The number of students studying sciences in Europe has steadily declined to such an extent that this is seen as a threat to the competitiveness of Europe. In France the decline has been about 5% each year during the past several years. Inquiry Based Study, IBS, is the paradigm that is generally seen as a possible way to increase students’ interest in sciences. In mathematics this approach has lead to the TERC reform in the US and to a new curriculum, which uses the book “Everyday Mathematics.” It has been deemed necessary to “relearn to teach arithmetic.” In this talk I will discuss the pitfalls of relearning to teach arithmetic, and other school mathematics topics. It seems that the need to revise mathematics curriculum comes up every now and then, like bubbles in economy. When the bubble bursts, we return back to basics until a new generation, which does not know that there was a burst, comes up with their own revisions.