I am a born again Christian. I am graduating in May with my Bachelors in biology, and I will be starting my graduate classes in education this summer. My question is this...how can I successfully conduct myself in the classroom without bringing in my own personal beliefs. I most likely will be teaching in a public school and the theory of evolution is required circulum. I'm just wondering how Christian teachers do it, and how far they are able to go with certain subjects like evolution.
2007-01-22 13:12:40 · 5 answers · asked by faithy_q_t_poo 3 in Education & Reference ➔ Teaching
For all those who want to lamb-baste me for being a Christian and getting a Biology degree....move on. I got a degree in Biology because I love science. I enjoy learning about plants and animals and what makes them work. I never said I was going to preach the Bible. Besides..what could be better than learning and teaching about the ownderful gifts that God bestowed on us?
2007-01-22 13:46:44 · update #1
I've never understood the real conflict. Science, biology, and even the theory of evolution are all critical thinking based processes. They teach us a very effective way of thinking. Faith is totally different, and should be different. When I made a big move across the country, I took a big leap of faith because everything was unknown to me and I had to just accept it, but when I bought a car recently, I studied and researched and did all those sciency questions because this was something I could control.
I'm a music teacher, and before I started teaching, I wondered about the true legitimacy of music education. Now I know, it's just to train kids how to be better, smarter adults. Science is the same. It's not about the actually evolutionary process, who cares about that? It doesn't matter if it's true or not. What matters is the process of thinking that will help the students deal better with situations later in life. So don't let faith, which is a whole seperate skill set, get confused with the real lessons the kids need to learn, and that's logical thinking.
2007-01-22 15:12:17 · answer #1 · answered by locusfire 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Depending upon where you live and the school in which you teach you will have a certain amount of flexibility in your lesson. Do not anticipate trouble before it happens. Chances are it won't be as bad as you expect. Teach evolution as the theory it is. You might mention that it is widely accepted among the scientific community but that there are other ideas that are believed by other groups. If students ask you what those ideas are, tell them to stay after class and you will talk with them then.
2007-01-22 21:21:21 · answer #2 · answered by dkrgrand 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Have you looked into the "Answers in Genesis" project (see website link below). Ken Ham's institute has provided some great resources that might help in presenting the theory of evolution without denying your personal faith as a Christian. There are ways to present observational and historical scientific evidence that confirm what the Bible teaches (not that you will be able to mention the Bible specifically, but you don't have to deny what you know is true either). Check it out. God bless!
2007-01-22 21:25:22 · answer #3 · answered by Blessed 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
If you don't believe or accept biology and it's foundational theories, why did you get a degree in it?
You're being hired to teach science. That's what you should teach. If you were hired to sell furniture and you tried to sell bibles instead, you would be fired, and rightly so. If you are hired to teach biology and you preach the bible instead, you are not doing the job you were hired for, and should be fired.
2007-01-22 21:30:28 · answer #4 · answered by eri 7 · 0⤊ 3⤋
I WENT TO HIGH SCHOOL IN GLEN ROSE TX. NOW THERE WHEN WE TOOK CLASS ON EVOLUTION AFTER WE HAD A CLASS ON CREATION? HOW THE SCHOOL ALOWED IT? BUT THE CREATION TEACHER WAS DR. CARL BAUGH CREATION EVIDENCE MUSEUM BUT THAT WAS IN GLEN ROSE.
HOPE I COULD HELP
2007-01-22 21:21:56 · answer #5 · answered by John M. 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋