Mathematician questions why elementary schools test kids on property names
AlexKontorovich · x · 2026-10-14
- Rutgers math professor Alex Kontorovich asks why elementary schools teach and test the names of math properties ("associative property", etc.), calling it boring and counterproductive.
- He proposes fun contest-style problems to test real understanding, e.g. computing 10×9×…×(−10), 1/2×2/3×…×99/100, or quickly solving 34×3+34×7.
- His point: knowing how to use a property as a "backdoor" matters far more than its label.
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