I think people forget what high school is like. I had something like what you've described. It was called "Life Skills". Most students treated it like other courses - they didn't care at all and learned almost nothing.
I'm someone who liked school for the most part, and even I treated it as a "just pay attention enough to pass the test" class.
I totally agree. Do people really think a bunch of 16 year olds are going to pay attention to a class where you learn how to do your taxes or learn about the time value of money? The people who need this information the most were also 100% the last people on Earth who'd have paid attention to a class where it was taught, at least at my school. Our focus should be simplifying the way our systems are structured and protecting people from being taken advantage of by corporations who do know what they're doing.
Perhaps kids are bored because scholl is boring. If the school assignment was to find the biggest scam in town and file a lawsuit, way more people would listen.
Part of the problem is also that these courses are devoid of any real informational content. My experience with having been schooled in several countries is that kids -- including 17-year-old highschoolers -- tune in when the substance is there. I can assert with great confidence that the level of content in the average US curriculum is shamefully low. This is true in mathematics, to say nothing of "Life Skills".
I'm someone who liked school for the most part, and even I treated it as a "just pay attention enough to pass the test" class.