Should Creationism Be Taught In Public Schools Essay

Have you ever wondered if evolution was the one and only way that humans came to be? Well, you are wrong! There is another side to this continuing argument. The United States Supreme Court declared that restricting an educator's right to teach the theory of evolution is unconstitutional. Disclaimers conveying the theory of evolution of humankind as the only explanation or development is unconstitutional. I believe that both creationism, and evolution both be taught, if anything. Let the students voice their own opinions based off their beliefs and evidence they individually gather.

The debate of whether Darwin’s theory of evolution or the theory of intelligent design is how life and the universe came to be is a very controversial topic that turns people against each other in hatred for the past two hundred years. It is still argued today whether mankind and was created due to evolution, or if an intelligent higher power created them. One significant event regarding this dissension occurred in Dover, Pennsylvania, in the year 2004, leading to the court case of Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District, in which the citizens of Dover argued over the idea of teaching the theory of intelligent design alongside evolution in a 9th grade biology classroom. However, intelligent design is not scientific because there is not enough evidence to support it; therefore, intelligent design should not be taught in schools.

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 theory of creationism versus the theory of evolution is a controversial topic worldwide. The topic delves further into whether creationism should or should not be taught in public schools. While evolution is a theory that says modern plants and animals evolved by a natural process over time, creationism is the belief that the universe and living organisms originated from specific acts of divine creation. Because evolution and creationism are both theories, creationism should be taught with as much validity as the teaching of evolution in public school. Since the early 1990’s creationism has become more and more a plausible theory. The historical events of creationism dates back all the way to the creation of mankind and the universe. Various evidence, such as the universe, point towards an intelligent designer and should therefore be taught in public schools.

In your speech you used a poll to support that creationism should be taught at school. however your use of it as evidence was faulty.According to the article you used Evolution versus Creationism: The Public Education Controversy only 13% say both evolution and creationism should be taught as “scientific theories” in science class. You then stated that a “follow-up survey was conducted in mid- December. Random-Digit-Dial sampling was used to ensure that the results are projectable to the American public as a whole. So based on this evidence, people want their kids to be taught both creationism and evolution so they will be able to make their own choices of what they believe.” In the survey 66% wanted evolution 16% wanted merely

Teaching Creationism or Intelligent Design to our youth can be done in a way that is neither opinion based nor completely fact based, but may hold some risk of personal interpretation. The first thing needed to be considered is how can children of the middle school age range grasp such a deep subject and have the capacity to reach their own conclusion. Information found regarding the development of children in this developmental range was found in the book titled "Characteristics of Middle Grade Students,” Caught in the Middle by the Sacramento Department of Education. It was found that students of this age hold a variety of learning attributes that support the belief that children can handle both sides of this controversial issue. Some

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.

There is proof of this evolution all around us. Man itself has evolved over thousands and thousands of years in direct relation to the changing environment surrounding them. There are facts and proof to back up the theory of evolution, but that does not mean that it is the only way that explains development of living things.

School boards across the country are divided over the same issue, as they have been for the last hundred years. Can you guess what it is? The controversial issue facing teachers and board members today is whether or not creation has a place in the public school systems. I believe that it does, and it should have an equal representation as evolution in the science classroom. Creation has fact behind it, just as evolution does, and a large number of the American population agrees with its ideas.

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.

The opposition to this theory comes in part from those whose religious beliefs are contradicted by it, those who claim that evolution is “just a theory,” and claim it is not a sound science because of the label. To understand that evolution is true and reliable, the definition of the word theory in a scientific context must first be understood. In Richard Dawkins’ “The Greatest Show on Earth,” this is explained, ”The Oxford English Dictionary gives two meanings… Theory, Sense 1:... a hypothesis that has been confirmed or established by observation or experiment, and is propounded or accepted as accounting for the known facts… Theory, Sense 2: A hypothesis proposed as an explanation: hence, a mere hypothesis,speculation, conjecture…” It is proposed in this book that scientists and creationists are using these definitions in different contexts. Creationists use the second sense of the word theory, meaning a speculation of no value, and scientists use it in sense one, that of a proven hypothesis. In science the word theory is surpassed only by the word law in the sense of conveying certainty. In science, a theory is a hypothesis that has never been disproven, such as the theory of gravity. Evolution has been proven many times over through both observation and experiment, which is the reason it is taught in public schools. Though it has uncountable examples, only a fraction will be mentioned. Transitional fossils are one of the major concerns on the part of creationists. They use gaps in the fossils record to argue its unreliability. Transitional fossils are the species that lie in between the transition from one species to its ancestor or descendant. When these fossils are missing, it can seem far-fetched for a whale to develop from a land dwelling dog like animal, but when the fossils in between these two species are discovered, the transition becomes clearer. Though

Despite great efforts to convince the opposing side, a battle still brews amongst creationists and evolutionists over the beginning of life and the universe, but neither opinions’ palpability can be firmly upheld through scientific manners. Since science can only prove hypotheses that are testable and based on current observations, neither creation nor evolutionary concepts can be proven with irrefutable evidence. However, regardless of the inability to prove either concept, most public school systems promote evolution as a scientific fact. Many students who lack firm beliefs about the origin of life believe what they are taught without giving any personal thought to the matter. Instead of robotically absorbing biased information,

However, teachers who in the classrooms have not been adequately prepared to take on such a sensitive and sometimes controversial issue. It is important that the educational system employs teachings that are able to fairly and effectively teach students about religion (Passe & Wilcox, 2009, page 104). This is where the change in the source of religion in schools needs to begin. Passe and Wilcox state, “teachers can be leaders in demonstrating how to do it well” (2009, page 106). In this quote, Passe and Wilcox are referencing the kind of impact that teachers can have on others and society by correctly leading in a way that shows that religion can be taught in a way that is acceptable. The problem lies within the curriculum. Passe and Wilcox’s focus on the changes that are occurring in the curriculum in our educational system and how there has been changes and the focus has move away from where religion should be taught and what content it should be taught with. Passe and Wilcox state that “social studies … is gradually disappearing from the … curriculum in favor of literacy and mathematics (2009, page 104). Within our schools, there is the less focus on social studies because of it does not hold the same value as other subjects because of their importance on standardized tests. Passe and Wilcox makes a firm point by state that “we cannot teach history without teaching about religion”

In the history of science vs. religion there have been no issues more intensely debated than evolution vs. creationism. The issue is passionately debated since the majority of evidence is in favor of evolution, but the creation point of view can never be proved wrong because of religious belief. Human creation breaks down into three simple beliefs; creation theory, naturalistic evolution theory, and theistic evolution theory. The complexities of all three sides create a dilemma for what theory to support among all people, religious and non-religious.

Vanessa Alacantar was a high school student who wrote an argumentative essay entitled “Why creationism should be taught in schools.” As can be ascertained from the title, the author’s position is that the theory of creation should be taught in schools alongside evolutionary studies. She writes the essay with a sure and almost condescending tone, making certain claims out of context in addition to using faulty logic in what I personally see as an attempt to confuse the reader about the view opposite her own.