To be fair, on occasion the journey is the real reward - e.g. learning to do arithmetic versus using a calculator. This is a global maximum vs. local maximum p

To be fair, on occasion the journey is the real reward - e.g. learning to do arithmetic versus using a calculator. This is a global maximum vs. local maximum problem. Unfortunately, it's extremely rare for a teacher to use this argument for the right reason; much more often they're doing exactly what you describe.