Math can be a polarising subject, some people love it, some vitriolically hate it, while others just treat it like another class they have to attend.

You’re talking about a particular brand of maths that is thrust upon us at school. I do not accept that maths, even within the confines of a formal curriculum, has to be polarising. Alternate solutions are all around us — Q.E.D. includes a host of practical approaches on how to make school maths uplifting for all.

While it is flattering to be labelled an academic, you’ve kind of missed my point. I’m not disputing the findings — I trust Mathspace’s claim of a 70% increase in engagement. I’m only sceptical of what ‘engagement’ means, and concerned that we have such a low view of mathematics that we feel the need to coerce students into doing an ugly variety of it rather than inspiring them with an alternative.

The author/speaker himself cites the words of Francis Su, so it’s only fair to hold the approach accountable to those aspirational ideals of what mathematics can and should be.