Niles Township High School West - Spectrum Yearbook (Skokie, IL)

Page 27 text:

Effective reasoning and application are primary concepts in mathematics With courses ranging from General Math to Math Analysis, Niles West’s Mathematics Department offers students a selection in all degrees of mathematical interests. The department teaches students to reason effectively and to apply concepts practically. Its primary purpose is to develop quantitative reasoning powers through the use of numerical skills. The aim of the Math De¬ partment is an understanding of these skills so that the student may be able to apply his thinking in fields seemingly quite foreign to mathematics. For example, trigonometry, which in high school appears to be associated with triangles, can be ap¬ plied to an explanation of a chemical reaction. There is a great demand for people highly qualified in their fields of employment. According to Mr. Martin, Chairman of the Mathematics Department, training of the better student to the extent of his ability has become more of a necessity than a choice. For this reason the Mathematics Department has de¬ veloped an extensive accelerated program to challenge the rea¬ soning powers of the better students. Plane Geometry students, Dave Senn. Roberta Benson, and Virginia Hawkins, diagram the Pythagorean Theorem for practical application. Barry Fisher and Robert Cims explain the method of finding the area of a spherical triangle.