I remember back when I was a teenager, it was a very popular cliche that "you'll never use Algebra after high school." This was expressed in a number of movies and TV shows at the time. I found it very de-motivating. I enjoyed the process, though, so I kept going on anyway. For someone who didn't enjoy the process, I don't know why they'd bother.
I send the opposite message to my DD. I let her know that I use Algebra all the time.
I think the cliche is true for most people, as discussed in a recent essay. Students who do well in algebra will earn more than those who don't primarily because they are more intelligent on average, not because many of them will be using algebra in their jobs.
http://www.ams.org/notices/201005/rtx100500608p.pdfWhat Is Mathematics For?
Underwood Dudley
Notices of the American Mathematical Society
May 2010
A more accurate title is �What is mathematics education for?� but the
shorter one is more attention-getting and allows me more generality.
My answer will become apparent soon, as will my answer to the
subquestion of why the public supports mathematics education as much
as it does.
So that there is no confusion, let me say that by �mathematics� I
mean algebra, trigonometry, calculus, linear algebra, and so on: all
those subjects beyond arithmetic. There is no question about what
arithmetic is for or why it is supported. Society cannot proceed
without it. Addition, subtraction, multiplication, division,
percentages: though not all citizens can deal fluently with all of
them, we make the assumption that they can when necessary. Those who
cannot are sometimes at a disadvantage.
Algebra, though, is another matter. Almost all citizens can and do
get through life very well without it, after their schooling is over.
Nevertheless it becomes more and more pervasive, seeping down into
more and more eighth-grade classrooms and being required by more and
more states for graduation from high school. There is unspoken
agreement that everyone should be exposed to algebra. We live in an
era of universal mathematical education.
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