Is it ever a good idea for people to learn calculus in high school?

I want your opinions on this. I've noticed that many people these days want to look good for colleges so they opt to take "AP Calculus" and leave their precalculus/discrete math toolkit behind. But, if all the kids are learning about operating on an algorithim without truly knowing why then what's the point of prioritizing calculus over other kinds of math that has more intuitive connections? Why don't we see more and more priority given to discrete math?