Teachers Of Evolution Becoming Endangered Species In U.S. Schools

One minute of videotape in a Colorado classroom has rekindled an old debate between creationists and proponents of the theory of evolution.

That’s the amount of time devoted to explaining evolution in a PBS educational video called “The Miracle of Life,” which until recently was used to teach human reproduction to students in the Denver suburb of Wheat Ridge.

The Jefferson County school district dropped the video this month after a 15-year-old pastor’s son complained that it affronted his religious beliefs by presenting evolution as fact, not theory.

The incident is noteworthy because education experts say there is a renewed campaign by religious creationists around the country to expunge the theory of evolution from the classroom.

“It’s odd, because most mainstream churches now support the theory of evolution,” said Francisco Ayala, an evolutionary biology professor at the University of California at Irvine.

Creationists, who tend to be Christian conservatives, believe that divine action initiated and continues to guide directly the biological development of life on Earth, a position most professional biologists do not accept.

The creationists’ recent efforts against evolution are a departure from the raw religious fervor of past campaigns. Instead of demanding equal time for their doctrines, they are demanding that schools present evolution as a “controversial theory” with serious weaknesses.

Educators fear that the new approach, rather than introducing scientific balance, will erode the quality of science instruction as students fail to learn one of the core tenets of biology: that natural forces can explain the biological origins of humans and other species.

Some teachers, worried about attracting the attention of religious protesters, are leaving evolution off their lesson plans entirely.

“Creationists can’t get both theories taught, so neither will be taught,” said Niall Shanks, an evolutionary biology professor at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City.

The clash over elementary and high school science curriculums extends from bastions of Bible Belt conservatism to less obvious battlegrounds in the North. Although gains by the creationists have been modest, scientists such as Shanks anticipate greater challenges to come.

At least six state Republican platforms for 1996 call for the teaching of “creation science” on a par with evolution.

In Alabama, the Board of Education last year mandated the insertion of a disclaimer in all biology textbooks that describes evolution as an “unproven belief.”

The Tennessee Senate narrowly defeated a bill in March that would have provided for the dismissal of teachers who teach evolution as fact.

Michigan’s Board of Education adopted a proposal last July that board president Clark Durant said left the door open for teachers to “explore” creationist doctrines with their students.

Yet students could be misled by the characterization of evolution as “just a theory,” Ayala said. “Scientists use the word ‘theory’ to refer to a body of knowledge, but in common language it’s a statement of uncertainty.”

Many biologists say the 150-yearold theory is as well-established as Copernicus’ 450-year-old “theory” that the earth goes around the sun.

“It’s very hard to make sense out of biology if you leave evolution out,” said Michael Wade, chair of the department of ecology and evolution at the University of Chicago.

The current challenges to evolution spring from a combination of local organization and efforts at the national level.

The Alabama textbook disclaimer was vigorously promoted by the Eagle Forum, the St. Louis-based group founded by noted conservative Phyllis Schlafly.

The Christian Coalition has led similar attempts to weaken the evolutionary content of biology texts in Texas. William Ford, director of communications for the religious lobby’s Texas branch, looks upon evolution as a religious theory.

“You can’t make scientific statements about the origins of man,” Ford said.

Although such challenges have no single national source, together they indicate a trend that is troubling to Colleen Matsumura of the National Center for Science Education, a proevolution organization in Berkeley, Calif.

“When ideas spread like this, it’s not a coincidence,” said Matsumura. “There’s a receptive political atmosphere for these proposals.”

Many experts blame the poor state of science literacy in the United States for the re-emergence of creationism as an issue. A survey by the National Science Foundation, “Science and Engineering Indicators 1996,” found that only 2 percent of respondents understood how scientists test their theories.

Wade said the absence of evolution from some schools may mean those students will arrive at college ill-prepared for advanced biology classes.