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[QUOTE]Originally posted by Baloo: [QB] Chimaera: Hear, Hear! <blockquote>"Teaching creationism in biology class [i][parenthetical phrase deleted][/i] is like telling physics students the Earth is flat and teaching chemistry students the four elements of fire, water, air and soil."</blockquote> Well, I, for one, enjoyed hearing about geocentrism (for example) in a physics class that not only taught what science believes today (well, actually a bit more than 20 years ago, but...) but also detailed how modern science came to these conclusions. If you just teach bald fact, you are not teaching science, but simply indoctrinating the students into the "cult" of knowledge. You must also present the process by which the facts (as they are understood now) were arrived at, and ultimately concede that the current laws and theories may possibly be usurped when new evidence (should it be uncovered) is discovered. By demonstrating how knowledge is not only refined and increased, but sometimes even overthrown by new knowledge, you will hopefully teach your students to understand how to come to their own conclusions. It amazes me to discover how many people don't realize that no-one had any idea that DDT could have harmful effects on the environment until they began finding signs of it. At one time it was generally, though not universally believed that tobacco was actually good for you. My great-grandmother actually grew the stuff, and not only smoked it, but dipped snuff and even used it to make poultices (effective for treating bee stings, according to my mother's first-hand account). Towards the end of the previous century, it was seriously proposed that the U.S. patent office be closed, as everything that could possibly be invented had been. Obviously they were wrong. As we prepare to enter the third millennium, let's not assume that everything we know today is the final word on the matter. Thousands of years of human history have provided us with countless examples of societies and people who thought they knew everything, and ruthlessly (I wonder where Ruth is?) squashed debate as counterproductive or subversive. The problem with science (and theology, for that matter) is that we have no choice but to use a very imprecise tool to examine and interpret what we observe: the human mind. It's entirely possible that the theory you hold so closely to your heart is not the only interpretation of the evidence. --Baloo [/QB][/QUOTE]
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