For a more informed perspective on how we teach math all wrong, I recommend Lockhart's Lament: http://www.maa.org/devlin/LockhartsLament.pdf
For a more informed perspective on how we teach math all wrong, I recommend Lockhart's Lament: http://www.maa.org/devlin/LockhartsLament.pdf
The idea behind the problem (say 9+5) is to "make a 10" and then figure out the sum from the remainder. So 9+5 -> 10+4 = 14. But he didn't know which numbers routinely added up to 10. That was never memorized. The assignment was so focused on strategy and technique that it neglected the fact that the basic tools aren't there.
There's a point where you need to memorize something to make the strategy and discovery easier.
One of my happiest conversations was with my 7 year old inquiring into infinity...days after our conversation I overheard him saying to a classmate, 'Inifinity is not a number, it's a statement saying numbers never end...'