tamil Nadu
v The National Insurance Academy, Pune
v Academy of Insurance Management, New Delhi
v Birla Institute of Management Technology, New Delhi
v Bharathisadan University, Tamil Nadu
v Bajaj Capital Business School, Mumbai
v Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT, Mumbai
v Institute of Certified Risk and Insurance Managers, Hyderabad
v University of Kalyani, West Bengal
v Behrampur University, Orissa
The entrance to these colleges is mainly through an entrance test, conducted by the colleges of India. Also, the students who want to practise actuarial sciences as their career need to pass through an examination conducted by the Actuarial Society of India. The students appearing for these exams need to have a strong maths background to deal efficiently with the figures and statistics. The students with degrees in course of actuarial science are believed to possess the power of farsightedness. They are said to be highly evaluative and calculative when it comes to figures and can give a better opinion in terms of the financial outcomes of major future events.
Also, to practise the profession of actuarial science, the person needs to become a student member of Actuarial Society of India. There are various conditions, which the student should satisfy for becoming a student of the ASI. Out of which, the majors being the student of 18 years of age and above and should have maths as his major subjects in the senior secondary and the graduation levels. The examination of the Actuarial Society of India is divided into four stages, which are as follows:
v Core Technical Stage: Consists of eight exams, each of 100 marks, and clearing all the exams is compulsory
v Core Application Stage: Here the students have two compulsory subjects to pass
v Specialist Technical Stage: It has six subjects, out of which a student can choose any two, according to his interests.
v Specialist Application Stage: This examination stage also has six subjects, out of which a student needs to clear any one.
The scope for a student doing course in Actuarial science is getting very bright with more and more people opting for the banking and insurance services. Also, with the introduction of insurance services in the healthcare and other prominent sectors, the demand of the actuaries is bound to rise.
Gurleen Kaur writes on behalf of Shiksha.com. Shiksha is a portal that connects education seeker with education provider. Shiksha provides information about MBA Colleges and Medical Colleges
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