ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on data collected in a South African classroom; the mathematics crisis is experienced not only in this country, but also by many other developing countries. An important question to ask is why the problem persists after so many years of research in mathematics education. The chapter discusses some of these questions by using different lenses first to look at the case study of Mr. T and his students, and then to provide insights on how he can further improve his teaching. It also explains about the social-cultural practices and their location in history, including colonialism and apartheid in South Africa, then becomes the locus of the lack and foregrounds limitations in the teaching. The chapter discusses that for Heyd-Metzuyanim, the angle is to understand overlapping communities of practice, and that rationales for school mathematics in the teaching community are not the same as that of the research community, be it from mathematicians or mathematics educators.
