Why are we math illiterate and proud of it?

The math instructor was a little hot: "Why are people so proud that they don't know math?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, always a little hesitant talking with math instructors about math instruction. I need to teach math to GED and Program Prep students, but am very aware that it is not my strong suit.

So, while I do understand the math-phobic, I also thought that the math instructor had a good point. She pointed out by contrast if people cannot read (another basic skill I teach), they don't brag about it to family and friends. Most of the time, they hide their illiteracy, embarrassed. But math illiteracy doesn't have the same societal shame. If people cannot tell a linear equation from a quart of machine oil, they brag about it to friends and family, "Look at me everyone: I'm a math idiot, and, I don't care." That braggadocio not only underplays the importance of math in society (try to think of an activity that doesn't use math), but, more worrisome, also sends a destructive excuse to children: "Don't worry about your math classes. It doesn't matter. My daddy told me so."

Yet it does matter. A great deal. When a student walks into the Basic Ed Open Lab, what subject do we have to remediate more often than any other? Not surprisingly, it is math. Without the basics in whole numbers (ie., multiplication tables), other work in decimals, fractions, ratios and percentages are beyond student's ability, much less work in intermediate algebra, geometry, trigonometry, measurement formulas, data statistics, accounting, and calculus. And, without a base in high school-level math, technical college course work in business, medicine, trades, and even police science is unrealistic. The much publicized and sought after STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) curriculum begins, continues, and ends, with math.

Yet, the math instructor said that she often hears parents wallow in their ignorance. They tell her with a laugh that they are so math-illiterate that they can't help their middle school student with math problems. "This is unacceptable," the math instructor said, shaking her head. How can you be a functioning person and find yourself stymied by "2x + 2 = 8"? 

I have to agree with her. This pride in math illiteracy doesn't add up: FYI x=3.