This has been around a while, but it's a good read. I agree with the overall sentiment, but I think an implementation of such a way of teaching math would largely be impractical. I wish at least there was some way to show kids that math is more than manipulating numbers, while still covering all of the essentials of said manipulation.
Brilliant stuff. Gotta share this with my 8th graders. It wasn't until I had the opportunity to teach that I really saw the beauty of the subject that was taught to me in a sterile and restrictive fashion.