Addressing Religion and Evolution in the Classroom

Explain how religion influences the value and expectation that parents place on schools:

What was once a melting pot is now being replaced with a salad bowl, where each ingredient represents a different cultural and ethnic background. These groups are also strongly characterized by religion. Today, religious diversity is as visible in society as slices of tomatoes on greens.  

Separation of Church and State frees public schools from religions doctrine. However, schools will be influenced by the community that they serve. These communities are often constructed around a religious congregation.  Parents may expect the curriculum to be aligned with their beliefs, to not contradict them or to omit content that they do not agree with. 

How would you address religion in the classroom? Would you just avoid it altogether (if teaching Math or Science) or would you integrate it into your lesson, like the plan I have below for an advanced Spanish class?

Produce a short plan for the benefit of teachers for addressing religion in public schools

Short Plan for Addressing Religion in Public Schools in the Spanish Class

Context

This lesson is intended to be delivered to a Spanish level 4 or 5 where students have intermediate or higher command of the language and for Spanish for Spanish Speaker Students

Objectives

-Students should be able to describe the characteristics of three major religions beliefs today: Judaism, Christianity and Islam in the target language

-Students should develop a greater level of tolerance through further understanding of these beliefs and corrections of misconceptions.

-Students should be able to explain the interrelationships between the three religions in the target language.

Lesson

Teacher makes a short presentation (5 - 10 minutes) using different media to illustrate the main characteristics of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.  During the presentation students are asked to take note of the vocabulary words the teacher uses during the presentation.

Students are them asked to divide in groups and to distribute in the following learning stations in order, the discussion station is the last

1. Graphics Station: Students are asked to represent all three religions and their interrelationship for the cover of their report. They are allowed to use digital or conventional tools.

2. Research Station: Students are to use the internet to answer the following questions:

    How do these three religions belief system compare? Create a chart comparing all three. 

    How are these religions related to one another? What common characters do they all share?

3. Discussion Station: This is the station where the teacher will check and grade the students work in the class. this station also requires students to discuss their researched in the target language.  During this station the teacher is to assign daily oral and classroom participation grades.

Evaluation and Assessment

Even though the teacher has collected oral language use and participation in class, the success in the lesson will be reflected in the mindset of the students.  Erasing misconceptions and prejudices that students may have started to develop. 

Suitable for the High School Biology Class?  what do you think?

Write a plan of action for meeting with parents and explaining to them how you will be addressing evolution in your class. Describe what steps you would take to avoid conflict with parental religious views. 

Addressing Evolution in the Classroom

Each state and school district has their own agenda when teaching controversial ideas, such as evolution. Teachers have to be very aware of this so they can comply with the philosophy of the school at which they are teaching. 

Evolution and sexuality in the classroom are the most controversial issues that are on the school curriculum today.  However, the public school system's secular education has trumped religious group influence and the scientific theory of Evolution must be taught. Teaching evolution can be a life-changing moment as it was for Richard Dawking, the evolutionary biologist who embraced Christianity himself until he learned the theory of evolution, finding it a more fitting explanation for the origins of life. 

However, many students do not understand, accept or even want to learn about Evolution. Students may defend their beliefs in the classroom. Tensions may arise in the classroom and student (and parents) may become offended Teachers have to be aware of the community the school they teach at serves. This will help them be more sensitive to where most parents stand regarding the teaching of evolution.

What would I say to the parents?

I have to make sure that my lesson strictly teaches the scientific theory of evolution.  Separation of Church and state obligates me to refrain from letting my religious beliefs influence the theory in any way. I cannot present Creationism, Intelligent design or any other non-secular to teach this theory in my science class. 

I will remind parents and students that although the scientific theory of evolution explains the path that life took to get to what we see today, it does not explain why it happened. We cannot explain what forces drove that first creature to want out of the water and start breathing oxygen.  Another example is the Steven Hawkins Big Bang Theory; Dr Hawkins himself admits that he cannot explain what cosmic force caused the Big Bang. What triggered the event that scientist claim started the Universe? They cannot explain that either. As a Biologist, I believe the scientific theory of evolution to be as factual as the existence of Gravity, but i cannot explain WHY, only HOW. 

I would also remind then that evolution is a phenomenon that occurs not only in living creatures, but also in many other fields like medicine, economics and legislation  and reinforce that evolution is not about progress, but about overcoming and surviving change. 

What do you think about teaching Evolution in the classroom? How would you teach it?

Web Sources:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/educators/index.html
http://www.theewc.org/uploads/content/Religious_diversity.pdf
http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/home.php