Sunday, October 28, 2007 | Reason : In the News | print version

Evolution to be taught in SA schools

by Thabo Mohlala, Guardian

A clash between secular and religious conscience could unfold in South Africa's education system -- and different interest groups are set to line up against one another.

The teaching of evolution to grade 12 learners from next year might trigger an uproar among South African parents, teachers and religious sectors.

Evolution, which will be offered as part of life sciences under the new grade 10 to 12 curriculum by public and private schools, is rated highly by education experts because they believe it teaches learners to think critically and analytically.

Its proposed teaching is bound to rattle established norms and beliefs because evolution theory, and its growing body of followers, invariably generates tension between secular, atheist scientists and conservative religions.

In the United States a group of Christian parents instituted legal action in 2005 to challenge the implementation of teaching evolution at schools because they felt it undermined their notion of God.

Josef de Beer, a lecturer in the faculty of education at the University of Johannesburg, said teachers of evolution might have religious concerns. "My experience in teaching evolution in a foundation-year programme at the University of Pretoria is that many students find evolution problematic because of their religious beliefs."

At a recent conference on teacher training, a teacher said: "I am disappointed about the fact that evolution attacks God's creation. It also mixes Genesis with idol worshippers of Babylon, which were never there when God created planet Earth."

Another said he thought the topic should be voluntary because he didn't think it suitable for people who believe in God. "I am totally against evolution," another teacher said.

Matters came to a head after snippets of a video, Tiny Humans: Finding Hobbits in Flores, was shown. The video traces the origin of tiny prehistoric humans somewhere on an Indonesian island. They are depicted as short and dark-skinned people. This offended some black teachers. They said that evolution was a racist theory. It "terribly undermines black people, everything bad gets a black colour. It means blacks were apes," they said.

De Beer said there were genuine concerns about teachers' preparedness. "I do not think that all teachers are ready for the challenge to teach evolution in grade 12 life sciences next year. There is an urgent need to train teachers to deal with this complex issue in the classroom."

De Beer and Hugo van Rooyen designed a short course aimed at preparing and empowering teachers on how best to handle evolution in a classroom situation without inflaming religious passions. But Penny Vinjevold, deputy director general for further education and training, said the education department had offered a number of workshops and produced a guide for teachers and parents.

The department had been "sensitive to the views of a wide range of persons and attempts at all times to demonstrate this sensitivity" in introducing evolution.

Teachers of evolution will need to be well trained.

No child would be compelled to "adopt" or "defend the viewpoint or any way subscribe to evolution". So there could be no reason for parents to take legal action, Vinjevold said.

The department took into account the fact that different theories offered a variety of explanations on the origin of human beings. Evolution was one of such explanations and learners were not expected to believe it, but to see it as one school of thought, she said.

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1. Comment #82839 by Eamonn Shute on October 28, 2007 at 2:27 am

"evolution .... also mixes Genesis with idol worshippers of Babylon"

WTF!!!!!!!!!

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2. Comment #82841 by BigChiefRainInFace on October 28, 2007 at 2:29 am

White light is the summation of all visible wavelenghts while dark is the absence of those wavelenghts. I find that offensive because it's saying black people are worse than white people. Therefore, it should not be taught in schools.

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3. Comment #82845 by gaving on October 28, 2007 at 2:46 am

This is so sad.

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4. Comment #82847 by TQY on October 28, 2007 at 2:49 am

"At a recent conference on teacher training, a teacher said: 'I am disappointed about the fact that evolution attacks God's creation. It also mixes Genesis with idol worshippers of Babylon, which were never there when God created planet Earth.' "

Can someone explain to me why this individual wasn't shown the door as soon as these words left his/her mouth?

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5. Comment #82850 by windweaver on October 28, 2007 at 2:59 am

When I visited South Africa, I was struck by the large number of Christian fundamentalists-especially among the Afrikaner population.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afrikaner_Calvinism

Other Comments by windweaver

6. Comment #82852 by jeremynel on October 28, 2007 at 3:17 am

As a South African, I have very much mixed feelings about the article.

The comments by the teachers and even by the administrators are stupid, and deeply depressing.

Yet recall that Grade 12 is the final year before entering university, and that "life sciences" is basically the new name [wince] for biology. Evolution was always mentioned implicitly before, but to expand its weighting as part of the new curriculum is very encouraging, if LONG overdue.

Perhaps after a few years, even the teachers will be educated.

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7. Comment #82858 by briancoughlanworldcitizen on October 28, 2007 at 3:36 am

5. Comment #82850 by windweaver on October 28, 2007 at 2:59 am
When I visited South Africa, I was struck by the large number of Christian fundamentalists-especially among the Afrikaner population

I lived there as a teenager, and it's where I became a fundamentalist. My mother died recently, and when I was over for the funeral I was appalled at how superstitious and religious practically everyone was.

I came away thinking that it was the result of some kind of cross cultural pollination. Culturally, black people in SA are incredibly superstitous and spectacularly credulous, this has had an effect on the whites which manifests itself in Christian fundamentalism. Ghosts, demon possession, voodoo, reincarnation ... they lap it all up. Wild compared to Sweden.

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8. Comment #82859 by monoape on October 28, 2007 at 3:38 am

Hmmm, this might explain why the one SA person I know got very prickly when I mentioned my admiration and support for Dawkins, Hitchens and Harris. Regrettably I didn't have the courage to pursue the issue and changed the conversation. Maybe next time....

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9. Comment #82862 by drive1 on October 28, 2007 at 4:28 am

In a desperate attempt to find one redeeming feature in this article, I found this towards the end ..

Teachers of evolution will need to be well trained.

Phew! I am deliberately ignoring the fact that 'well trained' probably refers to coaching in not offending religious, cultural or racial sensibilities.

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10. Comment #82863 by Matt7895 on October 28, 2007 at 4:29 am

"Evolution, which will be offered as part of life sciences under the new grade 10 to 12 curriculum by public and private schools, is rated highly by education experts because they believe it teaches learners to think critically and analytically."

And maybe because there's overwhelming evidence to support it? Modern biology makes no sense without it?

Stupid article, I'd have expected better from the science-friendly Guardian.

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11. Comment #82867 by Eamonn Shute on October 28, 2007 at 4:35 am

"Stupid article, I'd have expected better from the science-friendly Guardian."

It is actually a South African paper, not the UK Guardian.

http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=323114&area=/insight/insight__national/

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12. Comment #82871 by phasmagigas on October 28, 2007 at 4:57 am

Matters came to a head after snippets of a video, Tiny Humans: Finding Hobbits in Flores, was shown. The video traces the origin of tiny prehistoric humans somewhere on an Indonesian island. They are depicted as short and dark-skinned people. This offended some black teachers. They said that evolution was a racist theory. It "terribly undermines black people, everything bad gets a black colour. It means blacks were apes," they said.

this sums up quite well just how poorly educated (at least missing modern biology anyway) some people are and how poorly represented evolution is.

If only the person quoted realised that the flores folk were likely black for living in the tropics and that all humans are apes then there would be no problem.

the real tragedy here is that evolution is the framework that dispels racist myths from our culture. ironically it is white conservative christians who like to maintain them, their supposed superior place in the universe undermined when evolutionary evidence places all people equally diverged from our common ancestors.

Its a double edged sword, seems that evolution falsley applied for nefarious reasons can be used to suggest that black people are closer to apes than non blacks (and theres a false dichotomy if there ever was one:black/non-black))so its opposed and then on the other edge it can be opposed again if applied properly, as accepting it doest give racists their falsely implied priveleged position (in relation to what? God?)

seems that these people really do need to be taught evolution, what an incredible tool for seeing through bullshit. SA has a lot of catching up.

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13. Comment #82872 by Shaker on October 28, 2007 at 5:01 am

""I am totally against evolution," another teacher said."

"I am also strongly against gravity and the germ theory of disease," replied another.

OK, I made up the second quote - but it amounts to exactly the same thing.

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14. Comment #82883 by Corylus on October 28, 2007 at 5:56 am

They are depicted as short and dark-skinned people. This offended some black teachers. They said that evolution was a racist theory. It "terribly undermines black people, everything bad gets a black colour. It means blacks were apes," they said.

I see. By that analysis the article below is a dreadful example of "ginger prejudice"

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7062415.stm

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15. Comment #82884 by alexmzk on October 28, 2007 at 5:59 am

"The video traces the origin of tiny prehistoric humans somewhere on an Indonesian island. They are depicted as short and dark-skinned people. This offended some black teachers. They said that evolution was a racist theory. It "terribly undermines black people, everything bad gets a black colour. It means blacks were apes," they said."

well, the ancestors of humanity were likely black - is this offensive? if you take offence at history, it won't change history. it's not like our ancestors were "dark-skinned" on purpose just to make modern Africans feel uncomfortable.

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16. Comment #82900 by Greybishop on October 28, 2007 at 7:56 am

In the United States a group of Christian parents instituted legal action in 2005 to challenge the implementation of teaching evolution at schools because they felt it undermined their notion of God.

I love how this makes it sound like teaching evolution is not the practice in public schools in the United States.

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17. Comment #82907 by NJS on October 28, 2007 at 8:18 am

Its sad that South Africa has in many ways lived up to warnings of the pro-apartheid idiots who predicted what would happen. I think many African countries suffer from having been ruled for too long and the new "owners" not knowing how its really done. Sorry if I sound patronising.

I also think its a missed opportunity for some species pride - I would like to see Africans talk up the fact that its our "birthplace" (obviously not in a biblical sense) but unfortunately ignorant Christians (remember the bishop who dismissed Turkana boy) and other nonsense holds the continent back.

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18. Comment #82925 by js5535 on October 28, 2007 at 9:25 am

"This offended some black teachers. They said that evolution was a racist theory. It "terribly undermines black people, everything bad gets a black colour. It means blacks were apes," they said."

It means they are apes, just like the rest of us, and if diversity is of any value, Africans win.

Do they remember who the chief supporters of apartheid were? Conservative Christians, and it was based on Calvinist Elect theology.
I didn't know this pathetic ignorance existed there. You'd think teachers would have some better idea of evolution, considering that South Africa and it's neighbors are a major source of early human fossils, and a proper understanding of evolution defeats any racist notions.

"I am disappointed about the fact that evolution attacks God's creation. It also mixes Genesis with idol worshippers of Babylon, which were never there when God created planet Earth."

This should be on FSTDT.

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19. Comment #82936 by ridelo on October 28, 2007 at 9:55 am

Any animal that evolved under lavish sunshine is in some way protected against it. Being black is one way to do it. Nothing to be proud or ashamed of.

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20. Comment #82965 by The Schuermannator on October 28, 2007 at 11:18 am

Stupid Teacher says:

"I am disappointed about the fact that evolution attacks God's creation. It also mixes Genesis with idol worshippers of Babylon, which were never there when God created planet Earth."

Another Stupid Teacher says:

"I am disappointed about the fact that stellar evolution attacks God's creation. It also mixes Genesis with a heliocentric worldview, which is not how it was when God created planet Earth."

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21. Comment #82973 by THEEVANGELIST on October 28, 2007 at 11:55 am

As an African, I can vouch for some the sentiments expressed in the Guardian article. I was born and spent the first two decades of my life in Cameroon, a country with a fast growing christian fundamentalist population. All my parents and siblings but one would describe themselves as biblical literalists, and thus creationists. I have relations and close Cameroonian friend, who although are in the most rational of professions (doctors, scientists and engineers) are totally unpersuaded by the evidence of evolution largely for religious reasons.

To the best of my memory, evolution was only given a cursory glance in our biology programme in high school. I have two reasons for that; the poor preparedness of the teachers and secondly the dissonance it would have caused to teach a subject that contradicts the basis of fundamentalist christian ethos. When I last travelled to Cameroon 10 years ago, I was appalled at the rampaging inroads christian literalism was making into the fabric of the society. My personal impression is that if this is left to continue unchecked, the intellectual fibre of the population may be irreparable damaged. I know these are strong sentiments, but we all know how long it takes to correct societal malaises ( think of slavery, prejudices - racial, gender, sexual, etc)

This christmass I have resolved to give as present to close friends and familiy the brilliant book by Kenneth Miller, "Finding Darwin's God". All I can hope for is that it gets read, since this is a book by a christian scientist.

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22. Comment #82974 by NJS on October 28, 2007 at 12:04 pm

From what THEEVANGELIST says I have another worry. Our close relationship to the great African apes can provide a compelling argument for their protection. If so many African people reject that relationship out of hand then I fear for their existence.

I know sometimes arguments against bush meat are hard in the context of poor, starving people but I'd assumed if that could be addressed, then an "instinctive" ethical argument against killing chimps and gorillas could be made. This makes me doubt that hope.

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23. Comment #82984 by Logicel on October 28, 2007 at 12:32 pm

Sigh.

When just a wee nursing student decades ago, I encountered a beautiful, young, and very pregnant African American who came to the NYC public hospital for an abortion (this was right after when abortion became legal). She had ignorantly thought that the abortion procedure would be in the form of a sharp metal object thrust up her, and that it could pierce her heart (apparently wearing a tampon was a great stress for her also, as she thought she ran the chance of it 'floating' into her heart). I was able to teach her the facts, and her great anxiety eased away (her willingness to submit herself to this misconceived notion of the actual procedure showed how much she wanted an abortion!).

Anyway, her depth of ignorance matches that of these SA teachers, except she wasn't a teacher. This program is a step in the right direction, but they will have their hands full disintegrating such ignorance.

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24. Comment #82988 by The Schuermannator on October 28, 2007 at 12:47 pm

Logicel:

It's hard to grasp the idea that anyone living in this country would think that's how the procedure is performed. I'm no medical major at all, and have very little knowledge of how an actual abortion is performed. But, at the same time as a fairly rational guy, I would never imagine abortion as a sword being pushed through my uterus.

Would it be fair to say that in this day and age anyone who'd have such a misconception of abortion would also be unfit for being a mother in the first place? Perhaps that would go along with trying to train religious teachers in SA to teach evolution. And, is it fair to say that miseducation is much worse than the lack of education?

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25. Comment #82998 by Logicel on October 28, 2007 at 1:28 pm

Schuermannator, ah, once she was educated by me, she no longer had that bit of ignorance--she thought that the uterus was connected to her heart by a series of wide tubes. Guided by her description, I was able to introduce the concept of separate organs being fed by a vascular system. She easily understood my explanation. Is the erasing of this particular ignorance suitable for her becoming eventually a mother? I have no idea, but I have been known to take occasional umbrage at people who say that motherhood is natural, good, beneficial, blah, blah, blah, a women has the right to have children, blah, blah, blah.

Teachers and mothers, they do such important work, we seem to have some kind of structure to determine the worthiness of teachers, but not for mothers/parents (before they become parents, that is, afterwards, there is a quite a lot of meddling that is encouraged by the government).

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26. Comment #83002 by Logicel on October 28, 2007 at 1:38 pm

Schuermannator, regarding your question concerning whether or not it makes any sense that teachers who have such a misunderstanding of science and a resistance to understanding it because of their religious beliefs, to be allowed to teach evolution as it would be nonsensical to think they could ever overcome their resistance. Well, at the very least, the SA school boards need to stay on top of this situation and keep monitoring it. And if the teachers can't comply then they should not be teaching.

EDIT, and miseducation and lack of education both suck.

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27. Comment #83020 by Mr DArcy on October 28, 2007 at 2:54 pm

Yes, there is indeed a lot of ignorance to dispel in this world. But better to do that than give up the ghost!

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28. Comment #83033 by Matt7895 on October 28, 2007 at 4:29 pm

These people need to get it into their heads that black people ARE apes, just like every other human on this Earth!

It reminds me of 'Root of all evil?' when Haggard drives past Dawkins after the interview shouting, "You call my children animals?"

Duh....

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29. Comment #83067 by Vadjong on October 28, 2007 at 8:03 pm

This offended some black teachers. They said that evolution was a racist theory.

These people REALLY should study evolution !
Their idea of racism is so deep ingrained, they are the racist ones. Ignorance is ugly.

Send over the 'The Ancestor's Tale' pronto, please.
(and 'Mapping Human History' by Steve Olson ; 'The Jouney of Man' by Spencer Wells ; even 'The Seven Daughters of Eve' by Bryan Sykes, etc.)

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30. Comment #83109 by Jonathan Dore on October 29, 2007 at 1:18 am

Part of the problem seems to be that evolution is considered to be something taught to those in late teenage years just before they leave high school. They wouldn't encounter so much resistance if they started teaching it to 5 year olds.

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31. Comment #83114 by logical on October 29, 2007 at 1:55 am

"ginger prejudice"
Corylus, I love that so much that I want to change my name!
Can anyone tell me how to do it?

And still I am occasionally saddened by the fact that I cannot get a suntan, only get sunburns!

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32. Comment #83139 by bluebird on October 29, 2007 at 3:57 am

Corylus, thanks for that link. Our younger son with the auburn mane will find this interesting (he'll love the term 'firey lockes'!!).
*****

Teaching evolution is made more difficult when people on U.S. TV programs (a few are aired in various countries) proclaim seriously: "I didn't come from no monkey!" It fuels the fire of ignorance.

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33. Comment #83151 by Vaal on October 29, 2007 at 4:53 am

I wouldn't let some of these so called "teachers" run a kebab stand, let alone be responsible for inculcating such mind numbing inane nonsense in the minds of the young.

Astonishing how the spectre of alleged racism raises its ugly head. We were ALL originally from Africa and had dark skin, this is determined by the pigment (melanin) in the skin. Sun exposure increases melanin production, to protect the skin against harmful UVA.

When humans and pre-humans such as Homo Erectus migrated to less sun-intensive regions in the North, then low vitamin D levels became a problem, and lighter pigment emerged. Very simple and a classic example of evolution at work.

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34. Comment #83163 by wandapec on October 29, 2007 at 5:57 am

Comment #82845 by gaving on October 28, 2007 at 2:46 am

This is so sad.

You got it so spot on!

Comment #82872 by Shaker on October 28, 2007 at 5:01 am

""I am totally against evolution," another teacher said."

"I am also strongly against gravity and the germ theory of disease," replied another.

OK, I made up the second quote - but it amounts to exactly the same thing.

It's funny, that's the first thing that came to mind when I read it.

I grew up in Zimbabwe and we did O'levels and A'levels and were forced to go to church every Sunday at school. I didn't for one minute think there was anything other than evolution - either that or I nodded off during the 10 minutes when creationism was discussed (And dismissed).

Comment #82850 by windweaver on October 28, 2007 at 2:59 am
When I visited South Africa, I was struck by the large number of Christian fundamentalists-especially among the Afrikaner population.

I am now living in South Africa and it is unbelievable how religious this place is! It could give the American bible belt a run for it's money! I drove through a small town near the Drakensberg mountains this morning that had more churches than houses! I really need to get out of here but the weather is great!

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35. Comment #83173 by Ford Prefect on October 29, 2007 at 6:46 am

Matters came to a head after snippets of a video, Tiny Humans: Finding Hobbits in Flores, was shown. The video traces the origin of tiny prehistoric humans somewhere on an Indonesian island. They are depicted as short and dark-skinned people. This offended some black teachers. They said that evolution was a racist theory. It "terribly undermines black people, everything bad gets a black colour. It means blacks were apes," they said.

What colour were Adam & Eve ?

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36. Comment #83200 by Nick Good on October 29, 2007 at 9:07 am

I live in South Africa; indeed I'm typing this from a game farm in the Northern Province lowveldt near Hoedspruit.

Many South African's are very heavy duty Christian, especially Afrikaners; it's a real issue here. In many ways SA Christianity reminds me of Northern Ireland Protestantism, the same same staunch, bigoted mind set.

People are often shocked to the core when one declares one's complete lack of belief. Something I don't go out my way to do, unless I'm put upon by religious presumption; sadly all too common here.

I'd like to see Richard Dawkins come out here. and perhaps give a lecture at the 'Cradle of Humanity' world heritage site at Sterkfonein, famous for discovery of early hominids. A fantastic facility and a more than fitting venue http://www.maropeng.co.za/.

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37. Comment #83203 by konquererz on October 29, 2007 at 9:12 am

The more information and data scientists get, the more sound and solid evolution becomes, the more this madness of creation spreads. Why does it become more and more difficult to get this across to people?

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38. Comment #83209 by NJS on October 29, 2007 at 9:24 am

Another thought:

If evolution is racist because it belittles black people then how do they explain their blackness given a creationist stance?

They presumably believe in a middle eastern "eden" so who poplulated Africa? I vaguely remember some nonsense about one of Noah's sons but I don't remember "and they came to be black".

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39. Comment #83219 by THEEVANGELIST on October 29, 2007 at 10:08 am

The African christian mindset is a very dichotomous one. The african christain sees the Judeo-christian mythology (ie christianity)as a enlightened concrete reality as opposed to the indigeneous native religions which they classify as pure superstitions and therefore part of the satanic realm. African native religions are still very much embedded into the mindset of the people despite many century of exposure to the Abrahamic religions. For me, this is easily explained; all forms of religions satisfy the same human emotions of fear, hope and quest for the un-explained.

Western Europe has taken a different route to secularity. Firstly, by sheer historical chance, a minority middle eastern cult gained political supremacy, then persecuted and marginalised other competitive alternatives throughout most of western Europe. Going from a one-religious society to a no-religious society now only consists in dismantling the present on religion. In African there are a myriad of religions to contend with, each one having very specific role in the lives of the people, however vacuous that role may be. Yes, the challenge for rationalistic thinking in such highly superstitious millieu are enormous.

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40. Comment #83228 by Mat on October 29, 2007 at 11:09 am

I live in South Africa at the moment, and can certainly confirm that full-on, no-thought-required, Christian fundamentalism is alive and well. My well-educated South African colleagues (of all skin colours, incidentally...) all subscribe to some form of theistic belief system. The only real question you can ask is not whether they believe in God, but how much they believe in their particular God. I certainly haven't paraded my lack of belief or challenged them in theirs, but it is scary that so many people here (of all skin colours) hew so closely to a philosophy and mindset that actively requires that they do no use critical thinking in any way. And in a way I find it almost personally insulting that South Africa can have some of the most amazing proto-human remains and yet people wilfully ignore this breathtaking, awesome knowledge. SA has a lot of problems at the moment - and I guarantee that they will NOT be solved by theology...

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41. Comment #83349 by HappyPrimate on October 29, 2007 at 6:38 pm

Fundamental religion preys on the uneducated and emotionally stressed very effectively. It got its foothold on that basis. How appealing to be told that you can give all your troubles over to a big sky daddy - nevermind that your situation never improves or gets worse, you will get your reward after you die. Looks really attractive to the poor and downhearted. So what can be done to shine the light on this bull? It will be difficult if we cannot demonstrate how they can improve the one life they have right now. Education is only the first step but I think we need to do much more. That is why we need to organize so we can have a positive impact on aspects of society much the way the fundamentalist do but without all the bull. With a real plan to show people they can do it themselves with a little help from their fellow humans who don't rely on supernatural intervention. If we don't organize, the fundies will continue to spread their bizarre ideology without check. I applaud Dr. Dawkins forming the Richard Dawkins Foundation and intend to contribute so that it may become a standard for us in the world. We really do care and are willing to do something to show it. We aren't the bad, selfish, chaotic breed that wants the world to become communists - because that is what most think. We can change that perception and really make a difference.

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42. Comment #84045 by bluntdissector on November 1, 2007 at 4:17 am

I am just happy it's being taught.

Being a South African med student, I have witnessed first hand what the lack of evolutionary thought means in the health sector (antibiotic resistance, ect) and the people simply don't ubnderstand it. We had a introductory lecture series on evolution (not NEARLY enough) and that caused outrage amongst the students, with fundamentalist refusing to go to class or answer questions about it in the tests. Furthermore they scheduled 'Anti-Evolution' weeks and got various creationist guest speakers. They even went as far as to get 'Anti Abortion' and 'Anti Euthenasia' speakers.

All this in a country where the quickly mutating HIvirus and MDR TB is of huge concern. And doctors still over prescribe antibiotics (some people even get it over the counter)We have a brilliant medical curiculum. Lots of overseas countries are keen on getting SA doctors in, and (if I recall correctly) a South African invented the CT scan.

We had the first heart transplant, we are leading TB research (granted we have the highest incidence). There are lots of positives abouth our health science setup, but to me the lack of evolutionary knowledge coupled with the lack of reason and prevelance of irrational fundamentalism is of great concern.

Its a mixture of the best and the worst. At least this seems like a step in the right direction...

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