A great article by Larry Flammer- Teaching Evolution without Conflict
http://www.indiana.edu/~ensiweb/evo.sol.pdf
Here is an excerpt:
“We didn’t come from monkeys.” “Why
don’t we learn about creation and evolution, so we can
make up our own minds; isn’t that more fair?”
If such questions cause you to minimize or avoid evolution
in your curriculum, maybe you should consider a
different approach. Evolution is clearly a well-documented
process that informs all of biology and its many applications.
It is a disservice to students to teach biology without
an accurate and comprehensive treatment of evolution.
Surveys reveal that many in our society have an inadequate
and inaccurate understanding of evolution (Alters &
Alters, 2001). Much of this can be traced directly to popular
misconceptions about the nature of science. This, in
turn, can be linked to misrepresentation by those opposed
to evolution, although inadequate or ineffective treatment
by ill prepared teachers can also be a contributing factor.
Teachers must do all they can to correct this; otherwise we
all lose many of the potential benefits that can come from
a more scientifically literate society.
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What a great article with a very good point! When I taught life science I found that it was more of the parents that I had issues with than the kids. I found myself teaching to the parents and making them understand what their teachers years ago evidently didn't. Crazy how education works sometimes!
ReplyDeleteCindy-
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this! I was lamenting about this very topic while having a conversation with a doc student the other day. Granted, he is actually more Technology based - but he was carrying on about all the perceived "holes" in Darwin's theory. This is a well educated man and yet, he was speaking incorrectly about the basic tenets of evolutionary theory. If he isn't well informed enough to support his position, it is no surprise that most of our citizenry cannot.