Battleground Schools Reflection

I agree with the article that there is a prevalence of math phobic attitudes in our current North American society. It seems normal for people to assume that they lack the 'math gene' and are completely comfortable publicly sharing that opinion. When I would tell people that I was a Math major, people were very shocked, and I would reply with some joke about how "we aren't all hermits living in math caves."

The article points out that sometimes it is the case where those who succeed in the traditional, conservative math classroom, will pursue mathematics, and from that group, some will become teachers. As teachers, they will educate the same way they were taught, perpetuating the environment that only allows a few to succeed. As someone who did well in their math classes throughout high school and university, in which classes were for the most part very traditional, I worry that I will translate this style of teaching forward. One of my biggest goals as a math teacher is to break the stigma that math is dry, dull, and only for a select few. But I know that sometimes, in periods of great stress, teachers will revert back to how they were taught as a student. I want to avoid this! I want to use inquiry, despite its inherent messiness, to create an environment of experimentation, creativity, and student discovery, similar to Dewey. 

I found it very interesting to read about the crazy history of math education in North America. I think that we are still very much in a period of conflict between traditional and progressive approaches, and as a teacher, I will experience this conflict first hand. Parents, students, or colleagues may not appreciate my style of teaching and I may experience some backlash.