The best way to teach mathematics is to put it in a useful context. Want to teach trig? Have students build a set of stairs. When students need it to solve a problem they will figure it out and intuitively understand it. The primary problem with mathematics teaching and education in general is that students know the knowledge but have no idea how to apply it.

I didn't learn to program by sitting in a class having someone drone on, I learned it because I needed it to solve problems I had.