Who We Are
NYMC is a non-profit organization dedicated to enriching and supplementing Mathematical education in New York City. It provides interested students with superb instruction in an especially rich and friendly atmosphere, offering material not usually encountered in regular curriculum. NYMC seeks to stimulate the enjoyment, appreciation and knowledge of Mathematics through problem solving and guided discovery, both in our classes for students, and through courses for teachers.
NYMC provides the means for students to actively pursue a wide range of Mathematical investigations, to engage in creative problem solving and posing, and to better understand the subtleties of Mathematical ideas including the nature and construction of proofs. Students will appreciate the intrinsic beauty of Mathematics through classical and non-routine problems and ingenious solutions, and will become aware of the enormous power of Mathematics in a variety of settings. Our classes supplement standard curriculum, significantly strengthen and solidify students' existing knowledge, and cultivate motivation and capacity for further studies.
Supporting us
NYMC relies primarily on charitable contributions. We thank the Art of Problem Solving Foundation for accepting donations on our behalf while we are waiting for our own 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status (which we expect by Fall 2008). You may support us by making a tax-deductible donation to the Art of Problem Solving Foundation, with a designation of "New York Math Circle".
Thank you for your support!
Our Mission
NYMC will offer interested students from around New York City an opportunity to grow intellectually and personally through learning of Mathematics and related subjects from exceptional teachers in a friendly enriched atmosphere. It will encourage and support excellent teaching of Mathematics through courses for teachers and other programs.
Our Teaching Style
Our class setting is always casual, friendly, and designed to promote inquiry. Material is presented gently and without stressing fast-paced acquisition of skills or memorization of facts. Most skills are acquired by means of carefully selected problems that lead to deeper and deeper conceptual understanding and consequent mastery of new techniques. Always there is a sense of learning taking place as new ideas are explored and new questions are posed. Students are encouraged to constantly question what they know, and break away from accepting everything at face value. In addition to solving problems, they are encouraged to create and pose their own original problems. Good verbal skills are fostered, including proper use of the Mathematical language. Students are infused with a spirit of discovery, surprise, wonder, enchantment, and ultimately the joy of real understanding and pride in individual accomplishment. The students are taught to tackle the unfamiliar and develop techniques to approach general problems rather than mimic a model solution. Analytical thinking is ever present and becomes an acquired attribute of the maturing Math student. Emphasis is placed on proper forms of presentation, both written and oral, and the need for explanation and justification. Many questions are purposefully left unsolved initially, with teachers ever wary not to let their own enthusiasm tread on the students’ path to discovery.