Failure at Math is a Disaster for Society

I sometimes note to people that math literacy is not given the same amount of respect as reading literacy. This absolutely drives me nuts. Think about how acceptable it is to say "I am not good at math" or "I am not a math person". The principal at my school once said "I am not very good good at math," to the entire faculty at the beginning of a meeting. Would it be considered at all the same to say "I am functionally illiterate" or even "Big words escape me"? Heck no.

But math literacy is inherently important - arguably as much as reading literacy. I found a wonderful article on the importance of math literacy, though I admit you have to be reading literate in order to comprehend it.