Proof School

http://www.artofproblemsolving.com/

Can't comment on all the critiques here, but thank you for them, especially those intended to be constructive--the board of directors and advisory board members will consider some of points made here. If you haven't already, I encourage you to check out who's supporting Proof School. We are fortunate to have their backing and advice.

First, to user interface... the pitch deck format of the current website is meant more as a landing page to pique curiosity and to solicit interest--it will change to a more familiar UX soon. Apologies if it's slow or glitchy--we're working on it. Go easy, guys!

Let me tell you a little more about Proof School, opening to students in 2015. The mission of the school is to attract students who self-identify as "math kids"--it will not be easy to get in. We're looking for kids who may not see their peers except at summer math camps or at math circles, Julia Robinson Math Festivals, or math and CS events/contests at universities, MSRI and AIM during the school year, kids whose friends (some, at least) will wish they could go to Proof School, too, because the name says it all and they get it, kids who at 11, 12, 13, 14 are doing college and graduate level mathematics... and want to do it with kids and adults like them all year round, not just once in a while. These math kids are out there, and the response from them, their parents and other adult "math kids" who wish they'd had a Proof School when they were growing up is, frankly, massive. Here's our mission statement: PROOF SCHOOL WILL OFFER AN UNRIVALED EDUCATION TO YOUNG PEOPLE WHO EXCEL AT AND HAVE A PASSION FOR MATHEMATICS WHILE EQUIPPING THEM WITH KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND CHARACTER FOR SUCCESS IN LIFE.

Proof School will be elite but not elitist; no one who qualifies will be turned away because of financial need. It can also not only be about math: we will be offering a complete, UC A-G accredited curriculum, plus an explicit social/emotional learning (SEL) and mindfulness program, and partnering with some of the finest educational and cultural programs the Bay Area has to offer so that we educate the whole child. Math and CS will in some ways be the easy part, with teachers, professors, visiting instructors and peers teaching and learning from each other all in the mix. By contrast, we've identified the need to recruit the best teachers and academic leaders in the arts, hard sciences and humanities as our most pressing need going forward.

What more can I tell you... We're launching a "Math Community Hub" in downtown SF in 2014 to get us in synch with academic and admissions calendars, pulling together all people interested in math at all levels. There's lots more, but I won't be able to respond to more comments here on HN (I've got a school to build!). If you'd like to add your great ideas to our efforts, please send me an email at ibrown[at]proofschool.org. Also, please have a look at William Thurston's paper "On Proofs and Progress in Mathematics" here--just great: http://arxiv.org/pdf/math/9404236v1.pdf

Many thanks for the feedback, Ian

Proofschool only needs to drop an r to become an abusive taunt while still sounding very similar to the original. It is a linguistic gift to your average bully.

But I think the same problem that elite colleges face also exists here: If your school's graduates are the cream of the crop of your society / field, is it because your education caused them to be or is it because you selected the cream of the crop to begin with?

So, I'd like to hijack this thread to focus your attention on another tangentially related problem: Teaching people who don't self-identify as "math kids". I think these are the low hanging fruit that, if improved, would improve society as a whole.

What I often see with people who say "I can't do math" is a shaky understanding of true basics. Kids will cross-multiply an equation to simplify it but they won't know why they're doing it or why it works. Then, they'll pass tests because they can do the basic algorithm. Now they think they know it and their teachers think they know it, and they move on to a different subject. Conceptually, the new stuff piles on top of the old stuff and so they have no hope of understanding what is going on, OR they further the "see question type x, apply algorithm y" mentality until it collapses.

So, I'd love to see a "learn math the hard way" where people can iteratively learn the fundamentals of arithmetic, algebra, and basic proofs. What I love about that series is that it's iterative to a fault. Every section is tens of experiments with a very simple concept. What if I use it this way? What if I stick in a string? What if I spell it wrong?

It teaches concepts at a slow enough pace that anyone can catch a conceptual leap that'd otherwise be undecipherable and confusing to beginners. It teaches that experimental mindset. It can get boring if you already know that part, but you can skip it if you like.

The part that I don't know what to do about is when you fast forward 10 years and you try to correct faulty education, and people balk at you for teaching them "easy stuff they already know" and not the more complicated topic that they're currently concerned with.