Frustrated on Physics Teaching

I'm frustrated by some aspects of the course design in physics 7C. The students are expected to learn concepts and ideas through explorative means. For example, they are to learn how electricity and magnetism works in roughly four labs what I studied for a year. They are given vague scenarios in which they are expected to intuitively come up with solutions.

The problem is this; in physics the solutions to problems are generally non-intuitive (that's why physics is so useful and often so hard) but we don't give the students ample tools to solve the problems. everything is treated in a very 'hand wavey' manner and the frustration in the students shows.

There is a balance between having a student that can apply formulas to a problem and get a solution without understanding anything that he or she did and a student who cannot even begin to apply the mathematics to solve a problem, but has a lot of qualitative analogies and pictures to understand the problem. Richard Feynman said something like, "It is not nature's job to act in ways that we can understand, but it is our challenge to employ means to understand her. Mathematics is the language in which we must employ to understand her actions. Without understanding of that language there is no way to gain insight into how nature operates."

I think that in 7C we de-emphasis the very thing that students need in order to understand what they are doing and at the same time denying them the tools they need in order to successfully solve the questions we are asking them. It is only an even blend of physical and mathematical understanding that the student can gain a true appreciation for the subject.