ABSTRACT
Mellin-Olsen (1987) viewed mathematics as important as a structure for young people to understand, build, or change a society. He saw mathematics, along with language education, as giving young people a way of compensating for difficult life situations by being constructive, inventive, and forceful rather than turning to drugs or hooliganism. The kind of mathematics curriculum he envisaged to give students the thinking tools needed was based on the relationship between theoretical mathematics and the solving of realistic problems. It exemplified the importance of social context in the teaching of mathematics.
