I present for your perusal, a debate. This paradox haunts every secondary math teacher in America. As a former teacher myself, I have heard the complains and all the arguments and all the worthless rhetoric. Most of it is too detailed to put into a short article, so I will just mow through the highlights. Because it is the only well paid career that does not require math.
Lets face it.
Math is important to our lives. The careers that require Algebra or even Calculus are countless, and growing. If America wants to compete we need to emphasize math education in our schools. More and more computer and engineering firms are going to Asia to recruit for high paying skilled workers, because not enough can be found to meet the need on this continent. People complain about declining real wages in this country, yet most people are unwilling to do what it takes to get the skills they need for the good paying jobs that are out there.