The Watchmaker Theory In William Paley's Evolutionary Theory

NDEA: The National Defense Education Act was passed in 1958, one year after the Gaither Report came out, and put a strong emphasis on Math, Technology, and Sciences in defense-related situations. (missile gap > technological gap > research gap > education gap) The goal was to put the US ahead in winning the “brain race”. Some effects of this were heightened enrollment/acceptances into university/colleges (increased amount of tax money and federal budget going to funding education/research). Overall $2 billion was put into putting the US getting educationally ahead.

Through the 1920s, conflicts regarding the teachings of religious values versus Evolution, along with the increasing fight for women’s independence, caused a great deal of tension within America. Prior to the ‘20s schools taught the Bible and Christianity’s principles were stressed. It was in 1925 when Clarence Darrow defended John Scopes, a biology teacher, who was put on trial in the court for teaching the theory of Evolution (Doc C). This document illustrates the dialogue of

Can you imagine not learning how to multiply or divide or anything else that you find necessary to help you succeed in school? Then maybe you can visualize living in the state of Tennessee, where public schools could not teach Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. It all started when the teachers Butler Act was passed, it banned the teaching of the Evolution. Most people were indignant because of how the law favored those who acclaimed the bible. The conviction of John Scopes in the Scopes Trial was caused by political factors like the laws passed and the trial itself, the geographic factors such as the location also known as the Bible Belt and lastly the primary factor is social factors, such as religious beliefs.

Kenneth Miller explains that in his three decades of teachings he has seen many misunderstand what it means to be a theory. “This is a problem with the university students in my classes, and it is certainly a difficulty for the high school students for whom my textbook is written.” (Miller, 2006) If they were trying to have the students better understand what is a theory why single out evolution? The science classroom is meant to help the students learn and understand the natural world around them. What is learned in the science classroom is crucial for the development of the society as a whole. What is learned in school is crucial for the development and progress of society. As such an integral part of our society, everything should be taught with

Schools today teach evolution as part of the normal science curriculum. This is because today’s society is not as religiously centered as the past. People are more open about different religions and different religious practices. This is not to say that all people are that way but the majority of people are open to learning about evolution. There are still many people who do not believe in evolution and think

The debate over teaching evolution in public schools is not new at all but the debate has been elevated through the media over the past few years. Conservative Christians and other conservatives serving on school boards (particularly in the South) have been insisting that if schools are going to buy textbooks that have evolution chapters then they should also have a place in that textbook near the evolution chapter for creationism. Progressives and scholars that understand the scientific basis for evolution argue that there's nothing wrong with putting creationism or "intelligent design" in textbooks but that subject is not science-based and therefore should be published in the "religion" chapter (if there is one). Should evolution be taught in public schools? The answer is yes, most certainly; to ignore evolution is to deprive public school students of some of the most important knowledge relating to our planet and our society. Scientific ignorance is unacceptable in a country that calls itself the "greatest nation on earth."

In the “Monkey Trial” William Jennings Bryan spoke as the leader of the Christian fundamentalist, what him and his followers wanted to do was for the people and court to find out how unfair it was for something that they perceived as “materialistic and anti-religious be taught in the very same classrooms from which all religious instruction had been banned” (Thomas, 2009 p. 25). This situation created a lot of debates among the people. Many things changed in the American public schools that arise because of the evolution theory and religion.

This trend captured national attention when Don McLeroy, chairman of the Texas Board of Education and a pious young-earth creationist, oversaw the adoption of new science and history curriculum standards, which inevitably placed the state of Texas in the frontline of the so-called “culture wars.” McLeroy, alongside his compatriots, most notably Cynthia Dunbar, an attorney from Houston and professor of Law at Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University, fought and won the battle to introduce intelligent design in the classroom. Ousting the scientific theory of evolution, according to its proponents, of its proper place.

Despite great efforts to convince the opposing side, a battle still brews amongst creationists and evolutionists over the beginning of life and the universe, but neither opinions’ palpability can be firmly upheld through scientific manners. Since science can only prove hypotheses that are testable and based on current observations, neither creation nor evolutionary concepts can be proven with irrefutable evidence. However, regardless of the inability to prove either concept, most public school systems promote evolution as a scientific fact. Many students who lack firm beliefs about the origin of life believe what they are taught without giving any personal thought to the matter. Instead of robotically absorbing biased information,

5). In the years immediately after the Scopes trial, many laws were created in opposition to the teaching of evolution in high school biology courses (Moore para. 8). The governor of Texas ordered the evolution sections to be cut out of the textbooks in schools with scissors (Moore para. 8). The impact of the Scopes trial was evident in the revised additions of textbooks; for example, one textbook had a picture of Darwin on the cover of the 1921 edition, which was replaced by a cartoon digestive system in 1926 (Moore para. 9). Many textbooks that did not remove the importance of evolution did not sell well, if they sold at al. (Moore para. 9). Evolution made its way back into biology textbooks, but religious content also appeared as an alternate way of explaining where life came from (Moore para. 10). Today, evolution has made its way back into many biology classrooms; however, there are still teachers that are reluctant to teach evolution (Moore para.

Evolution has been taught in all public schools for as long as many can recall. Though the process of evolution is not the only theory, schools have been teaching it as if it is the complete truth, ignoring other aspects and only focusing and targeting on Darwin's theory of Evolution. However, there are still many other ideas that the students should be informed of as well because all are theories, all are hypothetic. Teaching of the evolution theory have yet to be proven reliable and confirmed by all scientists, thus it should not be taught in schools and should be left for students to wonder and discover by themselves.

I. Acceptance of Creation is growing in spite of overwhelming evidence proving Evolution There is no easy resolution for whats true and evolution or creationism. It is a complex topic with profound scientific, religious, educational, and criticism. How can a student or parent come to grips with this issue? Evolution vs. Creationism provides a badly needed, comprehensive, and balanced introduction to the many facets of the current debates about what should be taught in a classroom or in reality itself. Evolution relies on scientific facts while creationism clings on biblical beliefs. But the legal and

Teaching Creationism or Intelligent Design to our youth can be done in a way that is neither opinion based nor completely fact based, but may hold some risk of personal interpretation. The first thing needed to be considered is how can children of the middle school age range grasp such a deep subject and have the capacity to reach their own conclusion. Information found regarding the development of children in this developmental range was found in the book titled "Characteristics of Middle Grade Students,” Caught in the Middle by the Sacramento Department of Education. It was found that students of this age hold a variety of learning attributes that support the belief that children can handle both sides of this controversial issue. Some

Public schools are a place to learn proven facts and some very well—known and accepted theories. These schools have been led this way for a long time and show no signs of changing. Many states around the country have rejected the teaching of creationism in public schools, since the subject is so controversial among teachers and parents. In Ohio, a bill to develop new science content standards was not successfully passed. Many creationists were upset when they discovered that the first drafts of the standards were filled with evolutionary content, without any allowance for alternative explanations of life’s origins. In the uproar, the state board held a special meeting to investigate the process that the writing team and advisory committee used to draft the science standards (Matthews, Answering Genesis). This is why learning the facts about evolution should be taught at school. By doing this, there would be much less confrontation between teachers, students, and parents. If one has the desire to learn about creationism or any other beliefs of how the world came to be, one should learn it at a place outside of school, such as church or at home.

In 1859, Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species, introducing the theory of evolution. One hundred and fifty-six years later, scientists still accept this senseless philosophy. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay states, “Our school systems teach the children that they are nothing but glorified apes who are evolutionized out of some primordial soup” (Snyder). Schools worldwide have presented exactly this to the young, impressionable minds of your future doctors, engineers, scientists, and presidents. They assure us that if we give a small amount of mud enough time it can, by itself, bring about the art of da Vinci, the plays of Shakespeare, the music of Mozart, and the brilliant mind of Einstein.