TITLE: Is this a bad way of approaching math problems?
QUESTION [7 upvotes]: Teacher assigns a problem.  I work on it for thirty minutes, then check the textbook to see if it has similar problems.  Often the textbook's problems have hints that I can use to solve the original problem.
Is this cheating (or otherwise a bad way of solving problems)?

REPLY [4 votes]: It's not cheating: it's learning. You solve the problem with the help of a kind of teacher (here the book is the teacher). It's a good way to learn something you dont know (here that the problem has connections with others, and how to solve them). 
You are not supposed to know everything when you do your homework, but you are supposed to do your best to understand and learn. Which is what you are doing, I guess.