This article misses the point of early math education.
We don't teach elementary school kids to be future math researchers, or even engineers. We teach them things that everyone should know : reading, writing, basic science, a common cultural basis, and counting.
Arithmetic is important in everyday life : calculating change, knowing what a 10% discount means (percentages are more tricky than most people think), converting currency, measuring surfaces, etc... Calculus, not so much.
In France, they experimented with "maths modernes", which was an attempt to help kids with more advanced concept at an early age : starting with set theory and bases, delaying basic arithmetic. It failed miserably, it produced kids that were unable to do everyday life operations. We are now back to a more down-to-earth approach, with an emphasis on approximations and mental calculations.
We don't teach elementary school kids to be future math researchers, or even engineers. We teach them things that everyone should know : reading, writing, basic science, a common cultural basis, and counting.
Arithmetic is important in everyday life : calculating change, knowing what a 10% discount means (percentages are more tricky than most people think), converting currency, measuring surfaces, etc... Calculus, not so much.
In France, they experimented with "maths modernes", which was an attempt to help kids with more advanced concept at an early age : starting with set theory and bases, delaying basic arithmetic. It failed miserably, it produced kids that were unable to do everyday life operations. We are now back to a more down-to-earth approach, with an emphasis on approximations and mental calculations.