Evolution is one of the best supported theories in science, and is the fulcrum upon which the whole of biology turns. Theodosius Dobzhansky once famously said, "Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution." Understanding the concept and having at least a passing familiarity with how it works would seem to be a high priority for the American educational system, as the tenets of evolution have applications in fields as diverse as medicine, ecology and computer science. But according to a study published in the journal Science in January 2011, public school students in the United States are getting shortchanged, largely due to controversy over creationism.
Creationism and the Law
Despite the fact that creationism — the religious idea that the origins of life are set out in the Bible exactly as they occurred, such as the belief that the Earth is only 6,000 years old — has been repeatedly trounced in court cases as a violation of the Establishment Clause, public schools are still mired in conflict about what should be taught regarding the theory of evolution. The National Research Council has laid out recommendations for public schools concerning the principles of evolutionary biology that should be covered, but evidently these guidelines are often not heeded.
Creationist Teachers
According to the study, in more conservative areas of the country, four in ten teachers report that they do not accept the theory of evolution and tend to give the concept short shrift in their classrooms, if they mention it at all. Some teachers even openly present creationism or "intelligent design" as a viable alternative to evolution by natural selection. Even in areas of the U.S. deemed the least conservative, fully eleven percent of teachers claim they are creationists or otherwise do not accept evolution as true.
Avoiding Controversy
While the study reveals that about 28 percent of biology teachers do claim to follow the recommendations of the National Research Council, a disheartening 60 percent of teachers reported that even though they might personally accept evolution, they were reluctant to cover the topic in their classrooms for fear of enraging religious students and their parents or otherwise causing controversy in their communities.
Many teachers also felt that they themselves did not understand the theory of evolution well enough to be able to defend it if students challenged them with creationist ideas. Because of their lack of confidence in their own knowledge, they tended to avoid bringing up the subject at all.
Political scientists Michael B. Berkman and Eric Plutzer, who authored the study, point out that these 60 percent of teachers who simply avoided talking about evolution out of fear might be a much larger problem for scientific literacy in the United States than the smaller percentage of teachers openly (and illegally) advocating creationism to their public school students.
Source
Frazier, Kendrick. "Evolution May Win in Court But Not in the Classroom." Skeptical Inquirer. May/June 2011. 6. Print.
Jenny Ashford - Jenny Ashford is a writer and graphic artist from central Florida. Her main area of interest in her Suite 101 articles is science, with a ...
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