Return to Scopes "Monkey" Trial Era?

A national survey (source) of 900 high school biology teachers published in Science magazine (and subsequently reported in the New York Times last month) indicates that the teaching of evolution in our schools has many school science courses returning to the era of the famous Scopes Trial of 1925.

The State of Tennessee tried high school biology teacher John Scopes of violating the state's Butler Act that made it unlawful to teach evolution. Since that time, the teaching of creationism in public schools has consistently been ruled unconstitutional in federal courts. But, the reality demonstrated by the biology teacher survey indicates that it continues to flourish in our nation's classrooms.

Researchers found that 28 percent of biology teachers consistently follow the recommendations of the National Research Council to describe straightforwardly the evidence for evolution and explain the ways in which it is a unifying theme in all of biology.

At the other extreme, 13 percent explicitly advocate creationism, and spend at least an hour of class time presenting it in a positive light. That leaves what the authors call "the cautious 60 percent," who avoid controversy by endorsing neither evolution nor its unscientific alternatives. In various ways, they compromise.

The survey found that some teachers avoid intellectual commitment by explaining that they teach evolution only because state examinations require it, and that students do not need to "believe" in it. Others treat evolution as if it applied only on a molecular level, avoiding any discussion of the evolution of species. And a large number claim that students are free to choose evolution or creationism based on their own beliefs. Since more high school students take biology than any other science course, and many of them won't take another science course, then the influence of these teachers looms large. And the survey also indicates that enthusiastic proponents of creationism were geographically widely spread across the country, not just in the South.

"Students are being cheated out of a rich science education," said Dr. Plutzer, a professor of political science at Penn State University. "We think the ‘cautious 60 percent' represent a group of educators who, if they were better trained in science in general and in evolution in particular, would be more confident in their ability to explain controversial topics to their students, to parents, and to school board members."

But, Dr. Moore is doubtful that more education is the answer. "These courses aren't reaching the creationists," he said. "They already know what evolution is. They were biology majors, or former biology students. They just reject what we told them. There's no other field where teachers reject the foundations of their science like they do in biology."

Assign students to address the Document Based Question (DBQ) included with this topic:

"Discuss the collision between traditional American values and scientific developments in the 1920s, a period that was characterized by the Scopes Trial's debate over the teaching of evolution."

(You may want to amend this question, or substitute additional queries.)

Use the research pathfinder below to ensure easy access to the best resources for this topic. Students should cite at least three resources and write at least 150 words in addressing the DBQ.

Click the 1920 decade icon > Scopes Trial

Your students can use our custom ProQuest models for written and PowerPoint-style reports.

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