Evolution taught in schools

I was recently going through different articles about science curriculum in different parts of the country and was pretty surprised at what I found. I must say that I am a Texan and a believer in evolution. I read an article that said that in Jan. Texas approved a change to a 20-year old science curriculum and now takes out the need to examine the "strengths and weaknesses" of the evolution thoery. I was very surprised because I think that one of the fundamentals of science is to teach analytical and critical thinking. Evolution is still considered a theory and like any theory, there are chances it could be wrong, because it has not been concretely proven. I think our student should learn to analyse any theory, not jsut evolution, and see its weaknesses and strengths and decide for themselves what they believe. It is up to teachers to give students the tools to become informed thinkers, not to tell them what to think. Its a shame that we are suddenly not allowed to help our students think critically and analyse their world.

Tags: curriculum, evolution, texas

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Permalink Reply by Sam Chaltain on May 4, 2009 at 3:42pm: Hey Gabriela! This is such an interesting issue. I just "tweeted" about it actually (http://twitter.com/samchaltain), referencing a case where a teacher in CA lost his First Amendment case when a student called him out for constantly belittling creationism in class as "religious, superstitious nonsense.” I am a firm believer in evolution, AND my sense of the issue is like yours -- that while the two sides don't deserve equal treatment (just bc of the amount of info on one side v the other), that doesn't mean only one side should get to be addressed. It's an interesting cultural debate, and one our kids would be interested in learning more about. So let's talk about it!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Gabriela Rodarte on May 5, 2009 at 3:11pm: Yes I read about that case. While I do not agree with belittling anyone's idea or opinions, whether religious or not, I do think there should be a dialogue about the topic. I think our students would be extremely interested about it and I think teachers would be surprised at what kids might have to say on the issue. Discussion is always a great way to get students involved in the class and to personalize any topic.; ▶ Reply to This