“ No mathematician in the world would bother making these senseless distinctions: 2 1/2 is a “mixed number,” while 5/2 is an “improper fraction.” They’re equal for crying out loud. They are the same exact numbers, and have the same exact properties. Who uses such words outside of fourth grade?
A Mathematician’s Lament by Paul Lockhart
Seriously the truth. This is just one example of how our schools don’t teach math, but instead teach useless facts and formulas instead of the beautiful patterns behind numbers and shapes. These sorts of things make me appreciate the good teachers I had at certain points. It also makes me thoroughly question the elementary school practice of having students taught the majority of their subjects by the same teacher, who likely doesn’t actually have the knowledge to teach them all well.