Indeed there is something wrong with someone saying "I can't do math..." but it is not what the author identifies.
In blunt summary, the author says "you may not be able to do the specific math you claim, but don't worry I'll teach you." In my experience this is not at all what the complaint is saying and the solution "I'll teach you" is not at all what they are looking for. The comparison to illiteracy is completely off-target.
In my experience, "I can't do math" is simply "I don't know" in disguise. Ask most children: "what's 300 times 248" and you get a knee-jerk "I don't know". Ask also "what's a balloon made of"; "I don't know". Same goes for many other questions that appear to them to have a definite answer. We excuse children for saying this, but it becomes less and less acceptable as an answer because we learn of tools for finding the correct answers.
The real lesson that needs to be taught is:
Your worldview of can/can't do math is wrong. Doing math is learning what tools to use after we've broken down our question to its core...kind of like everything else.
Saying “I don't know” is a fantastic skill that children are born with but have it beaten out of them into adulthood and the beating never stops. I have deep respect for people who can say “I don't know.” That person is one step away from learning something new.
It's great when adults who do not usually say "I don't know" can admit to not knowing something. Other than that, I cannot agree with anything else you say.
In blunt summary, the author says "you may not be able to do the specific math you claim, but don't worry I'll teach you." In my experience this is not at all what the complaint is saying and the solution "I'll teach you" is not at all what they are looking for. The comparison to illiteracy is completely off-target.
In my experience, "I can't do math" is simply "I don't know" in disguise. Ask most children: "what's 300 times 248" and you get a knee-jerk "I don't know". Ask also "what's a balloon made of"; "I don't know". Same goes for many other questions that appear to them to have a definite answer. We excuse children for saying this, but it becomes less and less acceptable as an answer because we learn of tools for finding the correct answers.
The real lesson that needs to be taught is:
Your worldview of can/can't do math is wrong. Doing math is learning what tools to use after we've broken down our question to its core...kind of like everything else.