Response to BattleGround Schools: Mathematics Education

This article was able to put things into perspective for me. I was aware of different approaches and varying attitudes towards teaching and learning Mathematics, but the dichotomies: the Conservative and the Progressive helped me categorize and structure the diversity that exists around teaching and learning Mathematics. This will of course affect almost all Math teachers. Some of us will fall under the umbrella of the conservative approach, while others will lean towards the progressive way, and some of us will be blending one into the other.

One of the titles ‘The New Math’ caught my attention. I found it intriguing that the mathematics education became the focus of national anxieties in the United States in the 1960’s. It’s very interesting to see the initiation of this new Math movement and the associated challenges for both Math teachers and parents. I can only imagine the stress and anxiety the students, the teachers, along with the parents went through.

Likewise, the title ‘Math Wars over the NCTM Standards’ and the content under it reminds me of what one of my instructors in this programs said, i.e. ‘schools are a political system’. It will be naive to not consider the politics and the national interests involved that directly or indirectly impact our education system.

Lastly, we, as educators and Math teachers, should be ready and are expected to teach what we think we’re not comfortable teaching. We should be ready to embrace these challenges as learning opportunities and risk-taking experiences.