I read a great explanation about why Asians are better at math than we are. It was from Malcolm Gladwell's book Outliers. About the small seemingly random things that separate winners from losers.
Here is a synopsis:
Why are Chinese (and other Asians) Better at Math?
Also, there has been a definite shift in our economic culture away from careers where math and science take the forefront, to careers in services industries. People realize they just don't "need" it. So it becomes a kind of backburner novelty knowledge skillset.
But overconcentrating on math and science automatically means that something else has to go by the wayside since we are burdened with only 24 hours in a day. So do you eliminate social sciences? History? Psychology? Language arts? Literature? Art? Music? Business? Sports? Civic clubs? Do you revel in having your child be a math and science wiz who now lacks in other meaningful life skills?
I'm more of a fan of an old pseudo-communist block idea: Figure out what your kids are good at or personally love, at a relatively early age and let them go in that direction. Even if it means being satisfied with remedial math and then be experts at art or literature or history. Or being a math wiz but having less of a focus on art, or psychology.
Our misguided educational desire to have our kids be "all things to all people" dilutes their education in the end and now we are paying the price.
Jennifer