Motley: I hate to inform you that you were using algebra in grade school.  They just called it arithmetic.  Remember statements like this in your math book: "1 + ? = 2"  or "1+1 = ?".  Those are algebraic statements.   You may not use some of the more advanced algebra that you got in 9th grade, but it is one of the more basic mathematics that every thing else is based on.   In this way, it is helpful to know a little bit about it.