Commentary 1: Embracing Tensions: A Commentary to Mistele and Jacobsen’s Case

In the case that Mistele and Jacobsen present, they discuss the dilemmas they encountered when designing and implementing a new mathematics content course, Math for Social Analysis. This content course was a capstone course developed for prospective elementary- and middle-school teachers with a primary goal of using mathematics to explore serious social issues. Although my personal context is different than that of the authors, the issue of balancing competing demands when designing formal courses and other kinds of learning opportunities is a challenge I also face in my work. My perspective on this case is informed by my background as a high school mathematics teacher, as a mathematics educator in a college of education, and my personal work with teachers and students in elementary- and middle-grades classrooms.