<However, most education seems to have the opposite effect. Schools teach
<stuff that was known and usually tests ask students to repeat stuff that
<is well established. It is rare that a student on a test is asked to figure
<something out, it is even rare for a student to be asked how somebody else
<figured something out.
I disagree. My students would not agree, based on THEIR perspective. F=ma
may be well established with US, but not with them. I believe the subtle
point that always gets missed in this agruement, is that our students must
be taught HOW to figure things out. That often involves imitating how other
people figured things out, even their instructor. Only after they have
learned how to recognize the difference between a fact and an opinion can
they branch out on their own and figure stuff out alone.