[rigelkentaurus]

this is stupid - seeing 5x3 as five groups of three and not 3 groups of five has nothing to do with learning calculus. If you don’t understand they are the same, you have zero hope of learning calculus anyway.

[StormEye]

"this is stupid - seeing 5x3 as five groups of three and not 3 groups of five has nothing to do with learning calculus."

Correct! Calculus is not about arithmetic or even algebra.
It's about differentiation and integration of functions, related rates and other matters. It uses algebra, trig and arithmetic to accomplish those goals.

[Nifster]

true that

[hinckley buzzard]

You can count on one hand the number of high school math teachers in the public school system who have even elementary understanding of calculus and are capable of teaching it effectively.