I found the history of the approaches to teaching mathematics to be very interesting. I grew up in the 90s, which, according to the article, was a period of time when the NCTM Standards' approach to mathematics was prevalent. I grew up with the mindset that objective standards to teaching math was the norm. Course material has always been presented to me as an absolute reality which was pretty standard in all schools. And as far as the content was concerned, I thought that the material taught to us was the only appropriate material for our age group.
In high school, I did get some newer perspectives, however, on the different ways of teaching mathematics, because students from Asian countries seemed to have had a better mathematical education (at least in terms of the level of difficulty or grade level). However, I do not know how teachers in Asia differered in their pedagogical approach.
I find this article so interesting because it challenges my view that the way I was taught mathematics was the only way that had been tried up to then. But in reality, pedagogical approaches to mathematics have not always been monoform, but diverse. In fact, it is because of this diversity that correct pedagogy has become in some ways a political issue.
When I teach mathematics, I will certainly take a lot from the "new" ways of teaching - but I do not think that my way will be a totally novel way of teaching. What I hope is simply to combine philosophy and thinking with mathematics, to reach people at many different levels, rather than at just the end-result level which has test-taking as its ultimate aim.
Very nice!
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