April 4, 2011 In 1925, John Scopes, a high school biology
teacher, was put on trial in Tennessee for having the audacity
to teach evolution to his students. In the 21st century,
teachers don’t have to worry about being arrested for teaching
this fundamental topic in science, and the Supreme Court
declared teaching creationism unconstitutional in 1987, but that
hasn’t stopped state legislators around the country from trying
to enact laws that encourage the teaching of alternative
theories or protect teachers who do so. The latest attempt, in
Tennessee, looks like it might actually become law. But here are
five reasons why it shouldn’t: 1 ) Evolution is the basis for
all biology. Without it, much of biology and modern medicine
just doesn’t make sense. There’s general agreement that good
science education is needed to produce a populace capable of
handling our increasingly technological future. Evolution has to
be part of that, but sadly, it rarely is. A recent poll of high
school biology teachers found that onl