Freudenthal’s “realistic mathematics education” appears to be a fraud | Boycott Holland

The math wars are not unique to the United States. In the Netherlands, routinely one of the highest-performing countries in international mathematics assessments, there is a small yet vocal group who insist that the path established by Hans Freudenthal has been one big mistake. Because I study at the Freudenthal Institute US, occasionally I get anti-Freudenthal writings sent to me. Like the US version of the math wars, the rhetoric can really be over-the-top, with false dichotomies and ad hominem attacks on individuals. In this post, the author makes a claim about something David Tall meant from one of his writings. Tall personally responded to correct the author's interpretation, and the author audaciously replied, "Tall also states that I misrepresent his position. I do not." I honestly laughed out loud at that one, and reminded myself that there's little reason to debate someone who has already decided what you mean regardless of what you say.