Caleb Hollis
Ms. Rollins
English III
7 May 2014
Why Creationism Should be Taught in Public Schools
Have you ever wondered what students are learning these days? There is Algebra, Chemistry, Geometry, and Biology, but are there any classes on Creationism? Speaking of Biology, the main focus in this subject is Evolution. When Evolution is discussed there is controversy. Although most public schools in the United States teach just on evolution, there is a plethora of students that want at least the option to have a creationism taught alongside of evolution.
Creationism being taught in public schools has always been a very controversial topic. The only options for any “creation science” classes are in private schools. If we take a look back to when public schools were first created, the church and state have always been separate. There have been public schools that try to bring God back into schools, but the parents of many students have complained about “religion” being taught to the children. With God taken out of the school system, there are students who do not see a point in life. From being taught that we are here by a cosmic explosion to evolving from apes. With that thought in mind there isn’t a point to life. We are just here and then we are gone. With no meaning to life and no hope for life after death. “Resistance to teaching creationism is still very strong, however. Opposition usually centers around two related arguments.” First, evolution is widely claimed to be the only acceptable “scientific” theory of origins. Second, creation is assumed to be strictly a religious concept, which on that account has no place in a public school curriculum” (Morris). In hindsight, both of these disputes happen to be incorrect. Deal...
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...ical. Next the McLean v. Arkansas Board of Education had a law that enforced public schools to give both creation-science and evolution equal treatment. It was said that “Creation-Science” is not actually a science, but strictly religious.
In conclusion, Creationism should be taught in public schools. Even if there are strictly atheists or agnostic students and teachers. The only reason people become atheists is because of something that happened in their past. For this to become completely effective the teachers and school boards would first of all have to be convinced on the subject. People look at evolution as an easy way to prove history. Many people have trouble with Creation because you have to have faith in the things unseen. For example, many people haven’t seen a million dollars, but does that mean it doesn’t exist. It’s the same concept with Creation.
Robert Root-Bernstein and Donald L. McEachron, “Teaching Theories: The Evolution-Creation Controversy,” The American Biology Teacher, Vol. 44, No. 7 (Oct…1982). This article, written by Robert Root-Bernstein and Donald L. McEachron sheds light on the controversy of evolution vs creationism in schools and the validity of each being called a scientific theory. The work was created to answer the questions, “Which of these theories is truly scientific and which is a religious belief? Which should be taught in schools?” The article concluded in favor of evolution as a valid scientific theory that should be taught rather than creationism, but also mentioned the worth of understanding the latter.
In the novel Monkey Girl: Evolution, Religion, and The battle for American’s Soul, Humes tells the story of how 11 furious parents in the Dover Area school district decided to sue the school board and the district, because of the new learning objective requirement saying that all of 9th grade biology classes had to be taught Intelligent Design (ID), which is basically a form of creationism as a scientific alternative to evolution. They also believed that it “violated their first amendment right to information and ideas in an academic setting” (Humes, 2007, p. 221). This was the first legal trial to the perception of Intelligent Design. This novel is a narrative that captures nearly everyone’s view point in the Dover Area school District on the issue of Intelligent Design replacing evolution. There were numerous groups and organizations involved the trial including; The American Civil Liberties Union, Americans Unites for Separation of Church and State, Pepper Hamilton LLP, and the National Center for Science Education. This Trial was so major that even that national government was involved. George W. Bush sent a conservative appointee (John Jones) to the bench, which was done because it was “the early handicapping in the trial suggested a
The Scopes Trial, formally known as The State of Tennessee vs. Scopes but given the nickname “The Monkey Trial”, has been credited as starting the popular legal dispute between evolution and creationism in the court, and its impact in the 20’s was immeasurable. The interpretation of the case is just as popular, if not more, than the actual result of the case. The worldwide attention and media coverage the case received produced many opinions. Scholar’s opinions range from describing the case as an irrelevancy and a good show to describing it as a “Watershed in American religious history” (Ronald L. Numbers, 1998, p. 76).
simple terms: either Darwin or the Bible was true.” (265) The road to the trial began when Tennessee passed the Butler Act in 1925 banning the teaching of evolution in secondary schools. It was only a matter of time before a young biology teacher, John T. Scopes, prompted by the ACLU, tested the law. Spectators and newspapermen came from all over to witness whether science or religion would win the day. Yet, below all the hype, the trial had a deeper meaning.
The teacher John Scopes was only teaching evolution in a relation to science evolution. The Scopes trial was the first occurrence of a teacher teaching evolution in their classroom. “The John Thomas Scopes trial checked the influence of Fundamentalism in Public Education ( John.)” The trial started because John Scopes broke the Butler law. “In 1925, the Tennessee legislature passed the Butler law which forbade the teaching of Darwin's theory of evolution in any public school or university(The Monkey
Evolution and Creationism are both fact and theory but the question is which one should be taught in schools? Only a few school distracts have approved the teaching of evolution because it has more senitific evidence than creationism to prove that it is true. According to a new Gallup poll, just 39% of Americans believe in evolution. The Gallup polls also show that those Americans with higher education believe in the theory of evolution as opposed to those with only high school diplomas. The polls found that 74% Americans with post-graduate degrees believe in evolution theory compared to 21% of Americans with only high school diplomas. The Gallup polls suggest that the belief in the theory of evolution is associated with education. Evolution should be taught in schools because it has more scientific evidence to support it than creationism does. Also, public schools should not teach things that have to do with God, such as creationism, because the Constitution requires the separation of church and state. Finally, if we do not allow schools to teach evolution it would be a form censo...
In the United States, the average child goes through public funded schools that have a basic curriculum. According to the Texas Education Agency, some of the subjects include science, mathematics, social studies, English, and more. Nowhere in the subject is religion included. The basic curriculum is made in order to give students skills, knowledge, and to help develop the minds of the future. In science class, evolution is taught either briefly or detailed. It is taught because it is a popular theory that did not seem to choose a certain religion. So why believe that religion and science can be taught together? The evolution of Earth and the universe can be believed in any way an individual chooses.
Teaching of evolution has several issues. One of the main issue is that it is unfair to some students with a background of Christianity. Christians believe in Creationism, meaning God created the whole world or if not, most of the world. Darwin's theory of Evolution is complete contradictory of this. In the Bible, it is stated that God made humans in His image while Darwin's theory says that Humans evolved from monkeys. It is basically proving that God, does not exist, violating the first amendment, Freedom of Belief. The first amendment states "..respecting the establishment of religion..." When Christian students listen and are forced to learn the theory of Evolution, it is restricting them to worship without obstacles and is therefore, disrespecting the establishment of religion by defying the existence of God. "If Genesis were interpreted as symbolic, as a myth, fable or fantasy, then the entire role of Jesus would have to be reinterpreted."(http://www.religioustolerance.org/ev_school.htm)
evolution, and religious myths can not be taught in public schools in an officially non
Religion has always been a hot topic in today’s world. No matter where a person may go people are talking about it; except in public schools. School has such a big impact on children because they go everyday. In public schools they only talk about one subject regarding religion, one belief -evolution. Schools should have other options for students to learn about the existence of our world and the lives that occupy it. For example, creationism. Creationism is the belief that the universe and all living organisms originated by acts of divine power, as illustrated in the Bible.
One of the biggest controversies in schools today is the debate between Evolutionism and Creationism and which should be taught in the United State's science classes. Many Christians believe that Creationism should be given equal time in schools, but others feel that teaching Creationism is teaching religion. Those fighting for equal time say that Creationism can be taught without all the religious jargon. Also many argue that Evolutionism is just as much a belief system as Creationism (Creation vs. Evolution: Battle in the Classroom,1982). Should one of these theories get more time in public schools than the other? Children today should be presented with as much information as possible and then allowed to make their own decisions.
A third student interjects with the secular country like our own does and should treat each argument as valid. However, only the third student’s argument cites scientific evidence. Is it fair that we are denying that intelligent design is taught as an alternative to evolution in our science classes? When a belief has no legitimate scientific backing, it is not science, but rather a philosophy, whereas biology is in fact science, which is why intelligent design does not belong in science classes in public schools. Since the time that teaching evolution in public schools was banned as heresy and taboo for contradicting the Bible, most public school systems today take an opposite approach in which creationism is seldom taught – the controversy, however, never diminished.
The law, on the other hand, had a different idea about these other theories with numerous bans from schools, claiming them to be against the Second Amendment. Despite the bitter debate of whether or not it is valid and right to teach (primarily alone) the theory of evolution lies as being the most reliable and accurate way to teach how the modern world came to be. Science is purely a study of what can be seen and tested in the world. That concept is shown in the following quote: “Science is the method of testing natural explanations for natural explanations for natural objects and events. Phenomenon that can be observed are amiable to scientific investigation” (“NSTA.”).
The theory of evolution is often taught in the public school textbooks. It is widely felt that evolution is an attempt to completely remove God from all aspects of creation. Evolution destroys all meaning, purpose, direction, justice and hope in life. “You came from nothing, you are going nowhere, life is meaningless!” The Bible says in Psalm 14:1: “The fool has said in his heart, there is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that does good.” Secular schools attempts to erase God from the classroom and from the minds of the next generation by eliminating the Bible as the basis for all knowledge. They pontificate to students and do not allow them the freedom to use their faith-based foundations to express their understanding without being stifled for not being politically correct.
Ever since the idea of evolution came about there have been all kinds of debates, including trials, over the subject. When Charles Darwin first thought of his theories he did not know what would come of it. Evolution contradicts religious beliefs, which makes teaching it a touchy subject for some students. However, students can take it if the subject is approached in the right way. Students must learn the sound science behind evolution and realize that religion is different than science. Overwhelming evidence shows that evolution is real and should be taught in all schools.