The number 3, the sum of 4 and 2, the product of 7 and 8. These are facts. Facts that we discussed in class this past week. All three of my live classes touched on facts, even as we tried to look beyond the facts to the truth. For example, three is a number. It can be multiplied, added, divided, etc, but just because we can memorize the facts of three, doesn't mean we know three. Three, 3, the numeral represents a truth of three-ness.
Pre algebra especially is a class about thinking. We learn to think and we start seeking truth. Our goal in pre algebra is to start to open the door from facts into the truth. Have we seen into this door before? Absolutely. Did we know what we were spying? Probably not. The truth of 3 is found beyond the facts connected to the number 3. We can't get to the truth without knowing the facts.
We're off to a good start this year. The facts lie before us and the time to look beyond is now. We have spent the past 8 years or so focusing on math facts, whether you're in pre algebra or pre calculus, it is time to use the facts that we've learned to start to understand the truth.