I think this question stems from a confusion as to what school is actually for. It seems to me that school is at least as much about orderly management of the s

I think this question stems from a confusion as to what school is actually for. It seems to me that school is at least as much about orderly management of the social hierarchy as it is about teaching useful skills. The reason why math is taught in school is not because math is useful (it is useful in certain situations, but this is only tangentially related). We teach it because it keeps students busy and out of trouble, and lends itself well to unambiguous testing and is therefore an effective tool for sorting students into the various social classes. This all became clear to me when I was in the middle of my math PhD and wondering why all of the math courses I had taken did next to nothing to prepare me for actual mathematical research. Viewed from this perspective, it’s obvious why we don’t use the math we learn in school.