Math education is a special case as the students who choose it may not care so much about it s practical use. But in e.g. civil engineering the students will be bored by a theory if they don't have a hands-on experience on how this helps making brick-laying better.

I went to a business school, our teachers problem was we were bored and unmotivated to learn, uninterested in the material, we just wanted a paper. I think this does not happen in math.

Approaching theory through practical problems was helpful in this. The smart business school teacher starts explaining theory by "you know this guy who just lost a bunch of money?" that makes people listen