I am not sure you can claim with any authority that what you learned in first grade sabotaged your ability to understand abstract concepts. My son has neither

I am not sure you can claim with any authority that what you learned in first grade sabotaged your ability to understand abstract concepts. My son has neither developed a solid understanding of the concepts that common core emphasizes nor a more mechanical ability to manipulate arithmetic expressions. My anecdotal observation is that most kids at that age are not quite ready to absorb many of the concepts emphasized. Instead they require gaining some familiarity of the basic elements of arithmetic and what they represent before pulling them apart more.