Vol. 17 Num. 2 (1997) David Wheeler Editorial2 Anna Sierpinska Formats of interaction and model readers2 Ubiratan D'Ambrosio Where does ethnomathematics stand nowadays?13 William Higginson Reflections on FLM18 Lesley Lee The spirit of FLM19 Robert Thomas An exchange about word problems21 Susan Gerofsky An exchange about word problems22 Munir Fasheh Is math in the classroom neutral -- or dead? A view from Palestine24 Dick Tahta Under the banyan tree28 Thomas Kieren Theories for the classroom: connections between research and practice31 Pearla Nesher Does mathematics education really exist?34 Stephen Brown Thinking like a mathematician: a problematic perspective36 Jan van Maanen New maths may profit from old methods39