TEACHING EVOLUTION IN THE SOUTH: AN OVERVIEW OF STATE STANDARDS RELATING TO EVOLUTION AND POSSIBLE OBSTACLES IN PRESENTING THE STANDARDS

Evolution has been a controversial subject in southern public schools for many years. This topic has been taboo, resulting in southern states receiving “F” grades in their respective state curriculums by the Fordham Foundation. There has been a recent shift to teach evolution in many schools, and science curriculums in the south have received improved scores for their efforts. Many states are now mandating the teaching of evolution and the topic is an integral part of many state curriculums. States primarily use biology courses in high schools to teach the vast majority of the subject matter. Many states also offer courses in earth science or geology that allow students to attain knowledge about evolution; however, many of these courses are electives. State boards of education have been pressured from special interest groups to reverse or diminish the teaching of the standards. Although controversy has been rampant in nearly every state, there has been little success in eliminating or avoiding the new emphasis in teaching evolution in the south. Several individual districts have been unsuccessfully challenged by groups unaware of the mandated standards requiring the teaching of evolution. For too long teachers tiptoed around the teaching of evolution or were allowed to avoid it all together. Many teachers must now gain content knowledge on the topic to direct their students in passing high stakes graduation tests that in some instances include evolution. It is imperative that school systems offer content training as well as provide materials and equipment necessary to effectively teach standards regarding evolution.