I remember in sixth grade when they revealed to us that "3 \cdot a" and "3a" were additional notations for "3 x a" (three times a) and encouraged use of those n

I remember in sixth grade when they revealed to us that "3 \cdot a" and "3a" were additional notations for "3 x a" (three times a) and encouraged use of those notations on homework, I happily wrote "a3" as well because multiplication is commutative.