Why are We So Illiterate in Mathematics?

I think that there are two main reasons that Americans aren't that good with math:

The first is because in general we haven't been taught to love math. In elementary school, we have one teacher for every subject, and in my experience, the teachers weren't very enthusiastic about math. They were more interested in writing and creativity. Their disinterest in math rubbed off on us, and made a lot of us dislike math. In addition to that, the textbooks we were working in tended to only teach us the very basics, and not have any problems that required us to think hard. To me, something is more fun if I actually have to use my brain to do it. I think that if there were more teachers that were enthusiastic about math, like at the Academy, American kids would be taught to love math, and by extension, become better at it. 

My other idea is that technology allows us to become more lazy. We no longer have to think to find the answer to 12 times 11, we can just punch it into our calculator. In addition to using technology as tools, we have access to information instantaneously, which could make it very easy to cheat. And if you cheat, you're not really learning. A common stereotype is that Americans are lazy, and I think that if we have access to these tools, we will use them. We will begin to think less and less and understand less and less math.