Should Evolution Be Taught In Schools

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.

On March 13, 1925 the state of Tennessee passed the Butler Act. This law prohibited teaching the Theory of Evolution in Tennessee public schools. Any teacher who taught a theory that denied the story of the Divine Creation would be punished by a fine. The American Civil Liberties Union offered legal defense to any Tennessee teacher who would break the law and fight it in court. John Thomas Scopes was a teacher in Dayton, Tennessee, and he intentionally taught his class about the theory of evolution, which led to his arrest and trial.

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."

John Scopes was born on August 3, 1900, in Paducah, Kentucky. In 1924 he started to teach at Rhea County Central High School in Dayton, Tennessee. At that time there was a national debate about whether evolution should be taught in schools. It was then later decided that evolution would not be taught in publicly funded schools. The American Civil Liberties Union thought differently and wanted to challenge the Butler Act. John Scopes volunteered to be tried under this new law. He admitted to using a textbook that contained evolution while serving as a substitute biology teacher. He wanted to stand up for academic freedom. He once said, “What goes on in the classroom is up to the student and the teacher. Once you introduce the power of the state telling what you can and cannot do you’ve become involved in propaganda.” John Scopes was found guilty, but his conviction was later overturned.

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.

Our core values are built upon freedom. Freedom from tyranny, freedom from control, freedom to choose. A student should have the option to learn whatever it is they desire, whether it be evolution, or creationism, because it is our right to choose what to believe. There was a true story based on an argument where science was not allowed to be taught, but religion was. It correlates to the novel Inherit the Wind. The plot settles in a trial held between two defendants lawyers battling it out of the science versus Evolution. A school teacher named Cates, who got arrested and went to jail because he taught evolution in a science class. I believe that evolution should be taught in science classes and that school teachers being arrested due to

In my opinion Evolution should be taught in school but so should Creationism. I think students should be able to choose which theory to learn in school. None of either theory should be forced on students. The argument between teaching each one is that Evolution is a proven historically fact according to the National Academy of Sciences. The majority of those people who desire for creationism to be taught in the public schools cite that it is scientific. They push for the teaching of creation science which is defined as "scientific evidence for creation and the inferences from that evidence" (Tatina 275). The inferences from that evidence are "sudden creation of the universe from nothing, recent formulation of the earth, creation of man and other biological kinds, a worldwide flood", and

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.

Evolution is the most popular theory currently taught in public high schools, and is widely accepted as a sound scientific concept to teach. However, it is equally true that many disagree with evolution and many of its concepts as an explanation of the origin of life on our planet, and it is thus my opinion that evolution should not even be taught in public science classes, as it is not scientifically sound, nor should be a part of a wide variety of concepts taught to students that that should also include intelligent design, creationism, or any other number of theories that have just as much of validity as evolution.

One final example of Easton's definition of politics is school districts. Each public school belongs to a school district, which are governed by an elected or appointed school boards. Each school district is unique with their own policies and financing. Policies reflect the values of the school districts citizens. One example is where evolution, intelligent design, or both should be taught in school; also what grade it should be first taught in. Some school broads feel evolution should not be taught and others feel the intelligent design is teaching religion and not science. Parents are advised to see where their school board stands on the issue. Parents are also told to look at their child's science textbook and see how it is taught and where

Imagine not being able to choose what you learn, this is slowly becoming a problem in the field of science. Evolutionists and other scientists are trying to stop intelligent design from being a field of science to offer in schools. The war between evolution and intelligent design has been long fought, even taken to court and the teens and children who are in school are often stuck in the dark, unable to find a side to agree with. Intelligent design should be offered in schools because it is a type of science, it has plausible theories and it fills in the holes that evolution leaves behind.

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.

Even though the teaching of evolution, creationism, and intelligent design could in some cases be seen to promote religion just by allowing it in there, if communicated clearly, it could pass because it is promoting the optional study of religion(s) and without favoring one over another, or encouraging not discouraging any religion.