Okay, this was my initial post. I got a little random because I kept wanting to get ranty, but had to pull myself back since it is supposed to be a "civil classroom discussion" LOL! ... "I feel that all students should be given a strong foundation of math, science, and critical thinking skills in order to be successful in life. As such, I don’t believe in placing an age or grade restriction on the teaching of evolution. Many people confuse the scientific definition of “theory” with the common term. From LiveScience: “A scientific theory summarizes a hypothesis or group of hypotheses that have been supported with repeated testing. If enough evidence accumulates to support a hypothesis, it moves to the next step—known as a theory—in the scientific method and becomes accepted as a valid explanation of a phenomenon. When used in non-scientific context, the word “theory” implies that something is unproven or speculative. As used in science, however, a theory is an explanation or model based on observation, experimentation, and reasoning, especially one that has been tested and confirmed as a general principle helping to explain and predict natural phenomena.” When discussing the Theory of Evolution, the term “theory” is used in the scientific context. Many people hear the word “theory” and assume that this means that it is “unproven” and “speculative”. This is not the case with the Theory of Evolution. There are numerous observable examples of both macroevolution and microevolution, and each day scientists are discovering more and more evidence. Many naysayers claim that evolution should not be taught because “it is just a theory”. Gravity is also “just a theory”, but none of these people would jump off a bridge and expect to float because gravity “is just a theory”. We teach children about gravity in schools, so why not evolution? Aside from the common confusion that arises when people mistake the meaning of the term “theory”, religion is usually the number one reason people are against teaching children about evolution. Unfortunately, religion has done more to hinder scientific advancement than to help. There was a time when people were put to death by churches for refuting their official doctrines (even when their doctrines were wrong). For example, Giordano Bruno was burnt at the stake, with his tongue tied and a bag of gunpowder on his chest, for his (correct) “heretical views” of the solar system (that the earth revolved around the sun, not the other way around). Galileo faced The Holy Inquisition and spent the last nine years of his life imprisoned by the Catholic Church for similar views (originally theorized by Copernicus). Despite the fact that we now know the theories are correct, people are still fighting against scientific knowledge out of simple fear that their religion will eventually be proven false. Fear should never be a reason to hold back knowledge and advancement. These same fears should never be passed along to our children. School is a place for gaining knowledge and advancing ourselves. As such, the opportunity to expand the knowledge of students should not be limited by age or grade simply because it might refute some of the beliefs parents place upon their children."
Posted on: Thu, 04 Jul 2013 03:57:53 +0000
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