I come from a Social Studies and History background. From my past understanding, the concept of evolution was a debate where one side was rooted in scientific research and the other was rooted in religious beliefs. This debate is a social issue for me because it involves the perspectives of individuals based on their beliefs. I have always believed in the reality of evolution despite my religious beliefs. It has been a difficult concept for me to grasp recently as a whole because of how complex it is. The migration map activity is really where it all sunk in for me. Even though I know that evolution is the true fact of science, it’s so hard to grasp because of how long ago all of this occurred. It is making me come to terms with my own humanity in a way.
In the Alters reading, “Why Should Students Learn Evolution?”, the authors presented the case for why students should learn about evolution in schools. It utilized the argument that the theme of evolution in an integral part of many fields, not only anthropology. As an individual, I found these arguments compelling, but I already think that evolution should be taught in schools. In my 6th grade science class, my teacher prefaced our lesson on evolution by saying we can have whatever religious beliefs we want, but this is what we need to learn for class, so we’re going to learn it. I think students should learn that they can balance both. There are scientific studies and then there’s the church. What I didn’t think was effective in the article was that if a person didn’t believe that evolution was fact, they would not be swayed by the arguments made in the article. There was no debunking of myth.
From a historical perspective, evolution remains a debate between individuals with different belief systems. From a social studies perspective, we’ve seen how these debates on evolution have taken place on the world stage – i.e. genocide, slavery, eugenics, etc. Tyrants have used a warped version of evolution as the basis for oppression, enslavement, and war for centuries all across the world. This is how I have studied evolution – through the impact it has had on ideologies among groups, leaders, and governments. But now, I am studying evolution from the lens of how it works and has truly changed the make-up of this planet and it’s mind-blowing.
This week’s readings and activities did not really change my views of history or social studies, especially considering the contemporary perspective of history and social studies that I want to teach as a history teacher. I definitely learned a lot in terms of the history of the world and our history as a species. This week’s lessons shed light on the huge changes we have seen as a species and the huge changes we have undergone as organisms on this planet. This experience has really made me thankful for all the blessings I have in my life right now.