Thursday, November 13, 2008
Modern Day Biology Teacher Reflections
Think about our presentations and conversation on Tuesday. React to what you have heard, what it made you think of, as well as its connections to what we are reading about and thinking about. What did you take away from the conversation? Reflect on the speakers as well making sure to thank Syers, Wallace, and Craig for taking the time to be with us.
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With having two bio teachers come in and talk about the evolution, I feel that the book can now be a lot more understood. Having two teachers come in and simply give us the science and not tell us which opinion to believe in was great because then we get to decide for ourselves.
It is funny that we are learning about this in history and bio, and now english...
I think tha Wallace taught us that we need to investigate everything we learn, that we as teenager have to make sure were getting the right infromation.
He also made the point of saying that you shouldn't always agree with your parent just because they say that it's right or wrong. You need to have an opinnon.
It made me think of all the religions that are out there and how hard it is to teach a subject without controversy. It made me think what I would have done if I were in a time when teaching evolution was illegal. It's hard to imagine what you would do. I think that Wallace was very eager to talk to us and he really made me think. Thank you Wallace, Syers, and Craig.
I really got a lot out of this play. I think I could finally see why this all mattered. It was not just a town issue or even just the problem of the few people involved, but a matter of really the whole country. I always have firmly believed in just one side of this argument and after Mr. Wallace said yesterday that he does not appreciate it when someone believes something just because someone told you to, I realized that it was just because someone had told me to believe one side. After researched and thinking I realized that my own personal thoughts and beliefs are different than those of my parents. I really thought it was cool to have two modern day biologists in the class room not only to make connections to our English class, but to see what people today believe in. In the play, the setting was, "not too long ago" and I now find that to be true. This case has totally flipped and if the case were taken to court these days the result would be opposite, but yet you can still see that this issue has carried on almost 90 years later. Overall I think this play was a good one to read and connect with.
I think Mr. Wallace brought up a very important point when he was talking to us. He stressed both the separation of church and the belief factor when teaching evolution.
The most important is the belief part of it. He told a story of a girl who told him that everything he taught was wrong.
Regardless of whether or not there is a God (I refuse to politcally correct), it all come down to interpretation. If you believe that the world was created in seven days, then maybe it wasn't 24 hour days.
There is no knowing only thought. So the teachers give only the information and leave the students to come to their own analysis which is something that is lacking in society.
Having our modern day biology teachers come and talk to us helped me better understand what evolution really is. It allowed me to see the different arguments for both sides and connect back to Inherit the Wind. I now better understand the conflict of evolution versus creationism and can formulate my own opinion about the topic. It was useful to learn more about the subject and apply it to my biology and history classes as well.
First of all, I'd like to thank the science teachers, Syers, Craig, and Wallace, for coming to our classes to present about teaching evolution in a modern classroom. Also, I noticed that none of the teachers really revealed what they believed in, which is good, because I think that it is like a requirement for teaching Evolution. You must hide your opinion, at least inside the classroom, so you don't seem to be saying "You should believe in this" to people who may not believe it. From the conversation, I thought that I should really look for something to believe in, because up until this point, I've been stubborn, and I have refused to believe in Creationism, and I was completely Atheistic Evolutionist. After reading a few comments from the Biology class blog (Craig) and hearing from Wallace and Syers, I thought that maybe there was a supernatural being, or beings, that controlled how things were, or at least existed there, invisible to us. So, I began researching, and have found many different explanations for the Earth being the way it is today. The conversation made me think and I believe that it is one of the most powerful conversations that this English class has had all year. Many of the students in my class had excellent questions for the teachers, which were in turn answered with excellent replies. In the future, I shall continue to research theories or biases as to why the world is as it is today. Thanks, again!
Mr. Wallace kept talking about not letting your parents tell you whats right and whats wrong, i thought this made a lot of sense to me because i see kids who are the way they are only because of their parents. Now having had that conversation with the teachers i have better of the conflict between evolution and intelligent design. I also agree with not teaching intelligent design as a part of the curriculum because it is not science and shouldn't be taught in science class.
I think they do a great job of presenting the information that is out there and then letting you think what you want to of it. It's good because that way everyone can think what they want to and be satisfied.
wallace and syers, thank you for taking time out of our unscheduled hours to talk to our englich class.
i think having them come in to our class and answering our questions about evolution and topics related to evolution.
In history we discussed briefly about this, in biology we are learning about evolution, and now in english, we read a play that was based on the scopes monkey trial, or a trial that was creationism versus evolution.
I agree with Erica, it was really nice to be able to hear more of the science with evolution instead of just opinions. I'm sure the teachers planned this, possibly to help our learning and being able to apply what we learn in one class in another.
Being able to hear so much information about evolution, and then reading this play helped me better understand - not only the trial - but just different aspects of life.
I think I really did take something from the teachers coming in and talking to us, then being able to apply that to the play.
I think that the conversation on Tuesday showed us what real people who teach the theory of evolution have to be careful of what they say as to not offend others. I liked being able to see the chart between evolution and creationism because it helps when you can place yourself wherever you want on that chart. The conversation also connected to Inherit The Wind because we talked about the Scopes Monkey Trial and how it affected the debate on what to teach in school about evolution.
I feel a little more understanding of the conflict between evolution and religion. i understand both sides of the story and think both should be leard of. i find it a little funny on how everyone makes a huge deal out of it because it's not even proven, it's a theory, not a fact. i can see why people argue about it but people shouldn't make a huge deal about it. they should believe what they want to believe and not try to say others are wrong. this is just my thoughts on the conflict.
I think that this is still a very controversial issue today. We all have differing opinions. For those of us who are more religious, they believe in creationism. Others will believe in evolution.I think it is very interesting that there are so many different views on one topic. I learned that we all have to respect the other view and know it even if we don't believe in it. I think that Mr. Wallace made a good point when he said that there was over 20,000 registered religions. If we were to teach creationism then we would have to teach every single one. That is not science. Science is proven facts. If you want to talk about creationism. Well we do offer a world religion class. Having our Biology teachers come in really helped to see how it was from a teaching stand point. It helped to make me think. So thanks to them for coming in.
I think that the biology teachers' words were highly thought provoking. The thought that 20,000 religions exist means just that many creation stories do. How is it that so many people have such different points of view? The truth of the matter is that we will likely never know how exactly everything began.
Thank you to the teachers who came in and spoke to us.
I wasn't here on the day that our Biology teachers came in and told us about Evolution, but that is what we are talking about in Bioloy class so I can still put a little into this conversation. In Bio, our teacher Mr. Craig told us that even though we may not beleive in Evolution, we should hear both sides of the story. And now, we cannot be taught Creationism but we can be taught Evolution. It is the exact opposite of this time with the trial. But, this is something that is not for sure true so we cannot say that one is right or one is wrong. But what we got to do is hear both sides of it and choose from there.
In today's society, it get's harder and harder for idea's to be punished through law. It's almost impossible. We need to make sure we remember trials like the monkey trial so we can learn from our predecessors mistakes in the trial. Never let religon and state mix is the basic philosophy thatmust come come out of "Hilsburo". If we can keep them seperate then we can hopefully never again allow events like the monkey trial to transpire again in the United States.
In today's society, it get's harder and harder for idea's to be punished through law. It's almost impossible. We need to make sure we remember trials like the monkey trial so we can learn from our predecessors mistakes in the trial. Never let religon and state mix is the basic philosophy thatmust come come out of "Hilsburo". If we can keep them seperate then we can hopefully never again allow events like the monkey trial to transpire again in the United States.
The first thing that this made me think about was evolution vs. Religion. In the past I have just kind of known it was out there but now I'm actually starting to think about which side I'm on. Which side I am not sure but I do know that it is there now and will continue to think about it. I did not realize that people were so opposed on this topic. I realized there was diversity of opinion but I did not know it was so extreme. The one thing that I hope I will never do is pick one side and stick to it. I think it is better to listen to the other side and like it than to never hear the other side and say yours is right. In order to know what you really think you must know both sides and then you can choose one from there. In the end this just really has proved to me that you need to think for yourself and never just accept what someone gives you.
Thankyou Syers, Wallace, and Craig for taking the time to teach us about the aspects of evolution, as well as answering any questions that we had. Our conversation on Tuesday was very intellectual. Inherit the Wind by Lawrence and Lee made me really think of what I would have done if I was in this position in 1925, I hope that I would have challenged the system that Dayton had put in place, but it is just to hard to tell. I found that there is more than one way to look at things, like with that graph that Syers showed us about where someone falls on their beliefs about evolution vs. creation. This graph made me realize that I could believe both ways and not have to only believe what I am taught, but to challenge what others have taught me.
First, I would like to say thank you to Syers and Wallace for coming in and talking to us about what it's like being a biology in society today. They talked to us about how they present information: They said that they give you the information, and then it is the decision of the student as to whether they want to believe it or not. That seems like very smart way to approach this because everyone should have the right to think and learn, but what they do with what they have learned is their own decision.
I liked how Wallace taught us that we do not have to necessarily agree with evolution we just should know the facts so then we can make the decision for ourselfs whether we agree with evolution or not.
I think that one of Brady's mistakes in Inherit the Wind is when he does not read Darwin at all. You should always know where your opponent is coming from and what they are saying in order to fight back.
I thought that it was very informative. The one thing that really got me thinking is when Mr. Wallace said that they teach evolution because it is a theory that has been tested and it has facts to it that they, as science teachers, can give us to look at. He also mentioned that the reason that they can't teach religion is because it is something that can't be tested by scientific procedures. So, it isn't that they want you to transfer your faith because evolution isn't something you can believe in, it isn't a faith. All that they want to do, as science teachers, is make you think.
The conversation on tuesday was very good. We may not have participated much but Syers and Wallace really helped to expand our thinking on evolution. Mr. Wallace did an exceptionally good job connecting religion and evoltuion, and explaining why creationism is so hard to teach. There are thousands of versions of creationism and only one main theory of evolution making it much simpler to teach. I think it would be difficult to be a biology teacher today because even now, people refuse to acknowledge evoltion. Throughout the converation and the play, I learned that it only takes one person, one thing to change the rules or "challenge the system." The transition from teaching creationism to teaching evolution is still in progress today, but much ground has been covered since 1925. Thank you to Ms. Syers and Mr. Wallace for taking time out of their days to talk to us about this. We appreciate it very much.
I never realized that two subjects could cause such controversy. I remember being in the Museum of Nature and Science in fifth grade and going through an exhibit and taught about evolution. I remember in this exhibit, but not very clearly, reading something about God and the beliefs that people have on evolution and creationism. Before this unit, I used to think of evolution was the act of humans evolving from monkeys, but now I know there’s so much more to it.
I think it was really helpful to have Syers and Wallace come in and discuss to our class what we learn and why we learn it without giving us something that we “have to” believe, allowing us to think for ourselves about the topic. They really helped with my understanding of the play and why it is so important in society today that we must think for ourselves. I took from the book what we take for granted today. Most people wouldn’t think of how we’re taught in school being partially based off of our country’s history of beliefs.
Having the two biology teachers come in was a very helpful experience. Many questions were answered about what many of us will be learning next year, and we saw an example of who might be teaching us. Mr. Wallace reminded me very much of Mr. Drummond from the drama "inherit the wind" in the way he spoke, and what he believes in.
Well,
One thing I was thinking was that Intelligent Design isn't really creationism. Creationism states that God created everything, but Intelligent Design says that there had to be some thought put into the begining of life. There is room for evolution in Inteligent Design. Some Darwanists beleive that the way life began was proteins on the backs of crystals grew and combined to form the first cell, creating life. But, it takes a string of 250 proteins to create the simplest life form, and so the possibility of the crystal theory occurring has a probability of one in a trillion. Intelligent design promotes that there was design to life in the begining and that it could have possibly evovled into what we know today.
IN all, I have to thank the bio teachers for coming in; they gave me some veiwpoints I hadn't thought about, like if creationism was taught, Which one? and so on.
Oh, And I got that info about crystals from a documentary: Expelled: Intelligent Design w/ Ben Stein
I think the main theme of the book, and the idea the bio teachers gave us is that we should all have the right to think for ourselves. Problem is, that doesn't happen in the world anymore.
And I almost forgot thank you for coming to speak to us, bio teachers one and all.
It was really great to hear Mr. Craig and Mr. Wallace tell us about how it is to be a modern day biology, it definitely brought in a new perspective. It's so weird that you can believe so many different ways, rather than what most people think, that there is a right answer and a wrong answer. There is always a gray area, and the gray area is really large in this case. Also, it made me realize how hard it must be to be a biology teacher, whether you believe one way or another, because you may not believe what you teach, but you have to teach it anyway, to give yours students an opportunity to think. I have much more respect for biology teachers now than ever before. This reminds me of the book, because throughout most of the trial, it seems that there is no gray area, it's just black and white. But, at the end, Drummond begins to talk as if he believes in God, which opens up a huge gray area, and the whole story is changed. It was great to have the biology teachers come and talk, it gave me a whole different learning experience.
Before the teachers came in, I was confused on how evolution really happened. Now I not only understand that, but I have a better general idea on why it is so contraversial. It was great that they encouraged us to decide for oursevles and come up with our own opinions and thoughts and to not let anyone else tell us what WE believe in. It was really cool to listen to them and it kept me interested. We're learning about evolution in biology class too so I think that having them come in and us reading this book in class will all help me tie everything together.
Why has all these species developed so differently if exposed to the same environment?
I liked the way they explained evolution so that even though you might believe in God, you can still believe in some type of evolution, showing that there is many different belief forms of creationism vs. evoultionism.
It was great that we could get two biology teachers in so we could get a good overall view of evolution. Mr. Craig was great in teaching us the difference between the 14 different types of creation. Mr. Wallace was great too. Allthough he was biased towards the bottom of the chart, it was good that we could hear the scientific side of evolution. They were both very helpful. Thank you!
I thought that having teachers come in and discuss evolution and read a play about a famous evolution trial has really helped us to learn the facts aboout evolution and has left it up to ourselves to decide what we believe.
I think that our conversation on Tuesday was very intriguing and interesting. I had no idea that there are 14 different kinds of views on Evolution and Creationism. Its always interesting to learn new ideas on a subject. Also, Mr. Wallace, Mr. Syers and Mr. Craig were informative and did a great job of explaining to our class the school perspective on Evolution. Thank you Mr. Wallace, Mr. Syers, and Mr. Craig
Thank you Mr. Craig and Mr. Wallace for coming in and talking to 5th hour. It really helped me learn how hard it is to be a biology teacher. I can now understand how hard it is to try and present a theory and try not to offend anyone. I can also see where Bertram Cates is coming from in "Inherit the Wind." He was merely trying to open kids minds to new ideas and he got punished for it. I think its really important that we think for ourselves and decide. Science teacher's jobs are to present us with one idea. They never say that its right or wrong, but they give us this idea and then we have to do more research and find out for ourselves. So thanks once again Craig and Wallace for coming in.
Thank you bio teachers for coming to talk to us. I think that it really helped put us into Cate's point of view. It helped relate it to our lives by making us relate to people we know. If you were picturing Cates as one of your teachers the whole time as I was the story had a much greater effect. The entire play was much more relvant because of our learnings on evolution and putting it into perspective with a a modern day teacher.
Now that we have listened to the teachers, I feel the controversy between religion and science. It must be very hard for them to teach the idea of evolution without putting their beliefs in first. The book is much easier to understand in a way now that we know the pressures of a biology teacher, and the risk that Cates had to take. Thank you to Mr. Wallace and Mr. Craig for coming in a talking to us because it helped me to know the risks of doing what the book said.
Our class discussion on Tuesday really helped me to understand Inherit the Wind. I also learned a lot of information I didn't know existed from the bio teachers. I had no idea the whale evolved from a type of dog or how many types of creationism exist.
I thought having our Biology teachers coming was very interesting. I came from a relatively conservative christian perspective and it was interesting to get to hear a lot of facts and research about the other side. I think that it connects to all that we are thinking about because we are learning to think and form our own opinions. Evolution is a very controversial topic and "Inherit the Wind" shows that you must pick a side and stick with it, no matter where it takes you. I think the end of "Inherit the Wind" when Drummond spoke showed that while you may think one way, you can still respect the other side of an issue. I really liked this whole unit. The speakers were great and really seemed to know their stuff. Thanks Mrs. Syers, Mr. Wallace and Mr. Craig.
I think having teachers that teach biology today shows how much the topic has changed. When this took place teachers were not allowed to teach evolution, but they are not allowed to teach creationism just scientific facts. I learned a lot about evolution that I did not know before. I think Brady not reading Darwin's book showed how it is hard to argue a side if you do not know both sides. In my opinion Drummond was a much better lawyer during this trial because of this. I would like to thank Craig and Wallace for helping us.
I thought that the play we read was great because it really showed people both sides of this argument.
Having Mr. Craig for my bio class, I have now heard this conversation almost three times, and it still amazes me how careful these bio teachers are when addressing evolution. Its almost as if they think that if they say one wrong thing, the class will come at them like an angry swarm of bees. I can’t believe that people would be so ignorant to judge other peoples beliefs so harshly that the teachers are forced to treat it with such care. I know that I have to have an open mind, and to be educated on both sides before forming an opinion, and I think that people who truly believe in one thing or another don’t need the reassurance of condemning the other belief. They know in their heart what they think is right and that’s all they need. That’s how I see it.
I personally feel that I really have a better understanding of evolution and what teachers real goals are by teaching you it. I kind of understand both sides of the argumenet especially after reading this book and how all teachers are trying to do is explain to you what that theory is, they aren't trying to convert you in any way but they do want you to have an open mind while studying it. And I do agree that we cannot support are own side or opinion on this matter without having an understanding of the other.
I don't think I would particularly like teaching evolution to students as biology teacher, and I mean I love biology and its one of my favorite classes but I just don't think I could complete that task. Mainly because I don't fully agree with all aspects of evolution but I guess hearing the biology teachers sides in a way helps to decide a future career path for myself.
I would like to thank the teachers that came into our class during my hour and for discussing that topic with us. And it all truly gave me a wider perspective on the subject.
I loved getting to hear what these bio. teachers had to say. It is strange though, how when one question is answered, pop! five more questions arise. I almost feel useless because of it, even though I know tat it is essential. I guess I still have a ton of questions, but I also guess that that is natural.
SO much guessing
First of all, it was so awesome that the biology teachers came in. The most important thing that I took away from the presentation is that I cannot believe something because someone says it is true. I must research it for myself and form my own opinions. It also established that in Biology, they are just simply telling us about the theory, not forcing us to believe it. I think it was very important that we read ITW and then learned this because I made connections from the play to real life-what really happened.
The biology teachers taught us that you need to know both sides of the story(creationism vs. evolution) in order to make a point that that one is true or not. Drummond in Inheret the Wind is a good example of knowing both sides of the story and his evidence clearly showed that Cates should express his own views. On the other hand Brady only knew one side of the story which obviosly was showed in the trial. I think that in the eyes of the other 12 million people that live in th U.S. all agreed that Cates was found innocent because everyone knew that Drummond had a better case than Brady.
This is really ironic because I feel like this was not supposed to happen but I have achieved the opposite of the desired effect of this whole unit... When we started I thought I could see why this all matter and was so important. I still can on a societal level but I no longer do on a personal level (maybe I never really did...). All I can think about is why is everyone getting themself so worked up about this.... Honestly why does it matter how we were created? It really has nothing to do with anything in our lives... We are here and that is all that really matters...b
Now I really enjoyed having Wallace and Craig come and talk to our class... It got me to really think about this, illuminated many new things and ideas and ultimately help me to come to the conclusion stated above... They had alot of great stuff to say and I think it was a great discusission...
I think that today kids just believe what ever their parents tell them. For instance, at election time I heard a story about 1st graders getting in fights over the candidates. It is the same in the controversy over evolution, children constantly just believe their parents. That's why I think the bio teachers, especially Craig, stressed that it is so important to have your own view on the subject. And with that it is your resposibility to look at both sides.
I liked how the teachers explained the science and not tell us what to believe was great. Even though I am learning about this already in bio this helped understand more. It is hard to believe that there are 20,000 religions.
I thought it was a great discussion. I though it was very interesting that it seemed like most of the biology teachers had faith but also believed in evolution. Just like Mr. Michie! What does that tell you? If they have faith but believe in evolution then...
I think it was cool having two bio teachers in an English class. It showed that what we learn in one class we can apply to every subject. It was good to have the bio teachers give a little bit of background on both evolution and creation, and I’m glad that they encouraged us to do more research on our own so that we can make a decision for ourselves instead of just having someone tell us what to think. I think that is the most important job of a teacher, just to try and get kids to think and learn on their own.
I think that it was nice to have the bio teachers come in to tell us about how it is to teach evolution. I know that it was hard, that they had a lot to worry about, like if they said something that might have offended a student they would have to keep saying that they were just teaching and they did not want to make the students feel like they had to believe something different. Also, I think that is was good for them to come in while we were reading this book because then we could see how the limitations on what teachers could teach in a biology class has changed, then you had to say that the Bible was correct and everything else is wrong, but now they do not say what is correct or incorrect because they want the students to form their own opinions and beliefs. So overall, I think is was helpful.
Having these two bio teachers come in really helped me see the other side of the argument. They did a good job of coming up with rebuttles that really makes me think and question what I believe. This turned out for the best becasue I realized that i hadn't done much real thinking. I found it easier to just not question what I belive because it was less difficult. It got me to wondering if I dont "think" alot and just accept what I've been told. The bio teachers have it a little easier than Bert Cates but I do think they do however face some antagonistics. They probably fight more personal and public battels that I dont ever realize. They face the critiscm of many parents, students and people in society that don't agree with what they are teaching. What people often forget is that they are the ones struggling more than we ever consider.
I am not really sure what to think of all this. I am a christian and i also believe in micro-evolution. Basically i believe God created the world but it has evolved since then. I do not agree with the argument that Creationism is only defendable by the disproving of evolutionism. Creationism is proovable. It has been around much longer. There were rock formations and other things throught to take millions of years formed in a matter of weeks. I am not really researched enough to defend my opinion well but religion is just as proovable as science. They both become very abstract at times. Thanks to the teachers for coming and talking with us.
Today it gets harder and harder to teach certain things, like evolution, because everyone is too enveloped in and protective of their freedom of religion. They jump at everything that even suggests the violation of their religion. I think the Bio teachers really showed us how hard it is to teach something as controversial as evolution. Thank you to the teachers who came to talk to us.
First off I want to say thank you to Mrs. Syers and Mr. Wallace and Mr. Craig for coming in to talk to our class. I loved the whole experience because it gave all of us a different point of view on evolution. I know that being a modern day biology teacher must be a challenge because of all the various beliefs in our world. The idea that they are here to get people to think was the most valuable thing I took out from the conversation. Having the right to think is priceless. The teachers are not here to tell us that we should believe in evolution 100% or that we should believe in Creationism 100%. They are here to show us different options and to get our minds thinking of other possibilities.
During the time of The Scopes Monkey Trial, thinking another way was unheard of. People only knew one religion, one way of thinking which usually came from their parents and passed on to them. What I believe is the most wasteful thing is having a brain and not using it. At times, especially during the presidential election, I would ask people who they preferred, McCain or Obama. Once they told me who they supported I would ask the simple question, why? The typical answer is “because my parents are for him” or “because he is a democrat or because he is a republican.” Then I would ask what a republican or democrat is and they would all say “I don’t know…” They all have brains but their brains are not independent. They are latched on to what they are told to latch on to.
This relates to what is going on in Inherit the Wind. People in their time era only believed in what they believed in because it is what their parents believed. Their parents believed this because it is what their parents believed. Their parent’s parents believed this because their parents believed this and so on and so on.
The biology teacher’s reasoning in just presenting the evidence was very valuable for me to hear them say.
Thank you Mrs. Smith for allowing us to come and talk to your classes. It created some great questions and discussion among you and also between the teachers. I hope that we can continue to teach interdisciplinary topics. In response to Kailynw's question on why so many species have developed if the environment hasn't changed... The Earth's environment has constantly changed since the first life forms arose 3.5 billion years ago. It has fluctuated between hot, humid areas, to ice ages, the last being 15,000 years ago. Organisms have constantly been killed off because of this change, if they were not adapted to it.
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