In this weekโ€™s Pope Center Clarion Call, mathematician and math teacher Barry Garelick writes about his unhappy experiences in the โ€œmath methodsโ€ course he took while pursuing his obligatory teaching certificate at George Mason University several years ago. If prospective math teachers actually take to heart what they are told about the best methods to teach math (and Garelick himself does not), that goes far toward explaining why so many young Americans are clueless when it comes to anything numerical.

At least Garelick wasnโ€™t told that good math teachers import โ€œsocial justiceโ€ concepts into their classes, which some do. Other ed schools are probably more radicalized than is GMUโ€™s.