So many things we spend our time on in school never have the basics explained. Why am I reading Shakespeare? Why am I writing an essay? Why am I learning algebr

So many things we spend our time on in school never have the basics explained. Why am I reading Shakespeare? Why am I writing an essay? Why am I learning algebra? By the time I realized writing is the process by which you organize your thoughts (not just record them) I was a few years out of school. I started appreciating Shakespeare after watching Throne of Blood at 21. I generally enjoyed learning math, but it was not impressed upon me that the mental machinery you build to solve algebra can be used for soooo many things. I was lucky to go to an excellent public school. My teachers were generally pretty good and cared. And yet they didn't manage to embed these basic facts in my head. I worry they were too busy making sure I could pass a test and didn't spend time making sure I'd got the most important lessons out of the subject.