I 

once had an interaction with my 
high school physics teacher that 
has stuck with me ever since. Dur-

ing one of the weekly chats we’d have 
in her classroom after school, I won-
dered out loud why neither evolution 
nor the Big Bang theory were covered 
in the biology or physics curricula. My 
teacher explained to me that being in 
a town drenched in parochial ideol-
ogy, there was a don’t ask, don’t tell 
policy covering the teaching of evolu-
tion. Science instructors were encour-
aged to not teach the subject and to 
only field questions when asked. While 
not surprising to me in light of the cul-
ture of my hometown — Ortonville, 
Mich. — it was infuriating to know 
that social pressure was pushing my 
science teachers to avoid evolution in 
their general science courses. No law 
was restricting them. Only the fear of 
becoming a social pariah was in the 
way of them providing students with a 
scientifically complete education. 

What is happening in my hometown 

is not an anomaly in the contemporary 
United States. A 2019 survey reported 
that only 67% of public high school biol-
ogy teachers present Charles Darwin’s 
theory of evolution by natural selec-
tion as the scientific consensus. This 
is an increase from past surveys, but 
still quite low given that the theory of 
evolution is one of the most champi-

oned theories in all of biology. One out 
of every three teachers is not portray-
ing evolution by natural selection as 
the robust scientific theory that it is 
— a theory that has been fortified with 
new evidence every year since it was 
first proposed. This presents obstacles 
to students who wish to further their 
science education at postsecondary 
institutions. More worrisome is that 
evolution denial propagates ignorance 
and scientific illiteracy — issues all the 
more pertinent in light of the COVID-
19 pandemic. 

Legal prohibitions on the public 

instruction of evolutionary theory do 
not hold anymore, but teachers’ appre-
hension about teaching evolution as 
agreed-upon science indicates that 
traditionalist mores still weigh down 
the American public education system. 
Bans on teaching evolution in public 
schools is as old as the theory itself. One 
of the first major conflicts between 
scientific educators and conservative 
policy makers in U.S. history was the 
Scopes Trial of 1925. This legal case 
concerned a Tennessee public school 
teacher who taught evolutionary the-
ory despite a Tennessee law prohibit-
ing instruction of human evolution in 
any school that received state funding. 
This trial catalyzed the debate between 
creationism and evolutionary theory. 
From then on, legal challenges to the 

instruction of evolution and natural 
selection in public schools have been 
mounted by many Christian groups 
— usually those from evangelical tradi-
tions — with varying degrees of success. 

Now, I cannot criticize those 1920s 

Tennessee creationist policy makers 
too virulently, as at that time evolution 
was not a majority-held belief among 
Christians nor society at large. But crit-
icism is warranted for contemporary 
teachers and education boards who 
are still reluctant to teach evolutionary 
theory and natural selection in light of 
the now 160 years of evidence — includ-
ing the crucial discovery of DNA and 
genes — that provide robust support for 
evolution. 

And while I understand that some 

regions of the country have intense 
negative social sanctions against anti-
creationist rhetoric that can be hard 
for teachers to overcome, it is more 
important that teachers plan science 
curriculum around empirical obser-
vations than socially-pressured tradi-
tional beliefs. 

This is not to say that learning about 

religious practice has no room in edu-
cation — just that it does not belong in 
scientific curriculum at the expense 
of silencing scientific fact. A more 
apt place would be in the domain of 
social studies, with an emphasis on 
the diversity of religious practice. But 

having evolutionary theory not pre-
sented to students within their sci-
ence courses promotes widespread 
ignorance and scientific illiteracy, 
two issues detrimental if a soci-
ety wishes to better itself. Denying 
students the knowledge that many 
biologists view as foundational to 
their discipline serves ideology much 
more than it serves education. If the 
American educational system is to 
ever become the best it can be, a thor-
ough vetting of educational policies 
has to be conducted. Creationism can 
be taught to students as one of many 
spiritual beliefs, but not as empirical 
fact. Censoring evolution in favor of 
creationism in public education not 
only sustains ignorance, but is a vio-
lation of the civil liberties of freedom 
of religion guaranteed in the Consti-
tution, as the teaching of creationism 
as fact promotes a Christian-centric 
ideology within the walls of an insti-
tution of the state.

While the trend is moving in the 

right direction, more teachers must 
embrace evolution by natural selection 
as a well supported scientific theory 
instead of tacitly mentioning it or not 
even discussing the subject. Parts of the 
U.S. education system are hell-bent on 
sustaining a pre-Scopes trial evangeli-
cal worldview. Again, the pushback of 
1920s creationists is not without war-

rant as the debate over fundamental-
ism and modernity were in their infant 
stages. However, for teachers and edu-
cation boards to still deny evolution in 
the 21st century is downright asinine. 
This will only lead to continued igno-
rance among the American public. If the 
United States wants to keep progressing, 
Americans must first reckon with the 
rejection of fact that is occurring within 
their educational institutions.

5

Thursday, May 13, 2021

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

The college experience without the physical component

Let America’s educators teach science without the stigma

OPINION

SIDDHARTH PARMAR | OPINION COLUMNIST

BENJAMIN DAVIS | OPINION COLUMNIST

I

t’s Dec. 19, 2019, 11 p.m. Indian 
Standard Time, and the early 
action decisions for the Univer-

sity of Michigan undergraduate class 
of 2024 aren’t out yet. I’m not super-
stitious, but the last few times I stayed 
up to wait for an application result, I 
received a rejection. All of them stated 
how “large this year’s applicant pool 
was” and how they “couldn’t accept 
all of the talented people who applied.” 
I also have school the next day, so I call 
it a night. A few hours later, I wake to 
the sound of my parents bursting in to 
tell me that the result came out. I got 
in! 

March rolls around, and with it 

comes an almost overwhelming bout 
of senioritis. I spend hours reading 
about campus life — about the differ-
ent residence halls in the cardinal-
direction quadrangles, the apparently 
cockroach-infested Mary Markley 
Residence Hall (mental note: avoid 
Markley at all costs!), the libraries 
with nicknames like the “UGLi” and 

the “Dude” and outdoor spaces like 
“the Arb.” These daydreams sadly coin-
cide with my high school’s final exams. 
After a quick search and panic about 

rescinding offers, my focus returns to 
my studies. 

Then, this novel virus that had 

seemed too distant to cause any 
trouble hits home. India goes into a 
nationwide lockdown two days before 
my last exam. Just like that, we enter 
a state of limbo, learning more with 
each passing day. As someone who 
only vaguely remembers the 2009 
H1N1 pandemic, I watch in horror as 
stories of overwhelmed hospitals and 

mass graves spread online. Masks, 
hand sanitizer and social distancing 
are all part of the new normal. Amid 
this chaos, the University still has in-
person course listings for the fall. A 
nagging voice tells me that surely we 
wouldn’t be in person come August.

Orientation rolls around. The 

guides emphatically proclaim that 
“college is what you make of it!” None-
theless, rumor has it that instruction 
might be mostly, if not completely, vir-
tual. I have to create a schedule that 
will be doable regardless of whether 
I’m in Ann Arbor or Bangalore. I set-
tle for a course load that won’t be too 
early for an in-person semester or too 
late if I stayed home. 

A few days later, the courses are 

updated to reflect their new, virtual 
status. Reality truly sinks in when I 
cancel my housing contract, know-
ing then that there is no turning back. 
A few months later, freshman year 
starts at my desk while awkwardly 
engaging in Zoom icebreakers.

Now, on the other side of my vir-

tual freshman year, I’m still thinking 
about a few questions that I, like many 
others, have wrestled with since start-
ing class: What can I make of college 
without being in college? What does it 
mean to be a Wolverine?

Is it in academics? I had newfound 

freedom in crafting my course sched-
ule this year. My classes challenged 
me in a way that I had never experi-
enced before. I was exposed to new 
ideas, new pedagogical methods and 
incredible peers. At the same time, I 
experienced these things at either 3 
a.m. or via sets of pre-recorded videos. 

Maybe it lies in the many student 

organizations and clubs. I heard of 
events like Festifall and Winterfest, 
featuring hundreds of clubs. Typi-
cally, they would be ripe examples of 
how each student individualizes their 
experience. However, they held vir-
tual meetings at times inaccessible to 
me. Then again, I applied on a whim 
to The Michigan Daily and now find 

myself in the middle of another col-
umn.

I am an avid sports fan. Perhaps 

sports are the secret ingredient? I 
remember hearing about the magic 
atmosphere on campus during game 
days, be it in tailgating or joining thou-
sands of fans in the Big House. COVID-
19 ensured that none of that happened. 

The pandemic couldn’t, however, 

stop me from following Michigan bas-
ketball. I was delighted when we beat 
the Ohio State University in Colum-
bus, Ohio. I was exasperated with the 
University of Illinois over their efforts 
to undermine our regular-season 
championship. I was gutted when Isa-
iah Livers became injured just before 
March Madness. All for a sport, mind 
you, I had never watched regularly 
before this year. 

Siddharth Parmar is an Opinion Columnist 

and can be reached at sidpar@umich.edu.

 

 Read more at michigandaily.com

Design by Tejal Mahajan

ANYA 
SINGH 
| 
CARTOONIST 
CAN 
BE 

CONTACTED 
AT 
ANYAS@UMICH.EDU 

Benjamin Davis is an Opinion Columnist 

and can be reached at bendav@umich.edu.

