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MAY 2004

To Teach or Not to Teach Evolution

The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), the largest science teacher organization in the world, has published an updated position paper to reaffirm its standpoint on the teaching of evolution. The statement upholds and reinforces the position of the Association that NSTA “strongly supports the position that evolution is a major unifying concept in science and should be included in the K-–12 science education frameworks and curricula.”

“This new statement offers further support for science teachers, administrators, and textbook authors and publishers in their efforts to provide quality science instruction for the nation's students,” said Gerry Wheeler, NSTA Executive Director. The statement reaffirms the need to better support science teachers “against pressure to promote nonscientific views or to diminish or eliminate the study of evolution;” reaffirms the important of evolution in bolstering scientific literacy; and reaffirms the recommendation that science textbook publishers “should not be required or volunteer to include disclaimers in textbooks that distort or misrepresent the methodology of science and the current body of knowledge concerning the nature and student of evolution.”

NSTA, along with other major organizations of scientists and science educators, has concluded that evolution must be emphasized in the science curriculum if students are to develop the level of scientific literacy needed to understand the natural world and to be able to make informed decisions in today's society. NSTA also joins other organizations and scientists in concluding that so-called theories of intelligent design and creationism have no scientific credibility and will lead to many misconceptions about scientific concepts and the nature of science.

“Evolution is included in the science standards of the majority of states and, as a result, teachers are expected to emphasize this important concept. At the same time the misrepresentation of evolution and the ever-present pressures not to teach evolution persist,” said Gerald Skoog, Paul Whitfield Horn Professor, College of Education, Texas Tech University and a member of the NSTA Review Committee for the position statement.#

The NSTA position statement on the Teaching of Evolution can be found on the NSTA web site at www.nsta.org.

Education Update, Inc.
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