> This has changed for the worse with capitalism and social inequality. An interesting perspective which I feel might be the actual core of the problem. I grew

> This has changed for the worse with capitalism and social inequality. An interesting perspective which I feel might be the actual core of the problem. I grew up after the Revolution, so I can't make a before/after comparison, but (as I mentioned in a different comment) I see a tight connection between how aggressive other students were and how bad their family situation was. > Math for math's sake was never my thing. I only started to really like math in university when I saw its potential to solve real world problems. Perfectly legitimate. Pushing hard math early on can actually put you off the subject forever. Some of us started liking it in university, but a lot of capable students decide it's just not for them. With a different approach many might have ended up understanding and maybe even loving it.