Innumeracy is particularly troublesome, because it robs w of one of the most precious factors in elucation, wLich is time. More and more, we mwt spend time in the classroom bringing students up to a minimal level of mathematical competence. Each minute spent in this task is time whch could have been spent teaching students about our disciplines and preparing them for classes which they will take later in their college careers. In the final analysis, this means that we dilute our product, either by eliminating material or by simplifying it to make sure that everyone can get through it.
Budgetary constraints become a larger problem as science becomes more technologically driven.
Modern instrumentation, much of it vital to a quality education, can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, which can be much more than educational institutions can afford to purchase or maintain. Schools which are located close to one another or close to industrial sites may be able to overcome, or at least lessen, this problem by sharing expenses, but this is never the preferred method, nor is it viable for everyone. In an odd way, those problems are also some of the opportunities for the near future. Innumeracy is perhaps just a symptom of a generation of students who think and learn in ways different from the ways that previos generations have learned. As a result, what worked in the past will probably not work as well, if at all, with this next generation.