Topic : Should We Teach Creation or Evolution in Our Schools?

If they are going to teach about one then they need to teach about the other, simple as that but in my opinion, they should just leave it to the parents, I don't think it is right for the schools to step in and teach the children about this, chances are the teachers will lean towards one more then other and give the children the impression that one is right and the other is wrong. I personally am a christian and live by biblical values and morals and my children will not be attending the public school system so thankfully we won't have to worry about them stepping their boundaries. My children will learn that creation is the truth and evolution is the opinion of others, not believing in the higher power which is God himself. They are being taught christianity and the truths and teachings of Christ but when all is said and done, they will eventually have to decide which direction they are going to believe and live by. I think every home is going to teach whatever they believe and really the schools need to limit what they teach about this subject and present them as opinions and allow the families to teach their children with the understanding that the children are going to grow up and decide their own life paths. I think the schools need to stick with the basics of education to help them mature and be productive adults,to be able to help give them the knowledge and skills that they will need to live on their own, to make it in this big world but if they are going to teach about one then they need to teach the other as well,give them both views and let them figure out the truth of the matter themselves.

Education is for knowledge plan and simple.  Teaching of both Evolution in the Science Classes and developing a class of world theogy is in the best for all students once reaching a certain age.  Some of my best course studies in college dealt in world relegious studies. 

I truly beileve if you teach ONE religions views you must teach them ALL.  Evolution I see a case study in science plan and simple.  Who is to say that both evolution and creation did not occur on this planet.  It not just the knowledge from lessons and infromation studients need to hear and learn but the overall lesson of life....  There is not always one diffinative answer there can be several. 

 I grew up learning that Columbus discovered America only to find out in College that he never set foot on it.  In college I had to RELEARN all that was taught me about history, theology and from my religion.  Only Science, Math, and English stayed the same. 

But lets face it folks we live in a era were a hurricane can uproot millions and learn that almost 40% of those who lost homes in Katrina can't even read.  I had to explain to a little girl and her sister how to locate bathrooms at a local shelter.  Luckily the signs in the shelter used the universal girl with skirt symbols. Later that same day they brought up thier mother who wanted to know how to find the cafeteria.  Looking down a hall with a large sign and arrow pointing with the single word "FOOD" was not a clue to any of them.   How can we teach ANY subject to the populace when so many are still lacking basic knowledge of communication skills outside of verbal? 

Just some thoughts.... 

Kerowyn 

{please forgive spelling errors... I am dyslexic and for some odd reason the spell checker wont work for me today... such is life I guess} 

  

A good reason for the schools to look at their teaching curriculum and for parents to get connected with their kids. I worked with 4th graders at my church for several years, most of them were only reading on about a first grade level. The majority of these kids were from broken and unstable homes and not getting the help and encouragement from parents. Then there were a few that just stuggled for whatever reason, had good parents there for them, maybe the schools need to concentrate more on the basics instead of teaching evolution verses creation. I am not saying that I neccessarily disagree on touching on this as well as other history, I think hiitory is very imporant and needs to be studied and all, but we really do need to focus more on getting the kids into reading and writing and to learn to function as adults, I think something is lacking. I wonder what the main focus is on when it comes to our schools, what are the schools main priority when it comes to teaching and I would ask the same to parents. I agree that so many are still lacking in basic knowledge of communication skills which should be all enough reason to focus on academics such as reading, writting and arithmatic. Again History lessons are imporant and very much needed and when it comes to the subject at hand such as creation and evolution, don't just teach one but both, or don't do it at all. but over all, concentrate on preparing our kids for their futures.

I do believe that ritual spiritual beleifs do not need to be mainstreamed into our schools unless done in a curriculum manor, same as any other subjest.  I grew up believing in God and all that the churched said, blinding trying to follow the "faith" as it was taught.  Then life hit me as I grew older.  Questions were raised that I had to answer myself or at least find the answer.  If the ability to learn and understand is there in a student of any age then let them learn and be educated in what they want to know as well as the basics. 

And yes I too find our school system lacking. Parent say they support the schools but let thier little dream child have a problem they blame the system.  So many parents act like the school is just an over grown childs daycare. Others use the "I send my kid to school so YOU can teach him". approach to education.  I grew up in the time where things like dyslexia, ADD, clinical depression and hate crimes were not the norm.  NOW it is everywhere.  Can't drop a hat in a room of parents without finding at least a few of them with kids on one med or another.  No wonder kids can't read they are too doped up to care.  Used to take some anit-migraine meds a while back had the key element to Prozac in it... ha!  the most I got out of that med was watching how neat it was that my feet hit the ground when I walked.  I wasn't having migraines, I was normal in everyway to the average joe including my doctors but tell them my little feet story and they thought I was joking.  Personally I took it as a major sign and got off those meds fast. 

I think most of the schools focus any more are on the tests they have to give to standardize the "system"  what a joke.  Teaching to the test not to learn.  Not a good thing. 

I am a little biased on this topic, I suppose, because I am a bit of an agnostic athiest, but I shall try to be fair as I offer my suggestion. There has been a lot of scandal over this lately in my area because people insist that evolution is only a theory and shouldn't be taught as fact, even if there is a lot of scientific proof supporting evolution and very little to support creation. In my view, I think that we should teach evolution in Science classes as a tested theory as we always have, and then perhaps teach the various religious hypothesises in a Religion course. After all, there were a lot of creation ideas in Greek and Egyptian mythology that, when you think about it, are a lot like the current creation idea taught from the Bible. Evolution doesn't violate any strict religious beliefs as creation might (we would either be required to teach all the theories of creation in a single Science class or teach one and be unfair to other religious beliefs). I think leaving both of them in school would encourage children to become curious and look into all of the options themselves.

 What if the universe were created so that the process of evolution could begin? I don't know if we "were created in God's image", but I do know that we are all children of God, by whatever name you call the Mystery. We have thinking, questioning brains. To not think, and not question is to deny that you are human.

And yes, I believe in the ALL just as much as I believe in evolution.

Intelligent Design should be taught.  It is no less 'scientific' than evolution.   

  

  

  

 There is not a lot of proof for evolution.   There is actually very little.  When Darwin came out with the Origin of Species, it was predicted that there would be all kinds of proof for it.  Today, out of the millions of fossils that have been found, less than 1000 are called 'transitionals' .  First off, the numbers don't jive.  If there are millions of fully formed fossils, we should be finding millions or billions of transitionals.  Secondly, take a look at some of these transitionals sometimes.  Look at the fish for instance and see if you can see a creature in transition.  They'll word is so that you think you are seeing some sort of transition by the wording beneath.  Things like 'leg like fins" but these fins look exactly like fins.  There is only one transitional that might be considered real proof for evolution and that is archeopteryx.  However, if you look at the modern day platypus, it has even more features that belong to many species - it's warm blooded like a mammal, has a bill and feet like a bird, lays eggs like a bird, spews poison like a reptile, has fur and is warm blooded like a mammal, feeds it  young like a mammal.   Any fossils of the platypus show no change whatseover.  I believe God created the platypus to make evolution look silly.

Gradulism is what was once considered how evolution happened, and it was taught this way with no proof.  This is not using the scientific method the way it was designed.  Due to the fact that there was no proof, a new theory of punctuated equillibrium emerged.  This theory was devised out of desperation to keep the theory of evolution going and it needed to emerge because of a serious lack of proof.  This theory states that changes happened very quickly.  Arms and eyes grew suddenly instead of over a long period of time.  The beauty of the theory of punctuated equiillibrium is that it requires no evidence!  How nice!  :)  And how blatantly unscientific.

The theory of evolution leaves no answers as to how life began in the first place.  So the theory of abiogenesis was devised.  There is still no proof of abiogenesis and scientists have tried to create life in a lab, while manipulating all natural conditions but to no avail.  So abiogenesis falls short of earning the label 'scientific'.

 There is much evidence to support creationism.  Walk outside and you'll see a multitude of evidence for an intelligent designer. 

Just look at a colony of ants of bees and you'll see a complex community that intermingles with nature.   Check out the designs on flowers or some of the cool designs on snakes or bugs or a peacock. 

The eye is one of the many examples of an intelligent designer.  There are, say 10 very complex structures that must ALL be working at 100 percent in order for the eye to function.   If one of these is slightly off, the eye fails to perform.  Now, how did evolution possibly do this?  How can this possibly happen without an intelligent designer who would know the outcome.  

Evolution is about accidents - billions of lucky accidents and there are too many things on this planet that scream out that it was designed.

If you came across a beach and saw the writing "John loves Mary", would you be inclined to think that this happened as an accident?  How much more complex is our world - our bodies.  One of our own dna molecules contains more information than a city library!

Look at the earth - truly a miracle planet.  It is close enough to the sun that life can flourish, yet far enough that we don't burn up.  The moon combined with the tilt of the earth provides for the tides which wash away all that is dead in the oceans.  The many atmospheres surrounding earth were put there on purpose, are there for a protection to us, allowing life to flourish.   Streams, salt, plants, food, gravity , the intermingling of plants and animals.  It's all evidence for a designer.   There were no accidents here.

I could go on and on and on but I'll try to stop now.  :)

I think neither should be taught in school. It should be taught at home.