Response on Discussion of the Skemp Article

Here is one discussion that I took from our course blog: 

Earlier in life it doesn't make sense to do relational - include relational at a higher level. Relational helps with problem solving. Consider learning a new language and how we teach language. Instrumental can be important in the beginning to set some rules before expanding and introducing the why. 

I didn't want to agree with this opinion about implementing relational learning only at a later stage of math education, but this is how I was taught and I still ended up loving math despite the fact that I spent my entire childhood struggling with math. In my opinion, if math education is unescapable, some degree of instrumental learning is required to make sure there is progress, but relational learning should be added gradually to keep students interested.