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Battleground Schools

The biggest 'stop' I had while reading this chapter, was a realization of just how many of the conservative views of mathematics I experienced in my own schooling, and how I myself still subconsciously hold some of these views. The article encouraged me to interrogate my own views on things like the role of testing in mathematics education. I thought the table near the beginning of the article did an incredible job of elucidating the differences between a conservative and progressive view of teaching mathematics. The contrasts between eliciting/presenting and the different loci of mathematical knowing really helped me grasp this distinction.

A second 'stop' I had while reading this article was a realization the many different ways that the legacy of how math used to be taught influences how math is taught today. The article discussed math phobia that is passed through generations, as well as math conservatism transmitted through teachers who excelled at math taught in a conservative way. It seems difficult to break out of this conservative tradition of teaching mathematics, when most people who are now mathematics educators or education advocates likely grew up in a somewhat mathematically conservative environment.

A third 'stop' I had, or rather, a connection I made, was how much educational perspectives tend to swing forwards and then overcorrect backwards, rather than steadily progress. It will be interesting to see how this plays out with the new BC curriculum, which seems to be, across the board, a step towards a much more progressive, inquiry-based, teacher-dependent view of education. I wonder if there will be backlash and the a move back to a more traditional view of curriculum, or if the new curriculum is here to stay.

I really enjoyed the article and learning a bit about the history of perspectives on mathematics education!

Comments

  1. Susan Gerofsky27 November 2017 at 12:07

    Thanks for these thoughtful and in-depth comments, Erika!

    ReplyDelete

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