The Science Lesson

How did human life start on this planet? Was it purely by cells combining with other cells and the strong combinations surviving? Was there a divine hand in the mix? Were the earth and all its life created in six days? Everyone has a viewpoint. I decided to try something different with my two science classes in Drayton Valley, Alberta.

I brought into my classroom texts that supported Darwin’s evolutionary theory. I also brought in creationists’ material.

I told the students that we were going to have a debate. They were to look at the information and decide which side they were going to take. I invited them to go anywhere they wanted to get more facts, including talking to their parents. Unfortunately, the option of browsing the Web did not exist in 1979.

Like ants in a colony, they devoured the material, furiously writing notes. Not only did they look at the side they supported, they filtered through the opposition’s information, looking for holes in their arguments.

The day of the debate came. The students argued politely, yet with great emotion. Most of the time, I listened, however, I asked questions of both sides. The questions were difficult and comprised of the main arguments both sides use when trying to weaken the other’s position.

At the end of the class, I asked the students what they had learned. Cheryl said something that was profound. She said, “I found that people can really get upset and angry about something that they can’t prove 100%.”

I learned that it is sometimes better to give people all of the facts and let them find out for themselves what they want to believe. My students had the opportunity to examine every argument. At the end of the day, regardless of the side they chose, they found that their position needed more research and work. I’m sure that has happened for some of them.

I also believe that they acquired the thirst for knowledge. Rather than being forced to drink the elixir I brewed, they were invited to the laboratory of life to come up with their own.