American teachers display cowardice on evolution

Katie wrote:

<quoted text>I agree with you brother merry Christmas and a Happy new year-Katie xx.

And a Happy Giftmas and a Merry New Year to YOU and yours!

:D

wat wrote:

I remember my biology teacher in high school was a devote Christian. He taught us evolution and there was no "controversy" at all. My parents also devote Christians and believe in evolution. I was surprised growing up the find out people actually didn't believe in evolution. I never see why this is such a big issue for some. It's like someone sticking to fingers in their ears and saying "la la I can't hear you science." In fact I have only meet one creationist in my 19 years living in Pennsylvania.

Evoulution is a theory and should be taught as a theory.
Other theories should be taught as theories and let the people decide which they want to believe. after all this use to be a free American country.

Epicurus wrote:

<quoted text>
Lucy?
Hoo Hah!
Xtians do not know science silly boy! They think Lucy is married to Ricky in TV reruns!
Perhaps the world's most famous early human ancestor, the 3.2-million-year-old ape "Lucy" was the first Australopithecus afarensis skeleton ever found, though her remains are only about 40 percent complete.
Discovered in 1974 by paleontologist Donald C. Johanson in Hadar, Ethiopia, the earliest known human ancestor species.
Why was Lucy named Lucy?
Inspired by repeated playings of "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" at a celebratory party on the day the specimen was found, researchers gave it the Beatles' mod moniker.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/...

Not to hard to not believe in evouluion. Just read these post. sounds as if they truly came from apes.

Abby: the meaning of "theory" in science is different from the meaning of "theory" in common usage. When scientists call evolution as theory it doesn't mean that evolution isn't accepted as fact(because it IS accepted as a basic fact that evolution occurs). The word "theory" the way it's applied to evolution basically means a big explanation of how something happens. There is the basic fact that evolution occurs, and then there is the big explanation for how it works(which would be the "theory of evolution") by natural selection with genetics and everything. There is also the theory of gravity and cell theory.. But I don't think that many people will dispute that gravity or cells exist.

There has been a lot of misinformation taught (I was taught it early in school) that a theory is somehow like a hypothesis that hasn't been proven yet but once it's proven it will graduate to being a law. That's not how it works at all. Laws are completely different things. They aren't explanations really, they're more like simple statements of what happens(often with an equation). Evolution will never be a law(unless someone decides to call it one just to stop confusing everyone who doesn't understand the meaning of the word theory, lol), but it is just as true that it happens as the laws of motion are true.

That said, all of the teachers I've had until I got to college were very careful about teaching evolution and usually started with some kind of disclaimer type of thing about not having to believe it and people having different beliefs... They said things like "it's just a theory." It really annoyed me. It's like saying that it's "just a theory" that the earth is round and revolves around the sun because a few crazy people still think it's flat.

Coldblooded wrote:

Abby: the meaning of "theory" in science is different from the meaning of "theory" in common usage. When scientists call evolution as theory it doesn't mean that evolution isn't accepted as fact(because it IS accepted as a basic fact that evolution occurs). The word "theory" the way it's applied to evolution basically means a big explanation of how something happens. There is the basic fact that evolution occurs, and then there is the big explanation for how it works(which would be the "theory of evolution") by natural selection with genetics and everything. There is also the theory of gravity and cell theory.. But I don't think that many people will dispute that gravity or cells exist.
There has been a lot of misinformation taught (I was taught it early in school) that a theory is somehow like a hypothesis that hasn't been proven yet but once it's proven it will graduate to being a law. That's not how it works at all. Laws are completely different things. They aren't explanations really, they're more like simple statements of what happens(often with an equation). Evolution will never be a law(unless someone decides to call it one just to stop confusing everyone who doesn't understand the meaning of the word theory, lol), but it is just as true that it happens as the laws of motion are true.

Not talking about the meaning of theory. Just talking about reality. teach both or more as theories and quit all this whining and griping about teaching it in public schools. In America, the way it used to be, people could make their own minds up and believe what they wanted. Now it is all being forced on people just like the communist nations. This is supposed to be the greatest and the freest nation in the world. can't tell it by reading the post here. sounds as if maybe evolution is right, we all came from apes and may be going back to apes now. good theory, is it not.

*bangs head on the wall* No one is saying that people can't believe what they want. People are free to not accept anything about science. No one is forcing anyone to accept the fact that evolution occurs, that the earth revolves around the sun, that we are made of cells, or anything else. But, a science class should teach science. Evolution is central to our understanding of biology. You can't give kids a good understanding of how the biological world works without it. Creationism(or "intelligent design") isn't a scientific theory.. So it shouldn't be taught alongside evolution in a science class.

abby wrote:

<quoted text>
Evoulution is a theory and should be taught as a theory.

You are 1/2 right: the theory part IS taught as a theory.

The other half is taught as FACT-- because it is fact.

abby wrote:

Other theories should be taught as theories and let the people decide which they want to believe. after all this use to be a free American country.

WHAT OTHER THEORIES?

There are none!

abby wrote:

<quoted text>
Not talking about the meaning of theory. Just talking about reality. teach both or more as theories and quit all this whining and griping about teaching it in public schools. In America, the way it used to be, people could make their own minds up and believe what they wanted. Now it is all being forced on people just like the communist nations. This is supposed to be the greatest and the freest nation in the world. can't tell it by reading the post here. sounds as if maybe evolution is right, we all came from apes and may be going back to apes now. good theory, is it not.

WHAT other theories?