The study of evolution is not only to study the way things came to be
today but also a study in the nature of science. We, as scientists and
humans alike, gather data and evidence and create explanations for
these. These explanations are tested again and again through trial after
trial. Those that can be supported will be supported and those that
can't will fall apart and be replaced with ones that work better. This
is not a science thing. It is a life thing. If you are going to be a
wall street analyst or airplane mechanic, you should know this process
of explanation and testing. Have you ever heard a commercial for
something that is tried and true? That means that something has been
tested over time and has shown that it works. No matter what you do in
life, understanding the process by which something is proved is
invaluable but knowing that plant cells have a cell wall and animal
cells don't probably won't help you fix an airplane or pick a winning
stock any better. That is why we teach over arching theories to
everyone. Science is not to be put in a box to be pulled out when you
need a fact, it is a way of thinking and you can't understand the
thinking without the theories.
You may know that things fall to the earth increasing in speed at
9.81meters per second every second but that is inconsequential next to
the overarching theory of gravity. Facts are not science, the thinking,
explanations and processes are the science. Biology can't be taught
without thinking about these explanations and processes.