One week later, Nicole was back in Nancy Skinner’s office. She reported her findings.
Nancy leaned back in her desk chair. “Interesting. I’ve never been afraid of a little controversy in the district, so I’m not convinced yet that we should drop the matter. While you were talking I thought of a few questions for you as a science teacher. I probably should know the answers, but I’m sure you can state them better than I ever could…
“First, isn’t evolution just a theory?
“How does one define science? What makes something “count” as part of science so it can be part of the curriculum?
“And, then, wouldn’t it be easier just to skip evolution altogether? What’s so important about teaching this topic in biology? Does knowing about evolution do anything beneficial for us as a society?”
Nicole gathered her thoughts, and then tackled the questions one by one.
How should Nicole answer Principal Skinner’s questions? Write your answers to the three sets of questions and come to the next class prepared to discuss them. The resources listed at the end in Part I can guide you.
Originally published at http://www.sciencecases.org/id/id2.asp
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