is the point that she shouldn't have to study algebra? Because I think that we have enough people who can't understand why their house note is suddenly so high and why they owe so much on their credit cards.
Young people should focus more on math and science today, imho. But, in going through one son's algebra book, I do have to admit, I don't think the average person will use all of it.
Instead of requiring Algebra, Geometry, etc., I'd like to see the same math covered but organized according to: Financial Investments, Real Estate, Business, Building & Construction, etc. If this girl (and many other students) were given examples of how math applies to her life, she might become interested.
There are real-life math programs available, but so far they're not very thorough, at least not the books I've found.