<p>I totally get what tuesdayair is saying about not really learning math but learning the solutions before Exeter. Just because you know how to do it doesn’t mean you know it. The emphasis on state tests in publics drills process into the kids, not understanding. I hate the way most schools teach math. They tend to destroy the beauty of it by focusing on the minutia and students never get to experience the horizon of logic that makes math so very cool. When working with my own children, I often stop and ask, “Does this make sense to you? Because it has to make sense. It making sense is the whole point.” One doesn’t study quadratics because they will need to calculate the trajectory of a ball thrown from a building, (or whatever). One studies math because it is the only chance to experience pure reason. There is no angst. There is no interpretation. It just “is.”</p>