Democratic Underground Latest Greatest Lobby Journals Search Options Help Login
Google

Few High School Biology Teachers Accurately Teach Evolution

Printer-friendly format Printer-friendly format
Printer-friendly format Email this thread to a friend
Printer-friendly format Bookmark this thread
Home » Discuss » Topic Forums » Education Donate to DU
 
Modern School Donating Member (558 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-29-11 06:57 PM
Original message
Few High School Biology Teachers Accurately Teach Evolution
I hate to bag on my own colleagues, but the evidence is overwhelming: most high school biology teachers either do not teach evolution or undermine their own teaching by giving nods and winks to creationist ideas. (See Most high school biology teachers don’t endorse evolution, by Valerie Strauss.)

The result is that few U.S. high school students are really being taught evolution in an accurate or comprehensible way. Not only is this unfair to students who graduate believing they have mastered biology, when many have not, but it is a violation of teachers’ responsibility to accurately teach the content standards, including the scientific process (how scientists obtain data, analyze it and determine the validity of their hypotheses).


Here are some of the details from Strauss’ article:

* Only 28% of biology teachers consistently teach the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) recommended evolution curriculum,
* Around 13% of biology teachers explicitly include creationism or intelligent design for at least part of their curriculum
* The remaining 60% either fail to explain the scientific process sufficiently, undermine the authority of evolution experts, or legitimize creationist arguments
* Many teach evolutionary biology as if it is only applicable to molecular processes, but not to populations or the process of speciation.
* Many tell students that they don’t have to “believe in evolution, but they have to know it for tests, which, for many students, implies that it is just one of many explanations that may or may not be true.
* Others tell students to decide for themselves what to believe, even though scientists are as certain of the validity of evolution as they are about any other scientific fact. We would not tell students to decide for themselves if the Holocaust or slavery occurred (although I wonder, based on the evolution data, if there are many biology teachers who are also climate deniers).

To see the entire article, please go to http://modeducation.blogspot.com/2011/01/few-high-school-biology-teachers.html



Refresh | +3 Recommendations Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
mike_c Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-29-11 07:06 PM
Response to Original message
1. tell me about it....
Edited on Sat Jan-29-11 07:07 PM by mike_c
I teach freshman and sophomore university biology-- the overwhelming majority of students either don't have any real clue about what evolution is or how it works, or they have faulty impressions. Of course, popular culture and infotainment television programming are probably just as much to blame as shoddy high school biology curricula.
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
RandomThoughts Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-29-11 07:08 PM
Response to Original message
2. The error in teaching evolution is its bias.
It usually teaches survival of the fittest by individual, not also by group. Most evolutionary effects of survival of the fittest is more about a community, and not even about genetics.

There are some examples of where someone might have more compassion by genetics and be a better survivor, but there are far more examples of the society they are in giving them the knowledge or nurturing to form abilities to be successful with the entire part of society they are in.

Or you can be the smartest person, but if you are a dick, you have to also be a liar and able to hide that. Hence why if you want to make society better, expose the liars, since they are the assholes that cause much of the problems now, and if you like evolution, latter also.

However, I have not seen an operational organization that has chosen to correct the beer and travel money issue that is due, so their fitness is definitely in doubt.
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
HockeyMom Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-29-11 07:08 PM
Response to Original message
3. I was taught Evolution in a NYC Catholic School
granted that was a long time ago, but I know they still do, at least in NYS they do. It's on the NYS Regents (son-in-law teaches there), so I suppose they have to.
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
jody Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-29-11 07:09 PM
Response to Original message
4. I gave my grandchildren at age eight, each a personal copy of
"Science, Evolution, and Creationism", free online, by the National Academies Press.

Is there a better book I can give them?
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
DU AdBot (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view 
this author's profile Click to add 
this author to your buddy list Click to add 
this author to your Ignore list Sun Dec 22nd 2024, 07:39 AM
Response to Original message
Advertisements [?]
 Top

Home » Discuss » Topic Forums » Education Donate to DU

Powered by DCForum+ Version 1.1 Copyright 1997-2002 DCScripts.com
Software has been extensively modified by the DU administrators


Important Notices: By participating on this discussion board, visitors agree to abide by the rules outlined on our Rules page. Messages posted on the Democratic Underground Discussion Forums are the opinions of the individuals who post them, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Democratic Underground, LLC.

Home  |  Discussion Forums  |  Journals |  Store  |  Donate

About DU  |  Contact Us  |  Privacy Policy

Got a message for Democratic Underground? Click here to send us a message.

© 2001 - 2011 Democratic Underground, LLC