While MathPath serves a useful function in society by providing an appropriate summer mathematics enrichment opportunity and a web resource for profoundly gifted students in their formative years, there is a problem. That is, due to the high cost of running a progam of this kind, the MathPath summer camp is not affordable to students from less well-off families.
Currently there is no government funding for this at either the state or the federal level. All the education funds are directed to education of the general or the mentally challenged student. For instance, the "No child left behind" is such program funding.
"Massive investments in the American education system currently are directed toward improving the basic skills of struggling learners." [1] While this is a desireable investment to produce a capable workforce, it must be noted that the highly gifted form the greatest asset of any nation.
While providing funds for the education of the general student public is a necessity, supporting the highly gifted is fiscal shrewdness.
The plight of the highly gifted is not very likely to change since the highly gifted comprise only a minute fraction of the population. The general thinking is that the highly gifted even from less well-off families will somehow thrive.
Gifted individuals would be naturally concerned with gifted issues and therefore would better understand them. Thus we seek the support from gifted people.
Who are these people? They are the entrepreneurs who have built enterprises, they are the professors and scientists, and they are found in the middle and upper managements of corporations and other organizations.
There are also plenty of other kinds of gifted people. If you are in these categories, we ask you either to make a personal donation or instruct us - see the email link below - on how to proceed to obtain a corporate sponsorship which could consist of a contribution either to the endowment or to establish a few summer scholarships.
"Fund A Mental Group" is the Mathpath initiative to raise funds for a permanent endowment to provide financial aid to highly gifted students - from less well-off families - to attend the Mathpath summer program.
Personal Donations
See below to make a donation to the Fund A Mental Group endowment. We also seek support from parents and relatives of Mathpath alumni. Due to the lack of scholarship funds, the Mathpath summer program currently takes in less than 100 students per year so the support from parents and relatives of the small number of alumni can not be expected to provide the needed funds. Moreover, it is not fair to ask these folks again and again, for it would be akin to penalizing them for bringing up such exceptional children - what with the enormous effort to raise these little rascals! So we seek support from other gifted individuals - for, the highly gifted children form the greatest asset of our nation and our common heritage. In fact, the play on words in "Fund A Mental Group" is a reminder of these aspects and telling us to support them.
Tax-receipts will be issued for all donations. You may either mail a check or click on the donation button below. If mailing a check, please make the check payable to Mathpath and mail to:
Mathpath
Unit 416
3560 Pine Grove Avenue
Port Huron, MI 48060
To give using a credit card, click the button below.
REFERENCES
[1] Renzulli, Joseph - "A Quiet Crisis is Clouding the Future of R&D," Education Week, Volume 24, Issue 38, May 25, 2005
MathPath - "BRIGHT AND EARLY"
Send suggestions to support@mathpath.org
Copyright © 2001- MathPath
Last updated - March 17, 2008
