Noone is forcing evolution down children's throats anymore than math is being forced down their throats.
Learning the theory that underpins modern biology makes for a well rounded education. I think this is a big part of what science lessons are about at high school level - giving kids basic understanding of current scientific fields. I learnt some basic chemistry in chemistry class but I can't say I've ever had a practical use for it. But it did give me some general basic knowledge about chemistry, and it did help me determine which field I was interested in (ie not chemistry).
How much of what you learned in chemistry was theoretical?
Did they describe which elements came first in the big bang or did they stick to just the molecular structure?