Pourquoi, pour qui enseigner les mathématiques?

The evolution of education in Belgium is described from 1830 to our days. The mastery of education has always been a subject of disputes between the political forces in presence. With the flow of years, more attention is paid to social considerations and the necessity of a more democratic educational system arises. Simultaneously the pedagogical ideas change and active methods of teaching are promoted, although not always used. Different schoolsystems still coexist. However, except for philosophical and religious education, the differences between them tend to diminish. This is in particular the case for mathematics teaching whose evolution is also described with some details.