The irony is that all mathematics up to the high school level was historically motivated by practical problems. Algebra began as a system of rules to fairly par

The irony is that all mathematics up to the high school level was historically motivated by practical problems. Algebra began as a system of rules to fairly partition land, for irrigation or inheritance, for example. But most of the high school math teachers are not actually mathematicians, so they themselves have no clue what algebra and calculus are used for. There ought to be incentives for professionals of all fields to go into teaching.