Innovation in school mathematics? Historical iterations and other enduring dangers: A response to Lisa Darragh

In this response, I interrogate the limits of innovation in school mathematics within a historical context. I explore the continuities as well as shifts in the normalizing practices of school mathematics. I argue that the notions of “free choice” and “surveillance” are not only specific to neoliberal regimes but also are embedded in histories of modern schooling. The historical context enables us to explore the dangers of innovative learning environments such as ordering the differences on a hierarchy in addition to the production of particular identities.