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Teaching Creationism in Public Schools
On a hot July day in 1925, one of the most famous trials of the century took place in a Tennessee courthouse. John Scopes, a biology teacher in his middle twenties, was on trial for teaching evolution in a local school, an act that was prohibited by law. At that time, creationism was the only theory of origins that was accepted, and to teach anything else was condemned as promoting immoral behavior. ... Speaking with great skill, Darrow argued that schools should not outlaw the teaching of evolution, for teaching only one theory of origins in the classroom is sheer bigotry. ... No longer is creationism taught in public schools to the exclusion of evolution, but evolution is taught to the exclusion of creationism. Most students never even get a chance to hear about the creationism viewpoint because the theory of evolution is taught as fact. Yet to this day evolution remains unproven, and in fact, much of the scientific evidence favors the theory of creationism. ... Creationism should be taught in public schools alongside of evolution as an equally viable scientific theory.
The issue of which theory of origins should be taught in schools has been a continuing debate for most of the past century. Creationism, the belief that life could not have arisen from natural processes and is the result of a Creator, was the prevailing belief system for years and was taught almost unquestioningly prior to the Scopes Trial. John Scopes lost the case, however, and the public continued to show opposition to evolution, the belief that all life is the result of natural processes producing changes over time (Robinson). ... By the late 1960’s all state laws banning the teaching of evolution had disappeared, and evolution was taught almost exclusively. Since that time, many court battles have been fought to gain equal time for creationism in the classroom, but all attempts have been overturned (Sheler 59). The current legal position continues to be that only evolution should be taught in public schools; however, many people still disagree with this position. ...
A number of Americans want only evolution taught in schools; one of the main reasons for this is that they believe evolution is scientific whereas creationism is not. ... An article issued by the National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT) stated that the fossil record, the diversity of life, and modern studies in biology and geology have provided numerous evidences that support natural selection, genetic variation, and other components of the evolutionary theory (“Statement on Teaching Evolution”).
Approximate Word count = 1986
Approximate Pages = 7.9
(250 words per page double spaced)
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