Why is Arithmetic (Numbers) dominating our Teaching?

Galileo: "Mathematics is the alphabet with which God has written the universe".
 
If this is the case shouldn't we, with our students, be exploring the world around us so that they can look for and find the hidden mathematical gems that are everywhere.

The maths we are teaching/promulgating has not really changed since formal education was set up in the 1800's. Then there was a need for people to be very efficient with number so that they could become tally clerks, accountants etc during the Industrial Revolution.  Since then I would suggest we have changed very little. There is still an emphasis on Arithmetic, especially Times Tables (as in our parents and grandparents days at school)  What we are being told is that employers need Problem Solvers, Investigators, Creators as well as people who cooperate and communicate.

Our Curriculum, one of the best I have seen, it says viz "Through Problems Solving and Investigations students will learn and understand the Objectives below"  
Why is it then we are still teaching arithmetic (with few different approaches) in similar ways to how we were taught as were our parents?

The bottom line is that numbers are people created, they are abstract and many people cannot work in the abstract they work in the concrete or representational. This not only at Junior school but also at secondary!! Look at the research done for the UK Cockcroft Report in the 80’s.
 
Maths is all around us, it is how “the creator “ created the world. Let’s start outside with Real Maths!
 
It has often been said- Bruner Piaget - that most students are at a concrete level of learning, they may then progress to representational (Drawing about what they did) and if lucky transfer to thinking in the abstract. This can be shown as follows in learning
Do- experiment create the concrete. (Blocks, lego, sand water...) when competent then
Say- they verbalise that they have been creating with materials etc ... when competent then
Write - they write what they found, created after they have verbalised. I would encourage the students to write in their first language BEFORE they write in mathematical language

I suggest this broadly is the way we teach reading!!!!!
To me the Problem, Open Question is like the “new book” we give kids, and then ask a series of open questions ensuring excitement and curiosity to tackle the book and learn new words, phrases through the context of the book

Check out some Fibonacci videos on YouTube might give you some ideas for including in your teaching.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjSHVDfXHQ4