I must say, hal, I’m somewhat insulted of your very low thoughts about high school students’ intelligence level… Anyway, I came out of high school (or our equivalent to high school) less than a year ago, after two years of great biology classes…
Our understanding of the billions of years or so that are necessary for evolution to explain teh diversity of life we have here, changes constantly. Personally I don't think it's appropriate to teach at a High School or lower level. It's not a piece of knowledge that is "foundational." If you learn something about evolution as our origins in High School, and never study biology again, 20 years later everything you learned will be wrong, and all you remember is that "those religious people are wrong and silly."
What piece of knowledge
is foundational? Our knowledge about everything changes the whole time –
that’s the very point of science. If we can only teach things in school that will never change, well, it’ll be an easy ride. Or a Bible school…
If all you remember is that "those religious people are wrong and silly", then that might have something to do with a bunch of religious people
acting very silly when it comes to this issue…
Also, I think you are (again) underestimating people. We learn a lot more in life than what we are taught in school. (Don’t ya have the Discovery Channel?
)
It's a subject of biology that is not fundamental... Like quantum physics... Our knowledge is constantly evolving (pun intended), so why would we want to confuse kids with stuff we're not even sure of?
Let me please say this again: Kids are not stupid! And, also that again, nothing in science is certain. Which, I may add, is also taught in school. Absolute truths belong to religion, and political leaders that should not be political leaders…
You have to ask what this whole argument is really about. Why does evolution from single celled organisms to modern life HAVE to be scientific fact? Why does it HAVE to be tought to kids who can't possibly grasp all of what's behind the theory, or what is NOT understood about it?
Okay, I’ll not drag on about the whole “what is science/scientific facts” thing again. But let me say that you seem perfectly okay with scientific facts that do not contradict your religion…
But anyway, have you never heard of debate? Don’t you think we debated these things in school? With our teacher, in class, the whole debate is mentioned in our text books – yes, they say something about what is NOT understood about it. And for the sake of God, Darwin and/or The Flying Spaghetti Monster, human beings below the age of 18 are not stupid!!