>people have the not exactly right idea taught at school
could it not also be that some of these students didn't actually learn what was being taught, and just squeaked by with minimum grades to not have to take it again?
fwiw, I definitely was given the wires and electrons are like a pipe for water somewhere during schooling, and it was interesting to hear a deeper explanation.
and during this discussion of electrons flowing, did it now also contain discussion on the fields produced around the wire? did I just have an exceptional teacher (I know my high school physics teacher was one of those teachers and am indebted to him), or did I just pay attention?
To the point, during the time that I was learning fields produced around a wire carrying a current, I was also learning recording studio audio and how hums can be created by running cables in parallel and avoided by crossing them perpendicularly. I had a conversation about it with said physics teacher, and he gave a lecture about it the next day. Yeah, one of those teachers that sets one on a positive course.