Keep Evolution in Our Schools Essay

What is evolution? Evolution in modern terms is fairly easy to understand. Evolution is the theory that life on earth began with a single celled organism that lived more that 3.5 billion years ago that slowly evolved into

Evolution has been taught in all public schools for as long as many can recall. Though the process of evolution is not the only theory, schools have been teaching it as if it is the complete truth, ignoring other aspects and only focusing and targeting on Darwin's theory of Evolution. However, there are still many other ideas that the students should be informed of as well because all are theories, all are hypothetic. Teaching of the evolution theory have yet to be proven reliable and confirmed by all scientists, thus it should not be taught in schools and should be left for students to wonder and discover by themselves.

In the article “Why should students learn evolution” by Brian J. Alters and Sandra M. Alters, I learned that evolution not only unifies all the areas of science but also permeates into other disciplines such as philosophy, psychology, literature, and the arts. It has had an extensive and expensive impact on human thought. “Evolution explains the why of nature and has practical considerations that affects day-to-day life”( Brain J, 36). For example, we need evolution to understand bacterial resistance to antibiotics.

The question as to whether or not creationism should be taught in public schools is a very emotional and complex question. It can be looked at from several different angles, its validity being one of them. Despite the lack of evidence to support the fundamentalist idea of creationism, that in itself is not enough to warrant its exclusion from the curriculum of public schools in the United States. The question is far more involved and complex.

The debate over teaching evolution in public schools is not new at all but the debate has been elevated through the media over the past few years. Conservative Christians and other conservatives serving on school boards (particularly in the South) have been insisting that if schools are going to buy textbooks that have evolution chapters then they should also have a place in that textbook near the evolution chapter for creationism. Progressives and scholars that understand the scientific basis for evolution argue that there's nothing wrong with putting creationism or "intelligent design" in textbooks but that subject is not science-based and therefore should be published in the "religion" chapter (if there is one). Should evolution be taught in public schools? The answer is yes, most certainly; to ignore evolution is to deprive public school students of some of the most important knowledge relating to our planet and our society. Scientific ignorance is unacceptable in a country that calls itself the "greatest nation on earth."

What is evolution? Evolution is a change in the traits of living organisms over generations. Since the development of modern genetics in the 1940s, evolution has been defined more specifically as a change in the frequency of alleles in a population from one generation

Evolution has a long history of being debated as inappropriate to be taught in schools. Many people feel that it is important to learn about Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, but at the same time there are many who refuse to learn about it. In the Scopes Monkey Trial and in the movie Inherit the Wind a trial is going on debating the legality of teaching evolution. Though there are still issues that arise with teaching evolution it is currently accepted more than it is debated against. Evolution is a scientifically tested and proven concept and should be taught in science classes.

Should religion, such as Christianity, be taught in public school? Droves of people, theists and atheists alike, ask and answer that question every day, but it is usually met with much scorn and heated arguments. A compromise can be reached, however. Even though Creationism is not scientifically supported, it does need to be taught in public schools, with one major difference; it should be taught only in history classes, owing to the fact that it has contributed to important events in history. Students need that perspective to understand certain historical events and why some people did what they did.

It would be an understatement to claim that the realms of faith and reason rarely conflict. Since the earliest days of scientific inquiry, these two spheres of thought have been locked in a vicious battle, only letting up as religion has gradually modernized to accommodate newer understandings of the universe. But, as is the nature of any age-old debate, the fires fueling this conflict have once again been fed, this time with the controversy surrounding the teaching of Intelligent Design in public schools. The proponents of this alternative “theory” to the origins of life claim that they have been silenced by the Darwinian establishment and support integrating their ideas into the classroom through such means as textbook disclaimers or

Every living thing on Earth has evolved into its current form over the course of millions of years. The theory of evolution explains how these organisms changed over time through natural selection. Evolution is still controversial within our society because it conflicts with religious beliefs on how life on earth formed.

The word is now accepted to mean the change of nonliving chemicals into simple life-forms into more complex life-forms and finally into humans.” (Answers in Genesis 1). Despite the many claims that “evolution” simply means a change, scientifically speaking it means much more. Evolutionary ideals describe changes that allow scientists to date life on the earth to be 4.5 billion years, to trace the entire living population of every animal, insect, plant, virus, and bacteria back to one simple cell, and to conclude that the first cell supposedly came into being sporadically from a pool of organic molecules (Archean 1). Science cannot factually support evolutionary concepts because evolution cannot be tested; observation holds a critical role for experiments to take place, yet spontaneous creation of a cell has not recurred since the alleged first living cell created itself. Evolution cannot be proven, and therefore, the public school system should not teach evolution as fact, especially with no exposure to alternative concepts.

The definition of Evolution is ¨the process by which different kinds of living organisms are thought to have developed and diversified from earlier forms during the history of the earth,¨ (Dictionary.com, 2018). Although, the actual definition is hard to comprehend. Some consider Evolution to be a somewhat ridiculous topic that is far from true. Though others believe that, ¨Evolution by natural selection is one of the best substantiated theories in the history of science, supported by evidence from a wide variety of scientific disciplines, including paleontology, geology, genetics and developmental biology,¨ (Than, 2018). The main idea of Biological Evolution is that all life on Earth share a common ancestor. The term is a way of understanding life.

In an article published in the New York times, by Laurie Goodstein, she revealed that a poll conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life and the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, revealed that 64 percent said they were open to the idea of teaching creationism in addition to evolution, while 38 percent favored replacing evolution with creationism. It is important to note by this poll that the idea of teaching our children other theories of how this world was created was supported by more than half of the polled population. It needs to be understood that when these teachings are given the opportunity to be introduced in the public school settings, teachers must maintain a very bias approach as to not sway their students into believing one side or the other but, rather let them decide for themselves through research and study what they will believe in.

Public schools are a place to learn proven facts and some very well—known and accepted theories. These schools have been led this way for a long time and show no signs of changing. Many states around the country have rejected the teaching of creationism in public schools, since the subject is so controversial among teachers and parents. In Ohio, a bill to develop new science content standards was not successfully passed. Many creationists were upset when they discovered that the first drafts of the standards were filled with evolutionary content, without any allowance for alternative explanations of life’s origins. In the uproar, the state board held a special meeting to investigate the process that the writing team and advisory committee used to draft the science standards (Matthews, Answering Genesis). This is why learning the facts about evolution should be taught at school. By doing this, there would be much less confrontation between teachers, students, and parents. If one has the desire to learn about creationism or any other beliefs of how the world came to be, one should learn it at a place outside of school, such as church or at home.

In 1859, Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species, introducing the theory of evolution. One hundred and fifty-six years later, scientists still accept this senseless philosophy. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay states, “Our school systems teach the children that they are nothing but glorified apes who are evolutionized out of some primordial soup” (Snyder). Schools worldwide have presented exactly this to the young, impressionable minds of your future doctors, engineers, scientists, and presidents. They assure us that if we give a small amount of mud enough time it can, by itself, bring about the art of da Vinci, the plays of Shakespeare, the music of Mozart, and the brilliant mind of Einstein.