Do you think evolution should be taught in school?

Question

And y?

and y? Also does any think no

Answer 1

Of course. It is science.

And while we still have separation of church and state in the US, religion should NOT be taught in public (state) school.

Quite frankly, if we ever stop having separation of church and state, I'll stop being a US citizen.

Answer 2

Yes, because the theory exists, it's part of our history and it has been proven useful to understand the way we (living things) are.
Still a theory but far more better than creationism. It has an hypothesis that makes sense and objective evidence to support it. Creationism has (is) an hypothesis.

I want to clarify some points from other answers.

006, this theory is not the base of modern medicine The concept of evolution has been used once in a while but most of our medicine knowledge is not related to evolution. In the case of biology is arguable. The classification of the species doesn't have to be strictly related to evolution though it helps a lot to keep that concept in mind. We had that idea of biology before evolution was even considered. But I agree that it's a knowledge that we shouldn't dismiss.

Keezee, science is based in facts AND theories. What you have in mind is faith, dogma. Creationism is based on faith and that's against science.

Moose, it's not a fact that some animals evolved. It's a theory that all living creatures evolve.

I wanted to clarify these points because it's important to understand what are we talking about. Most of the arguments I see about evolution end up being a fight over faith. Creationists have their dogma and don't want to give it up and evolutionists do the same. That's wrong. If we want to support science and want to defend the theory of evolution we have to do it the proper way. It's not a dogma, it can be challenged, it HAS to be challenged and it's going to be proven wrong once on a while. It can even be proven wrong completely (unlikely but we can't rule that out yet). That's a theory. Creationism is an absolute truth, it can't be challenged, it can't be questioned in any way and it won't be proven wrong ever. There's no way to do that.
That's what make the discussion so futile. There's no way to move it forward.

The important thing is that, for the man of real faith, evolutionism doesn't prove the non-existence of god.
The man of weak faith, on the other hand, it feels like his god is diminished by science.

Answer 3

Yes. This issues arising from this argument pinpoint the reason that America has benefited from a separation of church and state. Imagine the intellectual chaos that would result if Christian, Hindu, Native American, Buddhist, Muslim, Animist, Atheist and other religious views on creation all had to be given equal weight in the American classroom. Equal weight means equal resources and equal time, just like during an election campaign. Or, consider the result if Christian creationism were taught in one high school, and in an area where many South Asian Indians lived, a Hindu perspective defined the course of instruction. One set of students would have learned a different set of 'facts' than the other. What would happen when these students went on to study in university? What aspects of those 'faith based' views would serve the students later in academic, professional, other intellectual venues?

Instead, we have a scientifically-based rationale for how life evolved, one stemming from the work of Darwin and others. Granted, it may be flawed, but it works just as well for life in Asia, Africa, and the U.S. While science is not perfect and it is in a constant state of flux, it has served humanity well in a myriad of arenas. It makes sense to use it in the classroom.

Answer 4

Yes because evolution is the basis of modern biology. All biology in the biology textbooks is presented with evolution in mind. The hierarchy of life and how life advances and survives on the planet all depends on evolution. If you eliminate evolution from schools then you will be basically be eliminating biology or at least dumbing it down greatly.


Part of the problem is that many people (including at least one person answer this question) do not understand what a scientific theory is. It is not a wild guess. It is an explanation based on evidence. Simple as that. Creationism is not a scientific theory. It is not based on any evidence. Creationism is a wild guess. There is nothing to support it. Evolution is based on observations is nature, fossil record, and geology. It is based on comparative anatomy. It is based on genetics research. It has tons of evidence to support it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory


Also, to those who say "teach all possibilities". From a scientific standpoint, evolution is the one possibility. That is the choice. Now lets say you are able to put in your "teach all possibilities" idea. Let me guess, you would want the christian viewpoint taught. How about the hindu viewpoint? How about the American Indian viewpoint? How about the wiccan viewpoint? How about the norse mythology viewpoint? I could go on and name 100 different creation stories that are based in religion. We could dump all science and just have the kids spend 4 years studying all of the different creation stories.

How about we keep science taught in science? That is the rational viewpoint.

Answer 5

Public school--Yes, even though it never occurred. It should still be taught because it is a widely accepted idea that many scientists hold to, even today. Students should at least know that there are people who still cling to evolutionism, what it is, and what evidence is offered for it by its sympathizers. Students should also be taught its weaknesses, which are abundant.

P.S. There is no proof that species evolved or evolve. There is plenty of proof that they adapt and change. Natural and sexual selection also help weed out inferior specimens. But evolution asserts something else altogether, namely that simpler species become more complex species over many generations of acquired accumulated beneficial mutations. But there is NO biological mechanism for such upward change. Resistant bacteria have nothing to do with evolution, as it is conceived. Neither do long- and short-beaked finches, or pepper moth coloration shifts.

Biology class can be very productive and informative without evolutionary teaching, actually, when teachers teach observational science about how living things function in the present. These are things all scientists agree on.

Answer 6

Of course. It's a big theory in science...
The only conflict I see happening with teaching evolution is the whole religious issue. Personally, I think that everyone should be aware of facts and theories, because they not only have the right to know, they will eventually grow and be capable of deciding what is right to believe. Besides, with religious support from families, they shouldn't stray very far...
Religion is full of theories ( and often times they are considered facts), I don't see why one theory or fact in science should ever matter.

Answer 7

Yes. All scientific theories should be taught in science class. Gravity, molecular theories, germ theory, and even evolution.

Answer 8

Yes. Science should be taught in school.

Evolution is a theory based on scientific principals. This theory changes as more facts are discovered, but the basic premise that species evolve is a proven fact. The simple example of drug resistant bacteria is but one example.

Answer 9

Of course. It's the foundation of modern biology and has more data to support it than the theory of gravity or atomic theory put together.

It doesn't matter if the entire world wants to claim it didn't happen - it doesn't make them right. And we do our children a great disservice by lying to them, especially if we still want them to grow up to be doctors or scientists.

Answer 10

well yea if you want kids to learn the truth. how can you go about teaching evolution in class, and then turn around and teach them biology, genetics, environmental science, ecology? you can't say "god did it" for everything. if they want to teach creationism in schools, then they need to keep it in the private sector or religion based schools. creationism has no place in public schools. teaching creationism in a public environment is discriminatory because not all students are brought up in a household that puts stock in the creationism idea.