[necovek]

Primary school programs? Secondary school programs?

I could understand that in high school and uni when you need to move past "intuitive" maths into abstractions, but I'd be perplexed if this is really the "program", and not just an individual teacher (and surely, a big chunk of them too)!

[mlyle]

We've started to swing back towards visual and geometrical models with common core/new math.

But I have a big collection of math textbooks from all over the world, and math 6, pre-algebra and algebra texts in the US have far less geometrical content and pictures than the non-US equivalents that I have. I also think that the increased emphasis on getting students through standardized tests ended up dedicating a lot of class time towards rote with short term benefits.