Evolution or Creation? Who is up to to decide whether or not children have an opportunity to believe in either one? “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). This Bible verse has not only been questioned for thousands of years but has led to some of the most debated, passionate and public court cases and arguments of all time. The major debate over evolution and creationism is whether or not these topics should be taught in school. And if they are taught to students, will be they presented as facts and truths or fictional theories and speculation? There are groups who sole existence is derived from the verse that come from the Bible and there are other groups who focus on the science behind everything. Providing
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The book is short, only a hundred or so pages, but yet it tastefully handles the topic of evolution and creationism in schools. Although the authors of the book believe that creation is a flawed science, they also believe that we should not neglect children who do believe in it. Laats and Siegel believe that students who believe it nevertheless need to be accommodated in public school science classes, which I agree with. Their basic conclusion is to strive to achieve teaching knowledge and understanding about the topic and allowing the children to decide whether or not they want to believe (Laats and Siegel …show more content…
We shouldn’t say “this side is wrong” and “this side is right” but instead present them with the facts and statistics of both sides whether they are positive or negative. According to The University of Chicago Press Books, “scientific or not, creationism maintains an important role in American history and culture as a point of religious dissent, a sustained form of protest that has weathered a century of broad—and often dramatic—social changes. At the same time, the evolutionary theory has become a critical building block of modern knowledge. The key to accommodating both viewpoints, they show, is to disentangle belief from knowledge. A student does not need to believe in evolution in order to understand its tenets and evidence, and in this way can be fully literate in modern scientific thought and still maintain contrary religious or cultural views”. As a whole, Laats and Siegel provide a level-headed and sensible analysis that is crucial to resolving the debate between creationism and evolution. As a society, we must be able to objectively grasp the concepts of whatever topic that we either agree to or disagree to. We must also be able to criticize and evaluate the information so that we ourselves are capable for thinking for ourselves and making informed
The book is short, only a hundred or so pages, but yet it tastefully handles the topic of evolution and creationism in schools. Although the authors of the book believe that creation is a flawed science, they also believe that we should not neglect children who do believe in it. Laats and Siegel believe that students who believe it nevertheless need to be accommodated in public school science classes, which I agree with. Their basic conclusion is to strive to achieve teaching knowledge and understanding about the topic and allowing the children to decide whether or not they want to believe (Laats and Siegel …show more content…
We shouldn’t say “this side is wrong” and “this side is right” but instead present them with the facts and statistics of both sides whether they are positive or negative. According to The University of Chicago Press Books, “scientific or not, creationism maintains an important role in American history and culture as a point of religious dissent, a sustained form of protest that has weathered a century of broad—and often dramatic—social changes. At the same time, the evolutionary theory has become a critical building block of modern knowledge. The key to accommodating both viewpoints, they show, is to disentangle belief from knowledge. A student does not need to believe in evolution in order to understand its tenets and evidence, and in this way can be fully literate in modern scientific thought and still maintain contrary religious or cultural views”. As a whole, Laats and Siegel provide a level-headed and sensible analysis that is crucial to resolving the debate between creationism and evolution. As a society, we must be able to objectively grasp the concepts of whatever topic that we either agree to or disagree to. We must also be able to criticize and evaluate the information so that we ourselves are capable for thinking for ourselves and making informed