Taming the Math Beast

One thing I seem to have a perpetual difficulty with, as a homeschooling mom, is determining how much our life should revolve around mathematics. Every person needs to learn some math - there is no doubt about that - but I keep having this feeling that not every high school student should have to learn rocket science -type math. I'm doing okay with my fourteen-year-old, Daniel. We're almost rather enjoying factoring quadratic occasions. But when the heck is he ever going to use this stuff. Really.
Now I do not have a utilitarian view of education, not at all. But I do have a utilitarian view of mathematics. Of course one does learn some logic doing math, which is A GOOD THING.
Last year, I heard a talk about different models of education, specifically the Greek model and the Hebraic model. The Greeks, who gave us the word "curriculum", trained their athletes by running them through a routine. Our school system operates in a similar fashion. However the typical Hebrew families had a more family approach. At a certain age, the father took on the education of his sons - I think the mothers looked after the daughters- and the father was the one responsible for passing on the faith. Of course their whole society was set up differently, and most sons can't inherit their father's business anymore. More's the pity.
I often wonder though, if there are some things we can take from the Hebraic model. It seems fairly obvious, that unless the father of a family passes on the faith, it's unlikely that the children will remain faithful to it.
Another thing I wonder is if we shouldn't be putting way more effort into language arts than we are. I want to try to do that personally. I want every single one of my boys to be able to read and write and speak effectively. Nowadays, it seems most parents think that's way too much to expect. I think I have to learn to "tame the math beast" in order to make a priority of the basic communication skills.