It's Teacher Appreciation Week!
Thank you to all the teachers out there who help change lives every day by choosing the profession you did. Whether or not your students show you appreciation, know that there are others out there who do appreciate what you do.
Check out our section dedicated to helping educators teach evolution. You'll find lesson plans, activities, labs and more!
April Article Round Up
It's that time again! It's time switch the calendar over to a new month. Spring is in full swing and summer is just around the corner. While you were out enjoying the weather (and dodging those April showers), here's what you missed at About Evolution:
Tennessee Law Will Allow Creationism in the Science Classroom
Almost 87 years ago, Tennessee was in the spotlight concerning evolution education during the Scopes Monkey Trial. Now the state is back in the news with the passing of a law that would encourage science teachers to teach Creationism in their classrooms. The bill does specify teachers shouldn't talk about their personal religion, but seeks to promote "critical thinking" by offering alternatives to the science behind evolution. Governor Bill Haslam will let the law go into effect on April 20 with no opposition.
Science teachers should not be encouraged to teach supernatural subjects like Creationism or any sort of religious beliefs. They should teach science and only science. As a science teacher, I wouldn't feel comfortable teaching about Creationism because it is not a science topic. Nothing about Creationism is scientific. There is no scientific evidence that backs up Creationism. There is plenty of scientific evidence that supports evolution. This bill is a political agenda wrapped up in educational buzz words. Let's hope this doesn't put the state back as it was in 1925.
March Round Up
March was quite a busy month! We had the start of spring and the changing of the clocks for daylight savings time. Here in Iowa it came in like a lamb and went out like a lamb (but I'm not complaining). In case you were out enjoying the weather or getting a jump start on your spring cleaning, I've gathered up all the new articles that were posted here in March for you to catch up on some reading during those inevitable April showers.
The Hunger Games and Evolution
"May the odds be EVER in your favor!" - Effie Trinket
Sounds to me like the character of Effie Trinket from Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games trilogy had a deep knowledge of "survival of the fittest" or natural selection. Of course, she was talking to potential tributes for the Hunger Games competition, but the sentiment still applies to evolution.
In fact, there are several instances of evolution within The Hunger Games and also the sequels Catching Fire and Mockingjay. Check it out:
Evolution Education Under Attack in Oklahoma
Once again, another state in the US has a bill on the table that would reinforce the notion that there is some sort of scientific evidence that evolution is not a real phenomenon. House Bill 1551, currently being presented in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, specifically names evolution, along with global warming and cloning, as controversial topics that should have alternatives taught in the science classroom.
This bill was proposed at the same time last year and voted down. There has been very little change to the wording of the bill that makes it any different. In fact, some wording that was added by the education committee last year before it proceeded to vote was taken back out by the bill's author, Republican Representative Kern.
Once again, my opinion as a science teacher is that science should be taught in the classroom and other ideas that have no scientific basis should be taught elsewhere, if at all. Science teachers go to school to teach science and not religion. Those types of ideas can be taught at Church or at home. Every person has the right to believe whatever they wish about any subject, but as a science teacher, it is my job to arm them with scientific facts. It is my responsibility to give them evidence and let them decipher it based on their own belief system. Religious debates have no place in a science classroom, and legislators should not force that upon science teachers as an expectation.
Before you go to vote this year, learn where the major candidates stand on the ideas of evolution in science education and make an informed choice:
Backing Up the Theory of Evolution
There isn't a day that goes by that I'm not asked about evidence for evolution. I hear, in various different ways, that evolution is "just a theory" and it hasn't been proven. Luckily, I have learned a lot of evolution over the years that I was a science major in college and now as a high school science teacher and About.com Guide to Evolution. I want my readers to be fully armed with this knowledge, too.
Check out some of the articles below to help support the Theory of Evolution as it comes under fire from opponents:
February Round Up
February is the shortest month of the year, but we do get an extra day since this is leap year. However, it still seems like the month flew by! Here are new articles you may have missed during the short month of February:
Do You Know What Evo Devo Means?
A buzzword in the evolution world these days is "Evo Devo". But what does that phrase mean? When I typically start out teaching about Evo Devo in my AP Biology class, I always ask my students what they think it means. Most of the time, I get the answer that it has something to do with evolution and then de-evolution. While this would seem to make sense by the name, it is not what Evo Devo really is.
Evo Devo is actually short for "evolutionary developmental biology". In short, it's the study of how species develop from the embryonic stage and beyond based on the expression of genes.
Learn more about Evo Devo and one of the very early pioneers of embryology:Happy Birthday, Charles Darwin!
February 12 is the day Charles Darwin was born (the exact same day and year as Abraham Lincoln!). The "Father of Evolution" was born 203 years ago.
Want to learn more about Darwin? Check out the articles below!