Your response is on the right path and I think filling in the classwork in the business/vocational tracks with applied math and science is the way to get the skills in there without making it appear as an insurmountable hurdle. An example would be learning the algebra and geometry skills to be proficient in doing materials estimates for construction and metal fabrication, i.e. having a hands-on component to make the connection from the physical world to manipulating it in the mind.
I quite agree. If students don't see any practical application to the subjects they are studding they just glaze over and tune out.
The problem is that they are going to need many of these tools later in life and we do a miserable job connecting class and homework assignments with real world outcomes.