"I loved math. I loved algebra. I really loved geometry, [but] I hit the wall at pre-cal," said Rocca.
"That's the problem," said Whitney, "because you were only given one road to go through mathematics. You got the impression that once you hit the wall, that's it. There's nothing more for you. In fact, math is this extremely, very beautiful landscape. And we're showing people just one road cut right through the center of it."
Whitney says our math curriculum is designed for rocket scientists.
Literally! Fifty years ago America was in a space race against the Soviet Union, and beefing up on our math program was seen as a winning solution.
Mo Rocca explores North America's first and only math museum: The Museum of Mathematics (or MoMath), which opened in New York City in December. He also interviews Glen Whitney, one of the people behind the museum, about how we think about math in the U.S. and why our math curriculum has not been designed to get most kids engaged in it.