Do you mean abstract, or rote? I think maths is necessarily abstract, in fact that's where the beauty lies IMHO. Learning maths in terms of calculating your t

Do you mean abstract, or rote? I think maths is necessarily abstract, in fact that's where the beauty lies IMHO. Learning maths in terms of calculating your taxes, or 'how long does it take to fill the bathtub, if both taps are open' type problems would be extremely uninspiring. OTOH, I see a lot of teaching is just learning the 'abstract' mechanics of maths, without any understanding of why, and how it all fits together, etc. The two seem to share some properties.