The Ups and Downs of Excel

I have been teaching Microsoft Office Applications to seniors for the past two years and it seems no software program is subject to more "controversy" than Excel.

For those of you who don't know, Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet program which allows users to sort, filter, add subtract, multiply, and analyze data. It can be extremely fun for people like me who rely on it to keep track of important events, schedules and donations. However for many seniors, especially those with no desire to return to the workforce, it's a confusing labyrinth of boxes and formulas.

So what do you think? Has any senior out there used excel outside of a class? Do you think it is worth knowing? Let me hear your thoughts.