I'm first to arrive?
No wonder we are falling behind in math and the sciences
It puts our children at a terrible disadvantage to the rest of the world the next time they see a cat give birth to a moose.
Evolution has not done one person an once of good. Unfortunately the proponents try to convince people science isn't science without the theory of evolution.
If these people want to spend their time trying to put together a puzzle that is missing 98% of the pieces, let them do it on their own dime and time.
Science has more important things to say and do.
Show me the chemical, thermodynamic,and genetic proof that evolution exists and I will believe in evolution. Don't show me a skeleton and give me an opinion. Once in college I read about a guy that carbon dated an oyster and came up with an age of one million years. For evolution to be scientific it must be shown as a repeatable event. The simple adaptation shown in organisms is not evolution. The crucial part of the evolutionary theory is that life came from NON-LIVING things. Prove this evolutionary postulate with real verifiable science and I will give up my God.
Perhaps our Math and science scores worldwide will finally improve. Allowing kids to use their God given brain and see that evolution and all it's "evidence" is a farce is a step in the right direction.
And the dumbing down of America's school children continues. We better hope our children enjoy living in a third world country because our lead in technology will be gone within 20 years.
This is just about the most absurdly biased and one-sided piece of scribbling I've ever seen in my life. The author just doesn't want to bother quoting any of the articulate people who feel differently than she does? She'll just say there is no credibly counter-evidence and call it an open and shut case? Sheesh, a reporter is not supposed to show their opinion, and she has gone into full-blown advocacy...
Dean quotes someone who claims “the practice of avoiding the topic was widespread, particularly in districts where many people adhere to fundamentalist faiths.” But why would teachers fear discussing it because of that? It’s open season on “fundamentalist” faiths (loaded words for Bible-believing Christians). Most teachers have no problem with attributing everything bad in the world to Christianity. Maybe the students from those districts are better at asking the hard questions that give Darwin Party biology teachers stomach aches .
Most creationists support the teaching of evolution, as long as the problems and controversies are taught instead of one-sided indoctrination. Teaching evolution can be a valuable lesson on how smart people can believe dumb things. So don’t avoid it; let’s open the Darwin Hall of Shame and talk about Piltdown man, pigtooth man, peppered moths, doctored drawings of embryos, National Geographic misinfomercials and all the rest. Students need a little humor to break up the day. Be creative; with February 12 coming, you can celebrate Darwin Day with games and contests, and even sing some evolution songs. Evolution teaching can be fun!
Sweeping such an important controversy under the rug is not a healthy educational policy. Like it or not, evolution has had a major influence on the world for 140 years. Today, the subject is in a state of major ferment and reconsideration. The teacher doesn’t have to take sides. Many bright young people will actually wake up to science if evolution is taught as a controversial subject: that is, if they get a chance to exercise critical thinking about the evidence for and against it, and can debate the issues in class openly without ridicule, rather than hearing a borrrrrring one-sided sales pitch. It’s only the teachers on a mission to indoctrinate blank slates into the Cult of Charlie that have anything to fear.
For those teachers still afraid, we have a simple solution; get the film Where Does the Evidence Lead? and show it as a six-part series (10 minutes each). It will take you off the hook, and teach the students sufficient information to cover the curriculum requirement, without worries about religion in the biology class.
They aren't teaching spontaneous generation any more, either.
What should not be taught is the religious dogma that from one simple animal form, all animal forms (species etc.)came into being. Teaching that man and all life came about over millions of years from simple lifeforms is religious, philosophical speculation, not to be confused with empirical science.
Testing new medicine on animals and any other science can be practiced fine without the ultra-evolutionary religious dogma coming along with it.
We have mandatory evolution. Still though, almost nobody pays attention to it. We (including the teachers) roll our eyes and bear it.
BTW- By almost nobody I mean anybody worth anything. (Just Joking)