Talking evolution

[Christina Southern]

Should curriculums offer other options to evolution?
How are teachers handling the topic in the classroom?

This post was updated at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Feb.3:
Knox schools say they don't teach human evolution,
but how the process relates to all life

By Scott Brooks
[e-mail]
We have the purpose of preventing bigots and ignoramuses from controlling the education of the United States."
- Clarence Darrow, defense attorney during the Scopes trial in Dayton, Tenn., 1925

About 84 years ago, Tennessee was thrust into the international spotlight when biology teacher John Scopes went to trial in Rhea County and was found guilty of violating a state law that banned the teaching of human evolution in public schools.

While the state law was finally repealed in 1968, the teaching of evolution based on the theories of Charles Darwin is still a contentious subject.

"The fact that this debate continues is a sign that we missed our target to educate people about the scientific process," said Becky Ashe, science supervisor for Knox County Schools.

Ashe was a biology teacher at West High School for 14 years prior to her promotion within the school system. She said she gets calls from parents every year concerned that their children are being force-fed information that goes against their religious beliefs. Ashe usually points out that the Knox County curriculum is aligned with state and national standards and that evolutionary theory is part of it. "We don't have a written policy on the issue. You simply teach the assigned curriculum."

Ashe said the heart of the issue is a basic misunderstanding of how the subject of evolution is taught in the public schools. "Our teachers teach the mechanics of Darwin's theories. That includes fossil evidence, molecular evidence, geology and DNA. We do not teach human evolution, only the process as it relates to all life."
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[Ginevra]

Where to begin.

Following is a link to MontessoriMom "Great Story" discussions, with examples of Creation stories (and more). Some of the schools described are Catholic, and come from a Christian perspective.

I like these ideas (although we aren't supposed to mix religion with public schools, which I agree with). However, I'd appreciate it if anybody else could browse through the link and offer your ideas (agree, disagree, how you might modify these lessons to make them appropriate for a Knox public school).

Especially since some of the ideas on this "Great Story" link are about offering the most basic algebra and science concepts at early ages (Vic?)

Please check it out:

http://www.montessorimom.com/great-lessons-cosmic-education-links-a...

[Ginevra]

This link is from "Queen of Angels Montessori" which (I'm guessing from the name) is a Catholic school. It features some ideas about relating creation stories to the individual creativity of students.

http://www.qams.org/elem_vision.htm

[Ginevra]

"The educational goal of Montessori elementary education is to develop a global vision within the children. Montessori calls the path to this perspective “cosmic education”, which develops in children a sense of gratitude for the universe and their lives within it.

"Montessori uses its Five Great Lessons as an introduction to all topics, providing a "Big Picture" to demonstrate how the sciences, art, history, language, geography are interrelated. Through the Five Great Lessons, children become aware that the universe evolved over billions of years, and that it is based on the law and order through which all the plants, animals, and the rest of creation is maintained. From that point, students are introduced to increasing levels of detail and complexity within these broad areas and gradually understand that they are part of this order and are participants in the ongoing life of the universe.

"Children tend to take for granted that what they see around them has always been there. Cosmic education leads to an understanding that even the simple enhancements of their daily lives – forks, paper or pencils for example – were once someone’s creation. Through their research, the children discover the many important contributions of others that today are so important in our daily lives. This helps them to realize that they, too, can make contributions to the world. http://www.sudburymontessori.ca/elementary/cosmic_education.htm

[Ginevra]

B) The Time Line of Life represents the beginning of life on Earth from the simplest forms through the appearance of human beings. A great variety and magnificence of life is presented, with each organism a contributor to a vast cosmic scheme. Specifically, this second Great Lesson explains how single-cell and multi-cell forms of life became embedded in the bottom of the sea and formed fossils. It traces the Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and the Cenozoic periods, beginning with the kingdom of trilobites and ending with human beings. The teacher indicates on a time line where vertebrates began, followed by fish and plants, then amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. This lesson is the basis for lessons in chemistry, nutrition, categories of animals and plants, care and requirements of different animals, and their interrelationship with an ecological system. Students are introduced to formal scientific language of zoology, botany, and anthropology. http://www.sudburymontessori.ca/elementary/cosmic_education.htm

[Ginevra]

"C) The Coming of Humans continues the exploration of life on Earth, providing a time line that stresses the development of humans from the earliest beings and introduces their unique endowments of intellect and will. The aim is for the children to imagine what life was like for early humans. This lesson is the basis for lessons in prehistory and the emergence of ancient civilizations. Students are introduced to an analytical tool to compare cultures. They learn how climate and topography influence culture and political geography.

http://www.sudburymontessori.ca/elementary/cosmic_education.htm

[Ginevra]

"D) The Story of Language A theme area rather than a specific time line (although time lines may be developed), the Story of Language follows the development of writing from its appearance in primitive cultures to its role in modern society, covering the origin, structure, and types of writing and speaking. It begins with a discussion of the Egyptians, who had two kinds of symbols, one for ideas and one for sounds. The story goes on to describe the Phoenicians, who used the Egyptian's sound pictures but not their idea pictures. Next, it describes contributions of the Hebrews, Greeks, and Romans. From this lesson, students use grammar materials, which help them examine how language is put together, and refine capitalization and punctuation. Students are introduced to the study of the origin of English words from other languages, the meanings of prefixes and suffixes and different forms of writing such as poetry, prose, and plays. Older children may study Egyptian hieroglyphics or Native Indian picture writing.

http://www.sudburymontessori.ca/elementary/cosmic_education.htm


E) The Story of Numbers Also a theme area, this lesson involves the use of mathematics as an expression of the refinement of the human mind and as a response to the specific needs as well as the shared needs of human groups. Specifically, this Great Lesson emphasizes how human beings needed a language for their inventions to convey measurement and how things were made. The story describes how the Sumerians and Babylonians had a number system based on sixty, which is the reason for our sixty-second minute and sixty-minute hour. Greek, Roman and Chinese numbers are introduced. The story explains that our Arabic numerals are similar to numbers found in a cave in India from two thousand years ago. These Indian numerals used something that no other number system had used: the zero. This story is the basis for the children's learning of mathematics, which is integrated into all studies. For example, large numbers are needed in measuring time and space in astronomy, negative numbers are needed when measuring temperature changes; triangulation is needed to re-establish property boundaries after the Nile flooded ancient Egypt. "

[Debi]

I think schools should teach a few of the top theories. Evolution is that, a theory. Considering the huge significance of religion in our earth's history, the question to me is why not teach the top theories. There is a lot of science involved in what is commonly called creationism. Ken Hamm is one of the big scientists studying it, I've not followed it that closely.

My op, we don't need to limit our possibilities to feel politically correct. The same "proof" of the earth evolving from a single cell fits perfectly with a Master Designer. Saying it's possible either way actually proves that science is non-biased.

[Liberalium]

Evolution is a scientific theory.
Creationism is a religious theory.

I do not think we should be teaching things which are not science in science classes.

[Clementine]

Other options to evolution for what? The state curriculum requires the teaching of evolution and students in middle school and high school in Knox County learn about evolution. Students are merely required to be taught what evolution is. I teach it. At no point in my teaching do I ask the students what they believe about creation (what they believe is not relevant to my teaching) and at no point in my teaching do I tell them what I believe (again, it is irrelevant). At no point do I expect them to "believe" in evolution because, again, that's not the point. They are required to know what evolution is and will be tested on their knowledge of evolution. There is nothing to "believe" in.I know of teachers who won't teach it because they don't "believe" in it; I know of teachers who lack the confidence to teach it because they are intimidated by the subject matter or afraid of repercussions from people at their church. I stick to the curriculum and explain to my students that they simply need to know what it is. I use the word "evolution" regularly instead of euphemisms like "change over time" or something like that. I've had parents complain that I teach it and have had parents who insist that their child not be exposed to evolution and request alternate lessons. I don't give them alternate lessons nor do I allow them to bring in alternate materials into my classroom. I explain again that I teach evolution because they need to know it according to the state education standards.

[Gary]

I appreciate and applaud Clementine for teaching evolution. Evolution is the foundation of all modern biology, including medical sciences. Our modern knowledge of the facts of evolution also are basic to our modern knowledge of the facts of other sciences such as physics, chemistry, and geology (e.g. we live in a 13 billion year-old universe, we can explore this universe and even visit other planets where we look for life. we understand the radioactive decay of elements and how geological formations such as the Grand Canyon formed over eons of time, etc.. etc..) Certainly, every responsible science teacher who cares for the education of thier stduents MUST teach evolution.
I also agree with Clementine that evolution is not something that you teach because you "believe" in evolution. I don't ""believe"" in evolution. I must teach evolution not because I ""believe"in it, but because as a scientist and educator I must accept the reality of evolution ("fact" of evolution) because of the overwhelming support for evolution from all modern sciences.
February 2009 marks the 200th birthday of Charles Darwin and the 150th anniversary of the publication of the one of the most important books in the history of science, "The Origin of Species"". Look for UT's Darwin Day and Teacher's workshop on Evolution in coming messages.

[Debi]

I disagree that evolution is a foundation of biology. Evolution is a theory. The pure definition of biology from dictionary.com:1. the science of life or living matter in all its forms and phenomena, esp. with reference to origin, growth, reproduction, structure, and behavior.
2. the living organisms of a region: the biology of Pennsylvania.
3. the biological phenomena characteristic of an organism or a group of organisms: the biology of a worm.The origin is one aspect of the science of life, and until a theory can be proven, it is still a theory. The age of a universe does not prove we can explore the universe, exploring it proves we can explore it. Finding life somewhere else no more proves it evolved than it proves a Master Designer placed it there. It's theory as to how it got there. We cannot test 1 billion year old events any more than we can test Who may have put it there. All we can do is analyze. Not permitting some theories to be critically examined for the sake of political correctness does not promote scientific creativity, it takes away from it.

We think we understand radioactive decay. 200 years ago we thought we knew how illness happened. Through critically asking and examining we came to recognize this odd thing called germs which evolved into more knowledge. We still know so little about our world. Settling in on any one theme in the realm of science is a dangerous business of taking from science what science is there to do, and that's study, explore, ask questions without fear of what we may find.

60 years ago we thought the polio vaccine was a miracle until we discovered SV-40 had created millions of cancer cases. 50 years ago we thought mercury was good and safe until acrodynia was discovered. 40 years ago we thought DES was a good thing to help pregnant ladies keep their pregnancies until we had DES daughters and cancer popping up. 30 years ago we thought asbestos was a great building product until mesothelioma happened. As scientists we must never settle on what we think we know as absolute, because likely it is relative.

[Victor Agreda Jr]

A little understanding of logic will help.

1. Using what we didn't know previously to explain what we might not know now is a logical fallacy. You can't prove something true by proving something else to be false. The two must be directly related.

2. The basic premise of Creationism as you've stated is founded in the belief of a Master Designer. That basic premise cannot be questioned, nor can it be proven false. This is not a scientific premise, for exactly the reasons you explain: that is, "we must never settle on what we think we know as absolute, because likely it is relative."

Is it not possible that a master designer had in mind several billion years of slow, evolutionary development of biological organisms? I have never understood why evolution was supposed to disprove a Creator. But then, I'm not fully versed in the rise of the belief of Creationism.

All the same, belief isn't science. Theories aren't beliefs -- they are based in premises that can be questioned, tested and analyzed in a fair and open manner.