Various constituencies have responsibility for the support of mathematics teachers and teaching and in building successful mathematics programs. Such support needs to be multifaceted, systemic, and reliable. Existing support systems for mathematics teachers are as inadequate for teaching in today's society as the shopkeeper arithmetic curriculum is for educating our children to live and work in the twenty-first century. The kind and level of mathematics education required for today's students to prosper in a dramatically changed economy and in a scientifically and technologically advanced society places great responsibility on the shoulders of teachers of mathematics. At the same time our society is undergoing other dramatic changes that make teaching even more challenging.
Teachers can and do implement successful mathematics programs with little help or encouragement.
However, such practice should not be expected to flourish without adequate support. The standards in this section focus on these responsibilities.