So I teach mostly 10th grade biology and one class of 11th and 12th grade anatomy and physiology. One of my A&P students, one who is probably someone I'd least expect of this, stopped by my room yesterday after school to discuss evolution with me. It's kind of timely because I'm listening to the audiobook of Richard Dawkins The Greatest Show on Earth - The Evidence for Evolution. This is a kid that I, in my naivety, assumed has very little going on upstairs. Apparently more than I assumed! He is honestly curious about evolution, in spite of the fact that he spent years in a Baptist school where his teachers constantly told him that "Darwinism is a religion and shouldn't be taught in school."

We discussed some of the tenets of evolution, which I sometimes find difficult to keep on an easily understandable basis. Dawkins' book, for instance, is great for covering the various facets of the theory, but unfortunately some of his wording is a bit...high brow?...for lack of a better term, and fly by so quickly that you have to really be paying attention and have a bit of a scientific background to fully appreciate it. So when I discuss something as complicated as evolution by natural selection, I have to be very careful to not simplify it so much that I take away from its elegance, but not over analyze it with students so that they walk away only confused and not understanding much at all. I personally find the theory to be so amazing that I'm very passionate about it, and I try to portray that passion to my students without just overwhelming them.

Unfortunately he didn't have a lot of time yesterday afternoon because of an after school program he's involved in to keep his grades up, but we've made an appointment for Monday afternoon to continue the discussion.

This is why I teach. I love to see real intellectual curiosity in my students. I can only hope that, even if they don't show it now, some of my students go on to become intellectual curious (and scientifically literate!) people as adults.

Anyway, just thought I'd share. Thanks for reading.

Disclaimer: Any use of the word "theory" in the previous passage is to be strictly used in the scientific sense, that is, a way to describe and explain a huge array of observations; not in the layman's use as "a random ass guess."