Evolution

On the projector, Mr. Campbell placed slides of the cartoon icon: one at his skinny genesis in 1928; one from his 1940 turn as the impish Sorcerer’s Apprentice; and another of the rounded, ingratiating charmer of Mouse Club fame.

“How,” he asked his students, “has Mickey changed?”

From "A Teacher on the Front Line as Faith and Science Clash" - New York Times, August 24, 2008

Teaching evolution in the classroom is not an easy task.

Even states that require teachers to cover the basics of evolution, like natural selection, rarely ask them to explain in any detail how humans, in particular, evolved from earlier life forms. That subject can be especially fraught for young people taught to believe that the basis for moral conduct lies in God’s having created man uniquely in his own image.

That's a perspective I never really considered. If you can reach them and have them understand that life evolves, how do you get them to understand they still have a responsibility to themselves and their community to act with a code of moral conduct, when the source of that had always been the God that created them?

I attended Catholic schools for 12 years. Fortunately, in an environment that was open to the idea of science and religion as two ways of looking at the same world, and believing in one did not mean that you were disbelieving of the other. I worry sometimes about how I would answer questions from students about evolution. I would need to follow my state's guidelines, the need for the students to pass the assessments, and my own personal choice to never lie to a student or mislead them, to give them the best information I can.

I like the response the teacher in this article has:

“Faith is not based on science,” Mr. Campbell said. “And science is not based on faith. I don’t expect you to ‘believe’ the scientific explanation of evolution that we’re going to talk about over the next few weeks.”

“But I do,” he added, “expect you to understand it.”

Sometimes I forget the debate is still going on in some states about whether or not evolution should be taught in a classroom. I'm glad I stumbled on this article, it's inspirational, and a great example of a teacher who deserves praise for courage and determination (as well as creativity in reaching students).