I remember being a kid and coming home from school (that was grade school) and hearing my mother's standard question: "Did you bring your arithmetic book home?" I had so much trouble with math, even though I realized then what is still true now (IMO anyway). It's probably the most important subject to know well.
I honestly feel if a student can master one subject, make it math. Mathematics, IMO, is generally the foundation and the "glue" binding all the core disciplines within the sciences and technology.
Below is the link to a good CNNMoney.com article by Julianne Pepitone on 'Yahoo! Finance' regarding the best paid entry level jobs. They all require mastery of math and the majority of these are in engineering fields:
http://finance.yahoo.com/college-educat ... ollegeprep