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I think you have answered your own question. Badly prepared and educated "teachers" who don't know the answers to these questions. --- Bill Chaisson/Deirdre Cunningham <chaisson@netacc.net> wrote: > >A Gallup poll late last year showed that only 28 percent > of > >Americans accept the theory of evolution, while 48 > percent adhere to > >creationism - the belief that an intelligent being is > responsible for the > >creation of the earth and its inhabitants. But if > reluctance to accept > >evolution is not new, the ways in which students are > resisting its teachings > >are changing. > > Excuse me, but when will a significant and > influential contingent of the education community > admit that the simplest explanation for this > statistic is that evolution is taught poorly in > public schools. > > >It creates an uncomfortable atmosphere in the > >classroom, Williamson says - one that he doesn't > >like. "I don't want to ever be in a > >confrontational mode with those kids ... I find > >it disheartening as a teacher." > > Wow. A teacher who resists and avoids a spirited > (pun intended) dialog with students. Great. > > > >In this climate, science teachers say they must find new > methods to defuse > >what has become a politically and emotionally charged > atmosphere in the > >classroom. But in some cases doing so also means > learning to handle > >well-organized efforts to raise doubts about Darwin's > theory. > > Defuse? > > When students bring racial prejudice into the > classroom, do teachers simply complain about > having to deal with the issue, or do they try, > through their curriculum, to do something about > it? > > >Critics of evolution are supplying students with > prepared questions on such > >topics as: > >• The origins of life. Why do textbooks claim that the > 1953 Miller-Urey > >experiment shows how life's building blocks may have > formed on Earth - when > >conditions on the early Earth were probably nothing like > those used in the > >experiment, and the origin of life remains a mystery? > > Most of these questions are bona fide sources of > confusion. In some cases the questions are > caused by a misunderstanding of scientific > statement . At least one simply exposes some > hanky panky that is embarrassing and > understandably sabotaged the credibility of the > conclusions (peppered moths). > > Given the easy access of enormous amounts of > information today, why can't these questions be > addressed in a classroom? > > Bill > -- > --------------------------------------------------- > William P. Chaisson > Adjunct Assistant Professor > Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences > University of Rochester > Rochester, NY 14627 > 607-387-3892 > > "The United States is in no sense founded upon the Christian religion." - George Washington __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com
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