Have a look at this public letter to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan recommending serious math requirements and licensing for prospective K-8 teachers. It is signed by numerous experts in mathematics who have been active in calling for change in the way math is taught is U.S. schools, including Penn State’s own George Andrews. The letter begins:
If a first grade teacher read at the fifth grade level, we’d be outraged. But what if she had only third or fourth grade mathematics skills and lacked the conceptual understanding needed for teaching mathematics? Unfortunately, this is the reality for all too many licensed K – 8 teachers in this country. According to a recent report by the National Council on Teacher Quality, the current training that prospective K-8 teachers receive in the vast majority of this country’s education schools assures that this appalling situation will continue unchanged.
