Evolution and Education
Whenever various debates have taken place in parts of the country regarding whether
evolution should be taught in schools, I have always observed the situation with a degree of incredulousness; neither the parochial education I received in elementary and middle school nor the public education I received for high school ever attempted to dissuade us from learning about evolution, and while none of my classes ever taught evolution with as much depth as Ernst Mayr attempted to convey in What Evolution Is, both systems taught it as a fact – one that we took for granted. The debate on the use of the word "evolution" in the Georgia school system initially appeared to me to be a manifestation of more anti-evolution tendencies, although Superintendent Kathy Cox has not commented on the theory of evolution itself; "the unfortunate truth," stated Cox as her rationale, "is that 'evolution' has become a controversial buzzword that could prevent some from reading the proposed biology curriculum" (Gross A10). Whatever her own beliefs on the subject are, however, the elimination of the term "evolution" may provide cool comfort to the theory's detractors, but its overall effect is merely to hamper the student's understanding of what evolution entails.
In place of "evolution," Georgia's proposed replacement is "biological changes over
time"; it hopes to convey the meaning behind the word without using the word itself (Gross A10). Mayr's own definition seems to be rather similar when he states, "Evolution is change in the properties of populations of organisms over time," but a word expresses more than what a clipped dictionary definition can allow (Mayr 8). When "evolution" is used in daily parlance in a non-biological context, adaption is often an unspoken yet important component of it. If one speaks of "evolving as a person" or "evolving in his role as team captain," there is a sense that one is moving from a less-adapted state to becoming better suited for whatever it is one does. It implies that there is a development of certain qualities to be better suited for the environment an individual may find him- or herself in, not simply "changes over time" for the sake of change; while there is indeed a degree of randomness in how a species may evolve (or come to destruction, as the well-adapted dinosaurs did when a meteor struck and indelibly altered the environment), for the most part the changes are not entirely due to chance.
One of the most controversial topics in the United States in recent years has been the route which should be undertaken in overhauling the healthcare system for the millions of Americans who are currently uninsured. It is important to note that the goal of the Affordable Care Act is to make healthcare affordable; it provides low-cost, government-subsidized insurance options through the State Health Insurance Marketplace (Amadeo 1). Our current president, Barack Obama, made it one of his goals to bring healthcare to all Americans through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. This plan, which has been termed “Obamacare”, has come under scrutiny from many Americans, but has also received a large amount of support in turn for a variety of reasons. Some of these reasons include a decrease in insurance discrimination on the basis of health or gender and affordable healthcare coverage for the millions of uninsured. The opposition to this act has cited increased costs and debt accumulation, a reduction in employer healthcare coverage options, as well as a penalization of those already using private healthcare insurance.
Australopithecus afarensis who existed 3.5 million years ago and a 4.4 million year old skeleton of an Ardipithecus ramidus are the closest science has come to discovering the human lineage. Shattered Ancestry an article written by Katherine Harmon discusses the remains of two hominids found within Ethiopia. These skeletal remains have created a huge controversy within the topic of evolution questioning many assumptions that have been made referencing the human lineage. The skeleton of the Australopithecus afarensis was named Lucy and was discovered in 1974. The evidence of her walking upright on her two feet essentially guaranteed her a spot in the human lineage line. Lucy was a chimplike ape that was said to walk upright making scientists believe the human ancestry was simple. The complete skeleton found in Ethiopia of an Ardipithecus ramidus named Ardi completely changed all assumptions made from scientists about the complexity of the human lineage. These remains have encouraged researches that the human line is not the only lineage to have evolved but the chimpanzee line has undergone drastic changes as well. There are many traits that researchers have always directly linked to the human lineage however since these discoveries occurred researchers are reconsidering. The recent discoveries that have shattered what has always suggested what linked a species to the human lineage have changed the certainty of whether it is possible to confidently identify the human’s last common ancestor. Majority of scientist had forgotten that there would have been many hominid species living together at one time. New theories have been suggested since scientists revealed that the foot of a hominid found called the Burtele site was found ju...
Few professional basketball athletes’ names are recognizable to the avid, diehard basketball fans and the uninterested layman alike. One of the first, if not the first, athlete to pop up in anyone’s head is the legendary Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan, also known as His Airness, MJ, and Air Jordan, is widely considered the greatest basketball players of all time. Throughout his professional career, Jordan kept changing the game and redefined the entire sport of basketball. However, in 2002, an aspiring athlete by the name of LeBron Raymone James, also known as King James or simply LeBron, immediately rose to prominence and caught the attention of the entire NBA community. The young star quickly proved his tremendous skill, receiving the hype of being the next Michael Jordan. Looking closer, I found that the similarities between the two players are striking.
McCormack, John. "No, You Can't Keep It; Nice plan you had there. Shame you had to lose it."
Evolution has been taught in all public schools for as long as many can recall. Though the process of evolution is not the only theory, schools have been teaching it as if it is the complete truth, ignoring other aspects and only focusing and targeting on Darwin's theory of Evolution. However, there are still many other ideas that the students should be informed of as well because all are theories, all are hypothetic. Teaching of the evolution theory have yet to be proven reliable and confirmed by all scientists, thus it should not be taught in schools and should be left for students to wonder and discover by themselves.
When people think of basketball and the great players that play today we all think of Lebron James, Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, and I mean lets face it we can name players whom play the game very well till we are blue in the face. All these players that were thinking of and naming have something in common which is none of them can compare to what Michael Jordan has done to the game. Some people say he destroyed the game making it that everything people accomplish is compared to what he has done in his career. Which happens when everyone i...
What is evolution and how does it work? Evolution is the theory of how one form of life changes into another form. Evolution also is the change in a population’s inherited traits from generation to generation. Evolution helps to explain why an animal, human, and plant looks the way it does and acts the way it does; it gives an explanation of the history of life. Genes come in many varieties, and the evolution helps to make it happen.
Since the time that teaching evolution in public schools was banned as heresy and taboo for contradicting the Bible, most public school systems today take an opposite approach in which creationism is seldom ta...
It was not until the year 2002 that the NBA was able to find someone to match Jordan’s dazzling acrobatic style of play. His name is Lebron James. Lebron, who plays shooting guard and small forward, stands at an athletic six-eight. James, however, never played in the NCAA. He was drafted straight out of high school in the 2003-04 season, by the Cleveland Cavaliers. James is already on the road to success by achieving co-rookie of the year, and he appeared in the Olympics. James is expected to be a champion, but he may not have what it takes to become a real champion such as Michael Jordan was. Before Jordan or James can be categorized as a champion, they have to be able to handle pressure, fame, and maintain a positive relationship with their team. When comparing Jordan and James’ clutch capabilities, or their ab...
Today, Jordan likes to spend time with his wife and three children Jeffrey Michael, Marcus James, and Jasmine Mickael. He also likes to stay fit and healthy by playing golf and exercising daily. Plus he is the out spoken owner of the Charlotte Bobcats and also the largest endorser for Nike. (McCallum 1) Even to this day young kids know who he is because of the basketball legacy he left behind. His logo is on every other kid’s clothes, its everywhere. But, you don’t just get that recognition automatically, you have to be able to show why you deserve it and Michael’s career and life as a whole deserve that recognition no doubt. (McCormick 41)
Michael Jordan was a hard worker from the beginning of his life to today. Jordan grew up in Wilmington, NC, and he developed a very competitive attitude from an early age. His father says he was born with this “competitive problem”, and that the one person he tries to outdo more than anyone else is himself (Michael Jordan Biography). During his high school years, Michael Jordan became more and more interested with the game of basketball, he enjoyed it. On a November Evening in 1978, 50 teenage guys packed into one gymnasium (later named Michael J. Jordan Gymnasium) at Laney High School, excited to get a shot at making their basketball team. Among those guys was 16 year old Michael J. Jordan. Coaches took note of MJ’s Effort more than anything else, because everything else, to them, was mediocre. It was a rare event if as sophomore made the varsity team, and 5’10 Michael was hoping he would be on the roster when he took a look at it the next day. Sadly, he was not on the list. What made the experience even worse, one of his close sophomore buddies, 6’7 Leroy Smith, made the varsity team over Michael. Jordan’s name sat on the JV roster. Though, this was a sad experience for Michael, he quickly got over it, and became a JV star. The summer after his sophomore yea...
"Impacts of the Affordable Care Act." USA Today. 16 Mar. 2012: A4. eLibrary. Web. 14 Feb. 2014.
At every level of basketball there are players that have shined on and off the court, this is true for two exceptional players like Michael Jordan and LeBron James. The debate over these two marvelous athletes and who is the better of the two, has divided sports fans since LeBron earned his first Finals Championship.
Due to the mark Michael Jordan has left on the world as the “G.O.A.T.”, it will be very difficult for any player to surpass his legacy. Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant and LeBron James all have similarities of Michael Jordan but, out of all three players James is the closest. LeBron has the most similarities and the potential to surpass Michael Jordan’s legacy with his personality, stats and he popularity on and off the court. Even though James has the potential to surpass his legacy, there is still a very long journey ahead of James if he ever wants to be considered the “G.O.A.T.”.
Hazardous materials can be important in everyday life when properly handled. However, when improperly handled, they can result in injury, death, and destruction as well as have lingering effects that may last for years to come. To address the risk of an uncontrolled hazardous materials release, there must be a coordinated effort to identify, locate, and quantify the hazardous materials in a particular location (Drexel University Safety & Health, 2001). Typically, industry and government agree that a hazardous materials incident is one where