"New Math"

[Bernardo de La Paz]

17. The number of dyslectic people is much smaller than the socially-supported mathophobes

Children are taught from a young age by parents and friends that math-illiteracy is okay. "Oh, that's okay dear. I never was good at math either". But they don't say, "Oh, that's okay dear. I never was good at reading either."

Kids pick up on this. They know what they can get away with. Social acceptance of math-illiteracy needs to change to be the same low as social acceptance of reading and writing illiteracy.

There needs to be sympathy and support for those truly having difficulties akin to or caused by dyslexia. But there equally needs to be social disapproval for those shunning math for no good reason.

Note on terminology: it's not "innumeracy" because numbers are a small part of mathematics.