The purpose of this article is to probe teacher beliefs about the cultures and curricula of mathematics classroom. By examining the case of a teacher in New York City--his teaching practices and the resulting learning environment fostered there--certain pedagogical and epistemological beliefs can be highlighted. The author first examines some polar beliefs concerning teaching and learning middle school mathematics. The author then explores what she means by the "culture of a classroom" by applying Lakoff and Johnson's (1980) framework for metaphorical reasoning