Schools reject evolution because of pressure from creationist parents

[sampo]

How anyone with a modicum of intelligence can dismiss evolution in favor of literal creationism is beyond me. Evolution has insurmountable evidence in support of it. Creationism? To my knowledge, none. The fact is, that people prefer to believe evolution does not exist because it challenges their belief system. Therefore, when confronted with nearly insurmountable evidence in support of evolution, they simply plug their ears and chant "NyahNyahNyah - I can't hear you! I'm not listening!" and then continue to cry "Show me the proof!" , knowing full well that there is no answer that would satisfy them.

A question for Stormy - If you do not think evolution OR creation should be taught in school, what then do you think should be taught?

 

[RoachTron]

Has anyone heaard that the word ADAM stands for MAN in Hebrew and EVE stands for MOTHER. Then wouldn't this propose that both evolution and the bible are correct and we can move on. Either way something created it in the beginning and I believe in some evolution, I believe in genetics, I believe in mixing certain traits gets you the traits you are looking for like the different breeds in dogs and cats. I also believe in Christ and God. There is room for both, but what do we teach kids. It's a shame when a student learns things they don't believe in just to pass a test from the state. It's also sad that kids have to fear snipers and other students killing each other. I know I saw many guns going to public school and when I was in 8th grade science class I cared more about the race riot that might happen after school then what was going on in the class. Where am I going with my point? If your kids learn evolution in school and you believe in creationism, teach them creationism, if you believe in evolution and they don't teach it in school, teach it to your kids yourself. Quit relying on the system to baby sit and teach your kids everything. That's how I got screwed up in the first place. TV and Public Schools raised me because my mother had to work 2 jobs to support me. Becuase for some reason her parents did the same to her. Take responsibility for your own families. Then it won't matter what public school is teaching.

 

[Humanista]

lisa03wilson said:
Schools should stop using experiments that have been proven to be faked as proof for evolution, I think most people would agree that that is just good science, you don't use information you know is faked.

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What experiments are those? Evolution is a historical science, and even though it is still happening today, it goes so slowly, one could hardly create an experiment for high schools kids to perform within a semester.
Perhaps you are referring not to experiments but to evidence --such as a fossil which was later proven to be false. What schools are using things known to be fake? Do you know this to be a fact?
I have heard of very out-dated science textbooks which are not entirely accurate, and I agree they should not be used.

Quote:
Schools should teach that there are some problems with evolution, like the very low odds of certain things evolving. They don't need to say that it's impossible, but do tell students what the true odds are. In my school, the teacher made it seem like new, helpful genes were just popping up all over the place and within a matter of years an animal would be new and improved. No, my school isn’t just dumb, this was the state cirruculum, complete with video cassette that showed animals evolving into different forms in one generation.
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Evolution describes the process by which life has changed over time. You cannot teach this and then say certain life forms are apparently excluded from the process, by special magic creation, because some creationist doesn't understand statistics nor how evolution works.
If you saw a video of animals evolving into different species in a single generation, I would guess a creationist teacher sneaked the video into the school to discredit evolution and the "evolving" you saw was faked. What did it show? Actual moving video of a dog giving birth to a cat? Since evolution doesn't say this, but it is a beloved strawman of creationists, I would indeed be suspicious of whomever showed it to you.

Quote:
Evolution should not be taught to young children. I first learned evolution in the fourth grade. I was 9. I would have believed anything the teacher said then, and I did because the teacher wouldn’t lie! If schools want to teach evolution to high schoolers, that’s fine. By then people are old enough to determine for themselves what they believe.
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Teachers are required to teach students what science is and how the scientific world arrives at a conclusion--including empiricism, the scientific method and peer review.
Once students understand that, then they will understand that science is not a belief, and belief does not enter into it. If one does not accept the evidence, you have to be able to say why it has failed scientifically. That's what peer review is about, and why the science taught in schools is understood to be backed by hard data, not opinion.

 

[bonkers]

Originally posted by Annabel Lee
I think it's terrible.
We do our children a great disservice by withholding important scientific teachings.
If your child's school becomes negligent in the teaching of science. Teach it yourself.
A parent is the most important teacher a child will ever have.

i do think that a parent is the most impotant teacher a child could have but when did they say that they were not teaching science? 

Here is a meaning of science.  Knowledge, especially that gained through experience. Since you were not there then it is not your experience so it is not a science. I think that they should give the proven facts and let the child decide.

 

[TheBear]

Let's hear from some major players in the scientific and educational community.....

AMERICAN GEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE

"Scientific evidence indicates beyond any doubt that life has existed on Earth for billions of years. This life has evolved through time producing vast numbers of species of plants and animals, most of which are extinct. Although scientists debate the mechanism that produced this change, the evidence for the change is undeniable. Therefore, in the teaching of science we oppose any position that ignores this scientific reality, or that gives equal time to interpretations based on religious beliefs only."


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[TheBear]

AMERICAN ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY

Resolution on Creationism

"During the past year, religious fundamentalists have intensified their effort to force public school science classes to include instruction in "creationism." As defined in publications of the Institute for Creation Research and in laws passed or under consideration by several state legislatures, this doctrine includes the statement that the entire universe was created relatively recently, i.e. less than 10,000 years ago. This statement contradicts results of astronomical research during the past two centuries indicating that some stars now visible to us were in existence millions or billions of years ago, as well as the results of radiometric dating indicating that the age of the earth is about 4.5 billion years.

The American Astronomical Society does not regard any scientific theory as capable of rigorous proof or immune to possible revision in the light of new evidence. Such evidence should be presented for critical review and confirmation in the appropriate scientific journals. In this case, no such evidence for recent creation of the earth and universe has survived critical scrutiny by the scientific community. It would therefore be most inappropriate to demand that any science teacher present it as a credible hypothesis.

We agree with the findings of Judge William Overton that the Arkansas creationism law represents an unconstitutional intrusion of religious doctrine into the public schools, that "creation science" is not science, and that its advocates have followed the unscientific procedure of starting from a dogmatically held conclusion and looking only for evidence to support that conclusion.

The American Astronomical Society deplores the attempt to force creationism into public schools and urges Congress, all state legislatures, local school boards and textbook publishers to resist such attempt."

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[TheBear]

AMERICAN SOCIETY OF BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTS

"Evolutionary theory is concerned with certain past, present, and future biological events. Like other scientific hypotheses, it leads to predictions, many but not all of which are subject to experimental observation and scientific tests. Evolutionary theory is compatible with many, but not all, religious beliefs; by itself it is not, was not meant to be, and should never be presented as a religious belief. Its proper forum is the science classroom.

The term "Creation_Science" obscures the profound differences between religious beliefs and scientific theory. The proper education of the nation's youth for citizenship in a technological age demands that the distinction between these two major currents in human affairs be maintained in keeping with the precepts of our Constitution."


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[TheBear]

GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA

"The Geological Society of America believes in the importance of using scientific documentation and reasoning. Biological evolution is a particularly impressive example of a principle derived in this way; we geologists find incontrovertible evidence in the rocks that life has existed here on Earth for several billions of years and that it has evolved through time. Although scientists debate the mechanism that produced this change, the evidence for the change itself is undeniable.

The ideas of "creationism," on the other hand, lack any similar body of supporting evidence. We oppose including creationism in science courses in public schools on the grounds that its conclusions were not obtained using scientific methods. Creationism weakens the emphasis on scientific reasoning that is essential to the continued advancement of scientific knowledge."


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[TheBear]

SOUTHERN ANTHROPOLOGICAL SOCIETY

"The Southern Anthropological Society deplores the intrusion of a particular religious doctrine into public school classrooms under the guise of so_called "scientific creationism."

These doctrines claim that a literalist reading of the account of the origins of the earth and life on it, as contained in the initial chapters of the book of Genesis, is supported by acceptable scientific evidence.

This interpretation treats a religious text as a scientific theory, which would seem to misrepresent both religion and science. The overwhelming evidence of the sciences -- cosmology, geology, biology, anthropology, among others -- indicates that the earth and all living forms on it have evolved from a simpler state, although, as in all ongoing science, theories as to how this took place continue to be revised in detail.

There is no necessary conflict between religious belief and inquiry into the natural world.

The institutionalization of creationist doctrine in the school curriculum will lead to the crippling of scientific inquiry as well as to the blurring of the important constitutional distinction between church and state."


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[TheBear]

AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION

"Whereas evolutionary theory is the indispensable foundation for the understanding of physical anthropology and biology;

Whereas evolution is a basic component of many aspects of archeology, cultural anthropology, and linguistics;

Whereas evolution is a basic component of allied disciplines such as the earth sciences and a cornerstone of 20th_century science in general;

Whereas a century of scientific research has confirmed the reality of evolution as a historical process, and the concept of evolution, in all its diversity, has explained the scientifically known evidence and successfully predicted fruitful paths of further research; and

Whereas local and national campaigns by so_called scientific Creationists and other antievolutionists nevertheless challenge the right of public schools to teach evolutionary theory without giving scientific credence or equal time to Creationist and other antievolutionist explanations of the origin and development of life;

Be it moved that the American Anthropological Association affirms the necessity of teaching evolution as the best scientific explanation of human and nonhuman biology and the key to understanding the origin and development of life, because the principles of evolution have been tested repeatedly and found to be valid according to scientific criteria;

The Association respects the right of people to hold diverse religious beliefs, including those which reject evolution, as matters of theology or faith but not as tenets of secular science;

Efforts to require teaching Creationism in science classes, whether exclusively, as a component of science curricula, or in equal_time counterpoint to evolution, are not based on science but rather are attempts to promote unscientific viewpoints in the name of science without basis in the record of scientific research by generations of anthropologists and other scholars;

The subject of life origins is addressed in tremendous diversity among the world's religions, and efforts to promote particular Judeo_Christian creation accounts in public schools are ethnocentric as well as unscientific.

Be it further moved that the Association shall communicate this motion upon passage to the public news media, to commissioners of education or equivalent officials in each of the 50 states, and to other officials and organizations deemed appropriate by the Executive Board or Executive Director.

Be it further moved that members of the Association are encouraged to promote these points of professional concern in their home communities among educators, parents, and students and in appropriate public forums beyond the boundaries of traditional, professional, and academic disciplines."



There is a lot more. Let me know if anyone is not sure where these major institutes stand.

 

[kaotic]

WOW TheBear you find alot of nice stuff.

 

[TheBear]

Thanks, seesaw.


But, the sad fact is, I could pile on plenty more of other major institute's position statements on evolution - I could gather mountains of evidence that unequivically, undeniably and irrefutably conclude that evolution is a reality - I could show how Biblical interpretation is the key to understanding that God and science are not in competition. However, there are those who are so closed-minded and set in their blind beliefs, nothing will change their views.

 

[RoachTron]

Amen