Learning to write or to count are often considered from a merely didactical point-of-view. This view aims at adjusting or inventing learning methods that secure an optimization of learning outcomes, implying that the characteristics of the used method are inessential or subordinated to this goal. I develop the opposite view, arguing that these characteristics do matter, and more precisely that the invention of communal and repetitive forms of exercise, typical for the western school system, are essential for obtaining a particular perspective on the contents (letters/numbers) and skills (literacy/numeracy) at hand. This perspective is related to the possibility of fundamental transformations in our relationship with the common world. I pursue two comparisons to substantiate my hypothesis. Arguing that it concerns a unique practice, I compare alphabetization in western and oriental education - because the last is concerned with ideograms rather than letters (which require completely different forms of exercise). In order to have a look at what this school-form of exercise imply vis-à-vis concrete contents I compare traditional western forms of learning the alphabet and the multiplication tables. I analyze these different forms of exercise in view of the specific bodily and gestural mechanics (and physical presence) they imply.