Why Do We Learn the Long Division Algorithm (of [Natural] Numbers)?

Check out David Klein and R. James Milgram's article, “The Role of Long Division in the K-12 Curriculum”.

• It is an efficient way of doing successive subtractions.
  
• It correctly converts fractions to decimals.
  
• It explains what a real number is.
  
• It is used in algebra (polynomials).
  
• It is used in calculus (partial fraction decomposition to integrate rational functions).
  
• It is used in differential equations (Laplace transforms).