Holding the Line on The Facts of Evolution

The truth doesn’t need to defend itself.

Facts, as we have long argued here, are facts.

Take gravity, for instance. It’s there every day with every step we take. Gravity isn’t controversial.

Non-controversial scientific facts, as a matter of fact (ahem), far outnumber the science that draws objection.  Have you ever flown in an airplane? That’s science. Are you reading this on a computer? That’s science. Do you ever watch television? Science. Have ever checked the weather forecast? That’s science, too.

Like any other branch of science, evolution is no different than those other branches of science. It’s built on research and the peer review process. But for lots of silly reasons we won’t articulate here, the discussion around evolution needs its protectors.

So we wanted to stop for a minute and give thanks to the National Center for Science Education (NCSE), “the only national organization devoted to defending the teaching of evolution in public schools.”

States the NCSE: “There is no scientific debate about the fundamentals of evolution. Life evolves, species descend with modifications from other species. However, fewer than 50% of American adults know that humans developed from earlier species.”

Well, that’s worrisome.

NCSE provides professional development to teachers to assist them with the instruction of evolution (and climate change, another topic that is preposterously controversial) and they also get active when they see threats to science education. 

For instance, NCSE recently spotlighted a poll that showed Canadians are increasingly supportive of teaching Creationism in schools.

They also recently drew attention to a bill in the Massachusetts state legislature that would require that Massachusetts’ state science standards “include only peer-reviewed and age-appropriate subject matter” where “peer-reviewed subject matter” is defined as “conducted in compliance with accepted scientific methods.”

(You’d think such a state law would be unnecessary to spell out, but that’s where we are today.)

And NCSE hosts a podcast, “Safeguarding Sound Science—Evolution Edition” (now in its second season) that explores the central principle of history. Recent episodes include “Teaching Evolution: Challenges, Progress, and The Road Ahead,” “Darwin’s Reach: How Evolution Shapes Our World Today,” and “Are We Ready For the Next Pandemic?”

The NCSE website is full of information and resources, including “Classroom Resources” that are classroom activities for teachers, all waiting on a Google Drive. Lessons include “The Origin (And Conservation) of a Species” and “Evolution of Horses” and more. There’s also a batch of classroom resources on climate change (again, people, science!) and a searchable database of school-ready activities, articles, webinars, toolkits, and videos.

So thank to NSCE for all you do. By the way, 80 percent of NSCE funding comes from individuals!

Maybe consider donating and sending a message: facts are facts and science is science.

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