Teaching Evolution To 3rd Graders

[Roll the Bones 74]

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/04/...on-controversy/ Evolution education is under attack in Weston, Connecticut, but not from the usual direction.Nobody is promoting intelligent design in the curriculum, or asking schools to teach evolution’s “strengths and weaknesses.” There’s just an administration afraid that teaching third graders too much about Charles Darwin will cause trouble.“They might have just been looking to avoid controversy, but that has the same effect,” said Steve Newton, programs and policy director at the National Center for Science Education. ” If you’re not looking to teach children the best science, that harms their education.”At issue is a class section proposed in 2008 by Mark Tangarone, teacher of the third, fourth and fifth grade Talented and Gifted program at the Weston Intermediate School. Tangarone wanted his third graders to study and compare the accomplishments of Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin.To learn about Darwin, students would have retraced the path of the HMS Beagle, the expedition that inspired a young Darwin’s theory of evolution. Each student would study a stop in the voyage, reporting on the animals and adaptations that Darwin observed.When Tangarone ran his class plan by then-principal Mark Ribbens, he was denied.In an email obtained by the Weston Forum, Ribbens explained that his objections had nothing to do with the soundness of the theory of evolution. Instead, he was worried about parent reaction.“While evolution is a robust scientific theory, it is a philosophically unsatisfactory explanation for the diversity of life. I could anticipate that a number of our parents might object to this topic,” wrote Ribbens. “It is not appropriate to have [Darwin's] work or the theory part of the TAG program since the topic is not age appropriate.”Ribbens explained further, “Evolution touches on a core belief — Do we share common ancestry with other living organisms? What does it mean to be a human being? I don’t believe that this core belief is one in which you want to debate with children or their parents, and I know personally that I would be challenged in leading a 10-year-old through this sort of discussion while maintaining the appropriate sensitivity to a family’s religious beliefs or traditions.”However, the class wasn’t out of step with official state science standards [.doc]. At the time, these instructed teachers to impart to third graders the ability to “describe how different plants and animals are adapted to obtain air, water, food and protection in specific land habitats.” That section of the standards was subtitled, “Heredity and Evolution — What processes are responsible for life’s unity and diversity?”Ribbens left the school this year, and Tangarone asked to teach his Darwin program again. The request was rejected, and Tangarone submitted a letter of resignation on February 12, the date of Darwin’s birthday. “I feel that Weston has become anti-science and no longer a place I feel comfortable teaching in,” said Tangarone, who will retire two years early.“I never dreamed this would be an issue in Weston,” he said. It’s a highly educated community. Many parents work in New York. There are authors, artists and scientists. They’re committed to education for their children.”Weston Public Schools superintendent Jerry Belair did not respond to requests for an interview.According to Newton, the motives of school administrators are not in doubt. “They just wanted to avoid controversy,” he said.

[custom36 4]

It's never too early to teach children science.

[vbnautilus 48]

LOL That's my middle school!!! Don't recognize any of those teachers though.

[LongLiveYorke 38]

I can see how some people would be upset when confronting the truth that their religious beliefs are pretty much total BS.

[Balloon guy 158]

I can see how some people would be upset when confronting the truth that their religious beliefs are pretty much total BS.

Exactly how you guys do when shown that evolution is completely forced science?

[vbnautilus 48]

Exactly how you guys do when shown that evolution is completely forced science?

As opposed to science that just happens on its own?

[CaneBrain 95]

As opposed to science that just happens on its own?

You go to the Science Museum, you put your hands on the silver ball and your hair stands up............and you know science.---Michael Scott

[Balloon guy 158]

As opposed to science that just happens on its own?

Incredibly complex lifeforms did, why can't science?

[phlegm 6]

Can someone make a half hearted attempt at explaining why if undirected evolution is the case, why, if human intelligence is a 10 for argument sake, the next most intelligent creature is maybe a 2, and that I believe is being extremely generous, cause I cant think of an animal that is one fifth as smart as an average human. I would guess if its all random, undirected happenstance, there should be 5,6,7, at least running around out there. I think evolution could have happened, but only under the direction of some sort of higher intellect.

[LongLiveYorke 38]

Can someone make a half hearted attempt at explaining why if undirected evolution is the case, why, if human intelligence is a 10 for argument sake, the next most intelligent creature is maybe a 2, and that I believe is being extremely generous, cause I cant think of an animal that is one fifth as smart as an average human. I would guess if its all random, undirected happenstance, there should be 5,6,7, at least running around out there.

Because your concept of scales is flawed. You are incorrectly applying two scales: time and intelligence.

[Balloon guy 158]

Because your concept of scales is flawed. You are incorrectly applying two scales: time and intelligence.

They did run concurrently for the same amount of time, in fact the less intelligent have been having a go for a bit longer I suspect.

[offset 0]

I did not read the responses, because I can only tolerate so much lunacy, but this quote summed it up nicely:” If you’re not looking to teach children the best science, that harms their education.”

[JoeyJoJo 18]

Because your concept of scales is flawed. You are incorrectly applying two scales: time and intelligence.

Of course the physicist has to think everything in terms of scales."What? The universe is only this big? Well, let's just make our ruler smaller!"

[offset 0]

Incredibly complex lifeforms did, why can't science?

Because science doesn't have hundreds of millions of years.

[vbnautilus 48]

Can someone make a half hearted attempt at explaining why if undirected evolution is the case, why, if human intelligence is a 10 for argument sake, the next most intelligent creature is maybe a 2, and that I believe is being extremely generous, cause I cant think of an animal that is one fifth as smart as an average human. I would guess if its all random, undirected happenstance, there should be 5,6,7, at least running around out there. I think evolution could have happened, but only under the direction of some sort of higher intellect.

You have several incorrect premises. First, "undirected evolution" is a mischaracterization of theory of natural selection. Natural selection has almost nothing to do with "random, undirected happenstance". Please take the time to learn about the theory before discounting it as you have. Second, you have vastly underestimated the intelligence of many other life forms. You are certainly not being "generous" in your numbering scheme, and you've really provided no basis for it. Third, very simple changes can make for huge differences in results. Many cognitive scientists now believe that there are a few basic computational abilities (maybe even just one, the ability to process recursion) that separate us from other apes, but which make all kinds of things possible that otherwise weren't. Culture is the biggest one, which leads to a tremendous amount of advancement by passing on learning from one generation to the next, like a ratchet effect, instead of starting over each generation like most animals do. Culture and language are the two main things that differentiate us from the rest of the biological world, and most of what we consider so great about ourselves is due to our cultural advancements, not our biological advancements.

[Roll the Bones 74]

You have several incorrect premises. First, "undirected evolution" is a mischaracterization of theory of natural selection. Natural selection has almost nothing to do with "random, undirected happenstance". Please take the time to learn about the theory before discounting it as you have. Second, you have vastly underestimated the intelligence of many other life forms. You are certainly not being "generous" in your numbering scheme, and you've really provided no basis for it. Third, very simple changes can make for huge differences in results. Many cognitive scientists now believe that there are a few basic computational abilities (maybe even just one, the ability to process recursion) that separate us from other apes, but which make all kinds of things possible that otherwise weren't. Culture is the biggest one, which leads to a tremendous amount of advancement by passing on learning from one generation to the next, like a ratchet effect, instead of starting over each generation like most animals do. Culture and language are the two main things that differentiate us from the rest of the biological world, and most of what we consider so great about ourselves is due to our cultural advancements, not our biological advancements.

Very interesting. I love when something comes along that sends me off reading and learning, which sends me off reading and learning which in turn sends me off reading and learning. It's like trying to find the correct spelling of recursion by googling it.

[SBriand 4]

Who created the computer we are all using to post on? God or science? I was pretty sure science made it possible but...you know...

[Balloon guy 158]

Who created the computer we are all using to post on? God or science? I was pretty sure science made it possible but...you know...

Given enough time...it would have created itself.Otherwise you are going to fall into the horrible position of believing that the existence of complex mechanisms requires the existence of a Designer.

[SBriand 4]

Given enough time...it would have created itself.Otherwise you are going to fall into the horrible position of believing that the existence of complex mechanisms requires the existence of a Designer.

Who created scientists?

[Balloon guy 158]

Who created scientists?

Ahhhh

[LongLiveYorke 38]

Given enough time...it would have created itself.

That's the thing, though.... it did create itself. A long time ago there was matter, and now there's a computer. It came from nothing.Does it matter that an intermediate step was the creation of humanity?

[Balloon guy 158]

That's the thing, though.... it did create itself. A long time ago there was matter, and now there's a computer. It came from nothing.Does it matter that an intermediate step was the creation of humanity?

And Whom made the matter?

[navybuttons 15]

Natural selection has almost nothing to do with "random, undirected happenstance".

what's the difference between this and a belief in intelligent design?

(maybe even just one, the ability to process recursion)

are you talking about self awareness? the bonobo recognizes itself in the mirror.

Culture is the biggest one, which leads to a tremendous amount of advancement by passing on learning from one generation to the next, like a ratchet effect, instead of starting over each generation like most animals do.

i'm gonna get some details wrong but we notice other apes in the wild developing "culture." there was a tribe of chimps living in the wild. due to fighting all the strongest males were killed. the rest of the males (weaker ones) then began grooming one another (something that the stronger males wouldn't do). From then on all the males groomed each other including offspring and males that joined from other tribes.

Culture and language are the two main things that differentiate us from the rest of the biological world

we also have (relatively) very advanced pattern recognition.

most of what we consider so great about ourselves is due to our cultural advancements, not our biological advancements.

this.

[antistuff 0]

That's the thing, though.... it did create itself. A long time ago there was matter, and now there's a computer. It came from nothing.Does it matter that an intermediate step was the creation of humanity?

beat me to it.

[custom36 4]

And Whom made the matter?

Who made the maker?And your image says "404 not found"