Education And Evolution
Throughout recent history creationists and
evolutionists have argued whether
evolution should be a part of America's
public education. Whether evolution is
science fact, or science fiction.
Evolution being a science based on statistics
has some faults, although many
concepts in science or math do. The process of
learning about evolution is a
necessary part of a well-rounded student's
education due to the fact that it
is a statistically proven science and removing
it in turn revokes certain
student's rights. In a student's academic career that
a student is most
likely at one time or another going to have to take a science
class. Science,
being the main topic of discussion in this class, should at one
point include
evolution, because that is what evolution is, a science. Although
to truly
understand evolution in its fullest context, one must not look to
a
dictionary, for dictionary definitions just are too vague. One of the
most
respected evolutionary biologists has defined biological evolution as
follows:
"In the broadest sense, evolution is merely change, and so
is
all-pervasive; galaxies, languages, and political systems all evolve.
Biological
evolution ... is change in the properties of populations of
organisms that
transcend the lifetime of a single individual. The ontogeny of
an individual is
not considered evolution; individual organisms do not
evolve. The changes in
populations that are considered evolutionary are those
that are inheritable via
the genetic material from one generation to the
next. Biological evolution may
be slight or substantial; it embraces
everything from slight changes in the
proportion of different alleles within
a population (such as those determining
blood types) to the successive
alterations that led from the earliest
protoorganism to snails, bees,
giraffes, and dandelions." - Douglas J.
Futuyma in Evolutionary Biology,
Sinauer Associates 1986 All sciences are based
on some form of proof. Whether
it being living proof such as in Biology where
one can observe cell division,
mathematical proof such as in calculating
air-resistance in Physics, or
statistical proof as in all science experiments
when a predicted result
occurs again and again. All sciences have at least one
of these qualities,
including evolution. The proof of evolution's existence has
been on this
earth ever since life was formed from carbon based atom
structures.
Humans, however, have not been in existence long enough to
observe properly the
phenomena of evolution. Although by using the latest
technology we can
accurately observe the process of evolution as it occurred
over time long ago
and is still happening today. Charles Darwin, a British
naturalist, made the
first major step in classifying evolution during his
studies in the Galapagos
Archipelago in 1831 when he was only 22 years of
age. Due to this he is credited
with first forming a structured theory of
evolution. During his studies in the
Galapagos Archipelago he found a
multitude of flora and fauna that had complete
isolation from the rest of the
world. One particular type of animal that he paid
close attention to be a
small bird called a Finch. This was thought as being
simple at first, but as
he traveled to the different islands he noticed many
different species of
finches. These finches probably descended from one type of
ancestor and then,
due to isolation and through chance, different climates and
natural forces
such as food availability and type, they evolved into many
different types of
finches. Some finches had different colorings, wingspan, and
even beak style.
In total he found thirteen different varieties of finches.
Later on in
Charles' life he formed many theories on the origins of man. This
was
directly related to his studies in the Galapagos Archipelago. In his
book
"Decent of Man" written in 1871 he declares why man had been
so
ignorant by denying evolution in the final parts of chapter one. "Thus
we
can understand how it has come to pass that man and all other vertebrate
animals
have been constructed on the same general model, why they pass
through the same
early stages of development, and why they retain certain
rudiments in common.
Consequently we ought frankly to admit their
community of descent: to take any
other view, is to admit that our own
structure, and that of all the animals
around us, is a mere snare laid to
entrap our judgment. This conclusion is
greatly strengthened, if we look to
the members of the whole animal series, and
consider the evidence derived
from their affinities or classification, their
geographical distribution and
geological succession. It is only our natural
prejudice, and that arrogance
which made our forefathers declare that they were
descended from demigods,
which leads us to demur to this conclusion. But the
time will before long
come, when it will be thought wonderful that naturalists,
who were well
acquainted with the comparative structure and development of man,
and other
mammals, should have believed that each was the work of a separate act
of
creation." (Darwin) As seen in the above text, Charles Darwin explains
how
statistically man did evolve from a lower form of life. This is
directly
related to the finches due to that the same forces that caused them
to evolve
may have caused humans to evolve as well. Yet still some schools in
America have
tried banning the teaching of evolution in the classroom. Every
student in a
United States public school has a constitutional right to
hear the whole story
when it comes to evolution. It is called the first
amendment in the Bill of
Rights. According to the American Civil
Liberties Union or ACLU, the authority
on civil rights, states that every
student has the right to a non-biased
education (ACLU Urges...). In the
Supreme Court decision Edwards v. Aguillard,
482 U.S. 578 (1987), the
Court ruled that to compromise by omitting evolution
and creationism from the
science curriculum would "undermine the provision
of a comprehensive
scientific education." On this point, the law is very
clear, and the Supreme
Court put its foot down -- the First Amendment forbids a
state to alter its
curriculum simply in order to defend a religious belief.
That's an
establishment of religion, and it's unconstitutional. (Edwards) So not
only
is removing evolution from the classroom unjustified, but it is against
the
law. Creationism has its place in the classroom as well as
Evolutionism,
although not the same classroom. Creationism belongs in a class
like Theology or
History of Religion. This is because creationism is the
belief in the biblical
account of the creation of the world. Biblical meaning
the Bible, restricting it
only to a group of religions. So-called "Creation
Science" is not a
science at all. Lately it has been more of a political
movement than a science.
Sure creationists may have facilities like the
"Institute for Creation
Research" (a church that does no scientific
research at all) and the
"Creation Research Society" (another church that
also does no
scientific research), but in the end there is not a shred of
science in
creation. Recently many science teachers in public schools have
tried to work
their way around teaching evolution by teaching a so called
"intelligent
design theory" (Washington State). This is just one of the many
guises of
creation science, and it does not change the fact that states and
school
districts may not adopt religious theories as standards in school
curricula.
Creationists will always exist, since ignorance will always
exist, although
evolution will always have a place in science curriculum.
Creationists believe
in creation because their masters have told them to
believe in Creationism as a
tool to their "salvation". They do not care that
evolution is an
observed fact: they have "faith" that Creationism is true,
and that's
all they need. They consider facts and truth to be a hindrance to
their ticket
to Heaven. The teachings of these people should have no place,
and will have no
place in our children's science classrooms, only evolution
and other proven
sciences have the right to be present. Therefore, the
process of learning about
evolution is a necessary part of a well-rounded
student's education due to the
fact that it is a statistically proven science
and removing it in turn revokes
certain student's
rights.
Bibliography
Darwin, Charles. The Decent of Man. Bank of
Wisdom, 1871. "ACLU Urges
Kansas Public Schools to Reject Religion-Based
Evolution Teachings in Science
Classes." American Civil Liberties Union
Freedom Network. 13 Aug. 1999
. "Edwards, Governor of Louisana, et. al. v.
Aguillard et. al." 482
U.S.S.C 578. 107 S. Ct. 2573. "Washington State
Teacher Told to Stick to
Science." American Civil Liberties Union Freedom
Network. 2 Nov. 1998.