Lockhart's Lament
A Mathematician's Lament is an essay I read a while ago that was written by Paul Lockhart, a math teacher. It expresses, in ways far more articulate than I ever could, some of the things that are wrong with the way people are taught mathematics: Namely that no-one actually does any mathematics proper until their undergrad and even then only if you are studying one of the few disciplines that requires real math courses.
Check it out. It's a good read.