It's about time this issue was addressed : for teachers, a very frustrating question (for which a common and very valid answer is 'in your test/exam'); for students, a very relevant and valid question. Hopefully, the following will satisfy both.
First of all, let's be very clear about what maths is and what maths is not. Mathematics is the study of relations between objects and the logical connections between them; it involves spotting patterns, hypothesising rules, and most importantly, proving those rules using deductive logic or finding counterexamples to the hypothesised rules. Maths is the subject that helps you reason correctly. The main objects of study in maths are sets and functions. Number sets - such as the whole numbers, the natural numbers, the integers - are special types of sets.
Numeracy is a very small part of maths (but for most people, it's a large part - this is why they think mathematics is 'number work'). It involves the study of numbers in all forms, especially whole numbers, integers, fractions, decimals, percentages, ratios, powers, roots, sequences, lengths, areas and volumes.
Just because one person is not interested in a specific area of maths (or indeed all of maths !), that does not mean that it shouldn't be taught (because others may be interested). Many aspects of maths are abstract and technical and most people will not use them directly, but many everyday technologies depend on theories of physics, which in turn rely heavily on maths. If readers do not understand any details below, they should research such details further (that's right, it takes effort to understand things...).
Also, just because you may not be interested in learning technical maths (as opposed to numeracy, which everyone should know as it's very clearly and directly used in everyday life), the opportunities are there to expand your horizons, and if your first career path is unsuccessful, then you may have a fallback with maths (of course, this applies to all subjects).
First of all, let's be very clear about what maths is and what maths is not. Mathematics is the study of relations between objects and the logical connections between them; it involves spotting patterns, hypothesising rules, and most importantly, proving those rules using deductive logic or finding counterexamples to the hypothesised rules. Maths is the subject that helps you reason correctly. The main objects of study in maths are sets and functions. Number sets - such as the whole numbers, the natural numbers, the integers - are special types of sets.
Numeracy is a very small part of maths (but for most people, it's a large part - this is why they think mathematics is 'number work'). It involves the study of numbers in all forms, especially whole numbers, integers, fractions, decimals, percentages, ratios, powers, roots, sequences, lengths, areas and volumes.
Just because one person is not interested in a specific area of maths (or indeed all of maths !), that does not mean that it shouldn't be taught (because others may be interested). Many aspects of maths are abstract and technical and most people will not use them directly, but many everyday technologies depend on theories of physics, which in turn rely heavily on maths. If readers do not understand any details below, they should research such details further (that's right, it takes effort to understand things...).
Also, just because you may not be interested in learning technical maths (as opposed to numeracy, which everyone should know as it's very clearly and directly used in everyday life), the opportunities are there to expand your horizons, and if your first career path is unsuccessful, then you may have a fallback with maths (of course, this applies to all subjects).