Should evolution be taught in schools?

This questions has been widely debated and

criticized over time between those who believe in evolution and those who believe in
creationism. Evolution is the process of living organisms developing throughout time into their
current state, changed somehow from their original state. Creationism is the belief that
everything within the universe was created by a biblical God, rather than the natural and
scientific process of evolution. The country is still very much divided in the issue of evolution
versus creationism, according to a poll done in 2012. But why is it an issue?
In 2012, Huffington Post did a poll covering all 50 states to see how many Americans
believed that God took part in creating Earth. The results showed that on average, 46%
believed that God had some hand in how our Earth is today. A very strong belief in God could
have pushed this belief, or it could have been a lack of education in terms of evolution. In
Louisiana and Tennessee, schools are permitted to teach alternatives to evolution and
openly teach creationism as science. This could contribute to the high number of people that
believe that God created the Earth roughly 6,000 years ago. There are also many private
schools and charter schools around the country that also teach creationism, including
Wisconsin. I believe that these schools teaching creationism and evolution, possibly not
teaching evolution at all, plays a big factor into why our population is so uneducated on
Earths evolvement.
I believe teaching evolution in public schools across the country is important. Evolution
shows how the earth has evolved and changed throughout time, and it is fascinating to see.
Those who dont believe in evolution, or who say that since it is just a theory that it is not
real, are missing so much extra knowledge that could enhance their lives. Evolution
challenges religion, which some people have been taught since birth. New ideas and
changing beliefs on something as big as how the world is created can be a large step to
overcome, but evolution has scientific facts and artifacts to back it up. Humans didnt appear
on earth out of nowhere, we evolved into what we are now, and our strongest features and
capabilities allowed us to adapt and survive. We will continue to have the strongest live
longer, and we will continue to adapt into stronger people.
If schools want the option to teach both creationism and evolution then I feel they
should have that option, but it should be a set curriculum that is taken seriously and taught
equally. Schools in Louisiana and Tennessee, as mentioned earlier, are given the options to
teach alternatives, and in result seem to brush over evolution and focus solely on creation.
This creates a clear bias and educational gap, not allowing everyone an equal education
across the country. If an educational board and parents are set on having creationism taught
in schools, then have it mandated to have evolution be taught as well. Students often times
are willing to learn, but in my opinion Id want to learn about things that can be backed up by
facts rather than opinion.
Overall, my final opinion is that evolution should be required in all public schools. The
scientific knowledge on how the planet we live on was formed, and how we came to be, is
important knowledge to learn about. In high school, we are at a very impressionable age.
Teach us information and let us make up our minds and decide what to do with the
information given.

Second Essay: Why creationism doesnt belong in schools.

Creationism vs. evolution in schools has been widely debated, which should we teach?
Technically, several court decisions prohibit the teaching of creationism and other alternatives
to evolution. One of the biggest cases being Edwards vs. Aguillard. This case denied
Louisianas Creationism Act, which banned the teaching of evolution unless it was to help
further the teaching of creationism (ncse.com). This, however, does not stop teaching across
several states in the U.S., especially Louisiana and Tennessee. Those who identify as
Evangelical Protestant are among one of the religious groups with the largest populations of
denial about evolution (pewresearch.org). Roughly 57% of evangelicals say that humans
have always existed in the present form. Building on this, evangelicals have a larger
population in the south- this includes Tennessee and Louisiana (see image). Outside of a
specific religion, most Americans, 59%, say that science and religion arent in agreement.
98% of scientist are in complete agreement about evolution and how humans evolved, further
proving that religion and creationism is the problem leading to doubt and varying numbers (in
percentages among Americans). A large number of Americans do believe in some sort of
evolution, at 62%, but only half of that number (33%) believe that humans evolved on their
own. One fourth of Americans say that our evolution was in some way guided by another
being, while 34% of Americans reject evolution completely. Evolution is science, backed up by
facts and history. Creationism is a belief, and is backed up by a book.