I've seen people (maybe you?) assert this before, and I think it's a bit of a disingenuous claim. It's akin to saying that you've been taught how to make a loaf of bread, so why aren't you a pastry chef? It's just flour and other ingredients mixed up and baked, right?

I was taught math. I even got a college degree in math (albeit abstract math). I learned summations and limits and all sorts of things. Never once were any of these abstract calculations referred to as "simple interest" or "compounding." The terms could have easily been integrated into ordinary math classes without decreasing the actual math being taught - and while I can't speak for all students, it certainly would have helped me.

I was a math whiz in high school, and I breezed through most of my college courses. Financially, I hung on to my father's magical thinking ("money will Just Appear when you need it!") for a very long time. Knowing the math of financial management isn't enough for an awful lot of people (maybe even most people), and saying "it should be so" doesn't make it happen.

On the plus side, once I got my head on straight, things like budgeting and paying bills (and even doing tax returns!) became tremendous fun. But finances had to stop being emotional to me and start being ordinary numbers first.

-lizmonster