[1718627440]

> Teachers don't know always understand why things are being taught.

Yes, but I don't think that is the actual bottleneck, even when they do, most children probably don't care about abstract goals, but rather about immediate skills in their everyday life, or just the statement, that they will need it.

[davidmurdoch]

I guess I'm just trying to suggest that teachers sometimes might think they know why things are being taught, and make claims like "you wont always have a calculator" as the reason for learning mathematics.

One conclusion might be that it'd be better for some students if teachers understood the why, as they might change their approach on some subjects. An example: knowing that certain equations and patterns EXIST, and which kinds of problems they apply to, is generally much more important that knowing the actual equations by heart themselves.

[fatherwavelet]

"You can't begin to paint until you have learned to stretch canvas by hand like the old masters.

What if one day you couldn't just go to the art supply store and buy a pre-stretched canvas?

It is all besides the point anyway. You are going to learn to stretch canvas by hand first because that is what my teacher made me do!"