Sharing a love for calculus

分享对微积分的热爱

The national conversation about the value of education is currently dominated by speculation about the risks and positive potential of AI. Whatever your own perspective on that debate, I hope you’ll be glad to know that MIT is also working on a deeply important but comparatively old-fashioned challenge: American high school students’ startlingly uneven access to calculus.

关于教育价值的全国性讨论目前主要集中在对人工智能的风险和积极潜力的推测上。无论你对这场辩论持何种观点，我希望你很高兴能了解到，麻省理工学院（MIT）也在致力于解决一个极其重要但相对“老派”的挑战：美国高中生在微积分课程获取机会上惊人的不平等。

According to the National Survey of Science and Mathematics Education, which covers the nation’s more than 13,000 school districts, in almost half of US high schools calculus isn’t even offered. As our graduates know better than anyone, preparation in calculus is effectively an admissions requirement at a place like MIT—which means that students in schools with no calculus classes are in practice locked out of an essential route to STEM careers.

根据涵盖全美 13,000 多个学区的《国家科学与数学教育调查》，近一半的美国高中甚至不提供微积分课程。正如我们的毕业生最清楚的那样，微积分基础实际上是像麻省理工学院这类学府的入学要求——这意味着在没有微积分课程的学校就读的学生，实际上被挡在了通往 STEM（科学、技术、工程和数学）职业生涯的一条重要路径之外。

Recognizing this glaring need, we set out to find a solution. With support and inspiration from the Siegel Family Foundation, in the fall of 2025 the Institute launched the MIT4America Calculus Project. Developed by the MIT Scheller Teacher Education Program (STEP) Lab, the Calculus Project recruits and trains MIT undergraduates and alumni to provide weekly long-distance calculus tutoring for students in underresourced high schools across the country.

意识到这一迫切需求，我们着手寻找解决方案。在西格尔家族基金会（Siegel Family Foundation）的支持和启发下，麻省理工学院于 2025 年秋季启动了“MIT4America 微积分项目”。该项目由麻省理工学院谢勒教师教育项目（STEP）实验室开发，旨在招募并培训麻省理工学院的本科生和校友，为全国资源匮乏的高中生提供每周一次的远程微积分辅导。

Reflecting the Institute’s longstanding commitment to national service, the MIT4America Calculus Project supplies an innovative answer to a hard practical problem, and it taps the uncommon skill of MIT’s people to create opportunity for others and spread the educational impact of the Institute beyond our walls.

“MIT4America 微积分项目”体现了麻省理工学院长期以来对国家服务的承诺，它为这一棘手的现实问题提供了一个创新的答案。该项目利用麻省理工学院师生非凡的专业能力，为他人创造机会，并将学院的教育影响力扩展到校园之外。

The project is in its early phases, so far engaging 30 MIT undergraduates and seven alumni tutors. From its initial work with 14 school districts across the country, it’s on track to collaborate with about 20 this summer. The demand is clear—and the response from the students we’re reaching makes it all worthwhile. This spring, the first Calculus Project students were prepared for their AP exams, thanks to their own persistence, diligence, and curiosity—and to the generosity, care, and patience of a dedicated group of people from MIT.

该项目目前处于早期阶段，已有 30 名麻省理工学院本科生和 7 名校友导师参与其中。从最初与全国 14 个学区的合作开始，预计今年夏天将扩展到约 20 个学区。需求是显而易见的，而我们所帮助的学生给予的回馈，让这一切努力都变得非常值得。今年春天，首批“微积分项目”的学生已经为他们的 AP 考试做好了准备，这归功于他们自己的坚持、勤奋和好奇心，也归功于来自麻省理工学院的一群敬业人士的慷慨、关怀与耐心。