I found a brief summary of the Mervis article, scroll down to `Now Math Diplomacy - I'
http://www.ams.org/mathmedia/archive/06-2006-media.html
>From this quick scan, I think I can safely say, nothing will improve
because these guys don't see that mathematical ideas are embedded in
all kinds of experiences and thinking that are not properly recognized
as such, hence are never tapped.
In any event, I probably come down on the soft constructivist camp, lets play with ideas boys and girls, and not on the do the damned problem set, algorithmic school. We used to call this the cookbook method.
CG