ABSTRACT
In Part I, you read the responses to four cases that use school mathematics as a context for exploring the historical, social, and political dimensions of schooling. These cultural dimensions of schooling, particularly of teaching and learning, are absent from many teacher education programs. In addition to learning theories and designing lessons, prospective and practicing teachers ought to be engaged in on-going discussions about how cultural contexts influence the forms that mathematics curricula take and who gets to learn mathematics. Should all eighth graders take algebra? What is the role of culture in learning mathematics? How does a teacher’s race or class bias (unwittingly or not) play out in mathematics classrooms? How does high stakes testing affect the quality of educational experiences for teachers and students? Most importantly, what is the democratic justification for any educational decision? These questions are not trivial. Their answers have moral, ethical, political, and economic implications for our nation. The cases were intended to spark discussions that should remain the centerpiece of any teacher’s professional development and understanding about what it means to be a teacher in a democratic society.
