A Mathematician’s Lament by Paul Lockhart:
<a href="http://www.maa.org/devlin/LockhartsLament.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://www.maa.org/devlin/LockhartsLament.pdf</a><p>Persuaded me that the way I learned math is pathologically soul crushing; the way it's taught from kindergarden through university.  The first two pages set up a nice metaphor:  mathematics is argument and creativity and our traditional math education by memorization and rote repetition are akin to teaching music by reading and writing sheet music without first hearing or playing an instrument.<p>"No society would ever reduce such a beautiful and 
meaningful art form to something so mindless and trivial; no culture could be so cruel to its 
children as to deprive them of such a natural, satisfying means of human expression."<p>The rest of the article digs into some specific examples.<p>Mathematics instruction needs an overhaul and back-to-basics isn't The Right Thing.