Sunday is Darwin Day. How Will You Celebrate It? [View all]

[demmiblue]

Source: AlterNet

Photo Credit: Tim Green

Despite the white beard, Charles Darwin isn’t Santa Claus, but like Christmas, Darwin Day comes once a year, and when it comes it brings good cheer. Across the country and around the world, at colleges and universities, schools and libraries, museums and churches, people assemble around February 12 to commemorate the life and work of the British naturalist. But it’s not just about Darwin: it’s about engaging in—and enjoying—public outreach about science, evolution, and the importance of evolution education.

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Knowledge about science and enthusiasm about science education sometimes seems to be in short supply. Nearly all scientists (97%) agreed with “humans and other living things have evolved over time” in a 2009 poll—but only 61% of the general public agreed. The general public was equally shaky about what scientists believed: only 60% believed that scientists generally agreed that humans have evolved over time. And is this level of ignorance about the science of evolution reflected in the educational system? You’d better believe it.

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And if you’re in the United States, one in every eight of public high school biology teachers in your country is presenting creationism as though it were scientifically credible, according to a national survey conducted in 2006, despite the overwhelming consensus of the scientific community that it is anything but. And the same survey suggested that six out of ten of public high school biology teachers are not presenting evolution with the accuracy, breadth, and confidence that’s needed for their students to attain a basic level of scientific literacy.

With a steady drumbeat of ignorance of, skepticism about, and hostility toward evolution among the general public, Darwin Day comes as a welcome respite every year: it can be a relief to be among people who understand evolution, and appreciate that it—and not creationism—belongs in our schools. But for whatever reason you attend your local Darwin Day celebration, whether for the company or the talks or the films or the face-painting or the refreshments, you’re sure to have a splendid time. Oh, by the way: save me a slice of cake.

http://www.alternet.org/story/154098/sunday_is_darwin_day._how_will_you_celebrate_it/?page=1