I was surprised to discover so much contention in the history of mathematics education in North America. Progressivists had thought of and Dewey attempted to implement inquiry-based learning in the last century with little reform in the general scene of math education. However, the university-level math curriculum gained ground in response to the space race between the former Soviet Union and the United States. I started to consider where I fit into this history that unfolded in the US. As an elementary student in California, I remembered learning math in a basic, traditionalist way. When I moved back to Taiwan, I experienced an even more "conservative" approach to teaching mathematics but at a higher level. The international ranking of different countries eighth graders' mathematical ability heightened the emphasis on math education in North America and thereby influencing NCTM Standards.
For my future career as a math teacher, I will certainly encounter parents and other teachers who are math-phobic. In addition, there will be ongoing "math wars" and revisions to the current math curriculum. I believe that the students should come out of the math classroom feeling accomplished about the sense-making and practical applications of mathematics, not merely the drill and skill of accurate computation.
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