Teachers Getting Reluctant to Teach Evolution

Cornelia Dean in the New York Times worries that, to stay out of trouble, more and more biology teachers are avoiding the discussion of evolution.

Dean quotes someone who claims “the practice of avoiding the topic was widespread, particularly in districts where many people adhere to fundamentalist faiths.”  But why would teachers fear discussing it because of that?  It’s open season on “fundamentalist” faiths (loaded words for Bible-believing Christians).  Most teachers have no problem with attributing everything bad in the world to Christianity.  Maybe the students from those districts are better at asking the hard questions that give Darwin Party biology teachers stomach aches (see 06/14/2004 commentary).
    Most creationists support the teaching of evolution, as long as the problems and controversies are taught instead of one-sided indoctrination.  Teaching evolution can be a valuable lesson on how smart people can believe dumb things.  So don’t avoid it; let’s open the Darwin Hall of Shame and talk about Piltdown man, pigtooth man, peppered moths, doctored drawings of embryos, National Geographic misinfomercials and all the rest.  Students need a little humor to break up the day.  Be creative; with February 12 coming, you can celebrate Darwin Day with games and contests, and even sing some evolution songs.  Evolution teaching can be fun!
    Sweeping such an important controversy under the rug is not a healthy educational policy.  Like it or not, evolution has had a major influence on the world for 140 years.  Today, the subject is in a state of major ferment and reconsideration.  The teacher doesn’t have to take sides.  Many bright young people will actually wake up to science if evolution is taught as a controversial subject: that is, if they get a chance to exercise critical thinking about the evidence for and against it, and can debate the issues in class openly without ridicule, rather than hearing a borrrrrring one-sided sales pitch.  It’s only the teachers on a mission to indoctrinate blank slates into the Cult of Charlie that have anything to fear.
    For those teachers still afraid, we have a simple solution; get the film Where Does the Evidence Lead? and show it as a six-part series (10 minutes each).  It will take you off the hook, and teach the students sufficient information to cover the curriculum requirement, without worries about religion in the biology class.