I didn't want to take typing. It was a "girly" course, and I wasn't into "girly" things. That was before computers became widely available. I am soooo glad my mother won that argument!
I generally use the numeric keypad for numbers, because I have kick-ass data entry skills, and I need to look at the symbols, but I type a lot better than I did in Grade 9. I guess it does help to practice...