The merits of incorporating history into mathematics education have received considerable attention and have been discussed for decades. Still, before taking as dogma that history must be incorporated in mathematics, an obvious question is, Why should the history of mathematics have a place in school mathematics? Answering this question is difficult, since the answer is subject to one's personal definition of teaching and is also bound up with one's view of mathematics. Fauvel's (1991) list of fifteen reasons for including the history of mathematics in the mathematics curriculum includes cognitive, affective, and sociocultural aspects. My purpose in this article is not to provide complete and satisfactory answers but rather, on the basis of theoretical arguments and empirical evidence, to attempt to pinpoint worthwhile considerations to help high school teachers think about what history really can do for the curriculum and for their teaching.
Teachers are Deprofessionalized when Control of the Curriculum is Taken away from them: Discuss in Relation to High School Teachers in China