I still remember in fourth grade having to do a worksheet on True/False statement. One of the statements was something along the line of the moon givesoff light at night" to which I answered "False". The teacher marked it wrong and I got into an all out argument with the teacher regarding the fact that the moon has no energy source of its own and therefore does NOT give off light but, instead, reflects the light from the sun.

Another question on the same assignment showed two drawings of a desk. One was messy, with papers and books strewn all over it while the other was neat and organized with everything in nice plies. The statement was something along the lines of "These two desks look different." I again answered "False" and again had to argue with the teacher because the desks themselves were actually identical, it was only the placement of the surrounding oblects that had changed, so, no, the DESKS did NOT look different.

Even in college Algebra I had a debate with the T.A. for our Algebra class that if she wanted to see a pecific equation in response to a problem that she should say so. Otherwise, I felt that my diagrams, sketches and scribbles should have been sufficient evidence of "Showing your work", especially since I got the correct answer. We also had a little cdebate about what the purpose of mathematics should be, reciting memorized formulas or using logic and higher level thinking skills to understand the nature of a given problem and finding a way to solve it. We got along pretty well after that but her subsequent tests all stated "Please show your equations."