A Teacher on the Front Line as Faith and Science Clash

David Campbell switched on the overhead projector and wrote "Evolution" in the rectangle of light on the screen.

He scanned the faces of the sophomores in his Biology I class. Many of them, he knew from years of teaching high school in this Jacksonville suburb, had been raised to take the biblical creation story as fact. His gaze rested for a moment on Bryce Haas, a football player who attended the 6 a.m. prayer meetings of the Fellowship of ... Full Story »

Posted by Leo Romero
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Subjects: Education, Sci/Tech
Member Tags: public schools, Proselection
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Posted by: Posted by Leo Romero - Aug 24, 2008 - 7:38 AM PDT
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Edited by: Leo Romero - Aug 24, 2008 - 7:38 AM PDT

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4.1
by Michael Bugeja - Aug. 26, 2008

Overall, a good though overlong story showcasing how difficult it can be to teach human origins to students whose faith interferes with their learning. My only criticism is the author not understanding or taking time to explain why evolution is a theory--more complex than a scientific law but still testable empirically. There are and continue to be enhancements and debate about evolutionary theory--not as opposed to intelligent design or even too-rapid transformations in the fossil ... More »

“Even if we did split off from chimps,” someone asked, “how come they stayed the same but we changed?” “They didn’t stay the same,” Mr. Campbell answered. ... More »

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4.2
by Jonathan Overholt - Aug. 25, 2008
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3.8
by Paul-André Raymond - Aug. 27, 2008
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4.0
by Leo Romero - Aug. 24, 2008
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3.4
by Andrew Lamb - Aug. 25, 2008

Author Amy Harmon fails to point out the falsehoods and flaws in David Campbell's teaching. E.g. the Mickey Mouse analogy better fits a creation/designer scenario than evolution; his moth-picking activity perpetuates a long-discredited fraud (the peppered moth evolution story - in which birds were filmed pecking dead moths off trees they had been glued to); and his comments about fossils are wrong (see "Karl Kruszelnicki: still missing the missing links"). The author assumes the ... More »

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4.1
by Jeffrey Wilbur - Aug. 25, 2008

This article gives a perspective on teaching that may enlighten those who don't understand the scope, cause, or form of resistance to evolution and scientific thought. It is primarily an anecdotal account, but it manages to avoid the condescension that often appears in this type of story.

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4.5
by David Sheldon - Aug. 25, 2008
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