I'm not the first person to cry out for a change in perspective in mathematics education - and I definitely won't be the last.
Here's a small selection of like-minded advocates
From "Navigating by Joy"
(I don't know the writer, but I love the content)
"In England, maths is the second most hated subject in schools, second only to science."
Most homeschooled kids I know love science. Why? Because they learn science in a fun, hands-on way that bears little resemblance to the dry textbook science of most schools.
But I’ve heard of more than a few homeschooled children who dislike maths. Which begs the question – why don’t homeschooling parents share the joys of maths with their children in the same way they do science?
The answer, sadly, is because of how most adults were taught maths. Whether they hated maths or excelled at it, most people have no idea what real mathematics is."
Excerpts from "A Mathematician’s Lament"
... No mathematician works this way. No mathematician has ever worked this way. This is a complete and utter misunderstanding of the mathematical enterprise. Mathematics is not about erecting barriers between ourselves and our intuition, and making simple things complicated. Mathematics is about removing obstacles to our intuition, and keeping simple things simple."
... All of these complaints aside, the real problem with this kind of presentation is that it is boring. Efficiency and economy simply do not make good pedagogy. I have a hard time believing that Euclid would approve of this; I know Archimedes wouldn’t.
SIMPLICIO: Now hold on a minute. I don’t know about you, but I actually enjoyed my high school geometry class. I liked the structure, and I enjoyed working within the rigid proof format.
SALVIATI: I’m sure you did. You probably even got to work on some nice problems occasionally. Lot’s of people enjoy geometry class (although lots more hate it). But this is not a point in favor of the current regime. Rather, it is powerful testimony to the allure of mathematics itself. It’s hard to completely ruin something so beautiful; even this faint shadow of mathematics can still be engaging and satisfying. Many people enjoy paint-by-numbers as well; it is a relaxing and colorful manual activity. That doesn’t make it the real thing, though.
SIMPLICIO: But I’m telling you, I liked it.
SALVIATI: And if you had had a more natural mathematical experience you would have liked it even more."
... Read A Mathematician’s Lament
(links to a free 25 page PDF)