Reading and blog response: Battleground Schools

When I read and began comparing the conservative and progressive stances in mathematics education, I couldn't tell which one was right and which one was wrong. Both methods are necessary and essential. Without a conservative side about the nature of student work that asks students to absorb and apply facts, students cannot question themselves or challenge any 'facts' they have already learned. 

When I read about the complex of cultural assumptions, including the presumption that math is hard, people who like math are nerds, and there's no shame in not understanding math... I still remember that, back in the past centuries, women and girls were not encouraged to pursue scientific research, which included mathematics. These were all like misunderstandings; people treated mathematics as they treated females in science in the past centuries. However, thanks to the revolution, mathematics is now regarded as a foundational subject not only in education but also as a lifelong learning tool. 

Furthermore, I found that after the 1960s, another Math Wars occurred around the 1990s, and it continues to this day. The NCTM (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics) created standards for teachers, which involved curricular materials, development workshops, and new modes of assessment. It established a new foundation for learning mathematics in a formal structure and essential concepts, while incorporating a variety of content to foster creativity and help teachers and students build a more solid math world. This approach is also beneficial for students to pursue further and broader post-secondary learning.