1 in 8 Teach Creationism as Science
In the "first nationally representative survey of teachers concerning the teaching of evolution," the authors show that one in eight high school biology teachers present creationism as a scientifically valid alternative to Darwinian evolution.
Bad enough in itself, and there is more from the study to be concerned with regarding the time spent on teaching evolution.
The authors show that the disparity in teaching evolution is not linked to differences in state regulations, but can more likely be attributed to differences of religious belief and education amongst teachers. Less than one-third of high school biology teachers believe that God had no part in evolution, nearly one-half believe God had a hand in evolution, and almost one in six believe that God created humans in their present form within the last 10,000 years. The teachers who hold creationist or intelligent design beliefs spent substantially less time teaching evolution than their Darwinist counterparts. Likewise, teachers with a stronger background in evolution spent 60% more time teaching it than those who had the least education in the subject.
Biology was never my strong suit in science, but even I understand that evolution is the cornerstone of the field. Less time spent teaching it, or time spent pretending creationism is a scientifically valid alternative, is a good way to promote a flawed way of thinking. (I'll spare you my snarky comments regarding how this translates to US politics.)
The study's authors believe that making teachers complete courses in evolutionary biology might ensure that the nation's science teachers actually understand science. It certainly couldn't hurt.
