by Emma Kahle '10
February 22 - This trimester in Evolution Seminar we have been learning about Charles Darwin and his theories by reading his book On the Origin of Species. We each read a single chapter of the book and became experts on the specific topics listed in our own chapter.
Each of us knowing the details on one particular chapter, we compiled all our knowledge into a “virtual museum” website. Each student is the curator to a page focusing on his or her chapter of Darwin’s book. We encourage you to peruse the website and learn a little bit about Darwin and his book!
Note from Melinda Mueller, Science Teacher:
Earlier this week, I sent an email to Larry Arnhart, a professor of philosophy at Northern Illinois University, whose specialty is Darwin, and who is a longtime advocate of having students read Darwin’s works (I quoted Arnhart’s article, “Fear of Teaching Darwin,” in the Evolution Seminar’s “Virtual Museum”).
I sent Dr. Arnhart an email because I thought he might be interested in what our students had done after reading Darwin, and I included a link to the “Virtual Museum” website. He sent back a kind reply, AND he has posted a comment about the students’ work on his website (which is a running discussion of Darwinian philosophy and pedagogy).
Here’s what Dr. Arnhart wrote on his webpage (http://darwinianconservatism.blogspot.com/ ):
“It is regrettable that so few people actually read Darwin and see the power and poignancy of his mind at work. A few years ago, I suggested that the best way to resolve the dispute over the teaching of Darwinian evolution in high school biology classes would be to allow students to actually read Darwin himself. Most of the criticisms of Darwin can be found in Darwin's own writings--especially, The Origin of Species and The Descent of Man. Darwin openly confronts what he calls the "difficulties" for his theory, and he shows how the alternative to his "theory of natural selection" is the "theory of special creation." If high school students were allowed to read Darwin's writings and then read some of the writings from the proponents of "intelligent design," the students could weigh the evidence and arguments and make up their own minds. But when I proposed this, I was attacked by people like Chris Mooney--author of The Republican War on Science--who insisted that high students were not smart enough to read Darwin for themselves and then reach their own conclusions. Instead, Mooney insisted, they should read only textbooks that tell them what the "experts" think, and they certainly should never be permitted to read any writings criticizing evolution from the viewpoint of "intelligent design."
My original proposal was laid out in a short article for Inside Higher Ed, which can be found here.
Recently, I was delighted to hear about a high school course on evolution at Seattle Academy taught by Melinda Mueller. She agreed with my proposal for teaching Darwin, and she has organized her class around having her students read Darwin's Origin. She found that these high school students were quite capable of reading Darwin for themselves and assessing his argument. As a final class project, she had her students create a webpage--"Virtual Museum of the Origin"--for which each student "curated" a chapter of the Origin.”
In his email reply, Dr. Arnhart said, of the Virtual Museum website, “You have much to be proud of.”
I agree! Congratulations, Evolution Seminar students!
