Statement on Evolution in Textbooks
by
Authors of Biology Texts
March 26, 1999
Evolution and Science
The coverage of evolution in biology textbooks we have written reflects the broad consensus in the scientific community. As noted in a booklet issued by the National Academy of Sciences, "Evolution pervades all biological phenomena. To ignore that it occurred or to classify it as a form of dogma is to deprive the student of the most fundamental organizational concept in the biological sciences." 1
Our textbooks are written from this point of view. Evolution occupies a prominent position, and is covered explicitly. Many sections use evolutionary concepts to explain the diversity of living and fossil organisms, the adaptations of organisms to their environments, and similarities of structure and function shared by related organisms. In this way, we present students with the understanding of biology shared by the overwhelming majority of working scientists in the United States and throughout the world.
What Do States Require of Biology Textbooks?
Although state requirements vary, the majority require that biology curricula must include extensive coverage of evolution. The few states where standards or curriculum guidelines do not mention evolution by name nonetheless require the coverage of evolutionary topics. If we omitted proper coverage of evolutionary facts and theories, we would not be in compliance with these and other curricula that require complete, accurate, up to date, and conceptually based educational materials.
Our Message to Textbook Adopters
As scientists and teachers, we find it unacceptable that school districts considering our books for adoption would be encouraged to choose one book over another based on the perception that teachers should avoid the topic of evolution. We encourage school districts deciding among our books to use genuine scientific and educational criteria.
We also deplore the efforts made in some states and districts to require that evolution be disclaimed. Such disclaimers single out evolution from all other scientific ideas as somehow less reliable or less accepted by scientists, or as "only a theory." Evolution is a normal part of science, and should be treated the same way as all other scientific ideas. It does a disservice to students to mislead them about the important position that evolution holds in biological and other sciences.
Those who have joined in this statement do so as individuals. We do not speak on behalf of our publishers, but for ourselves, as biologists, authors, and educators.
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Signers of 1999 Statement on Evolution in Textbooks
(In alphabetic order, institutions given for identification only)
Bruce Alberts
National Academy of Sciences
Alton Biggs
Allen High School, Allen, TX
Neil Campbell
University of California, Riverside
Helena Curtis
Sag Harbor, NY
Michael Dougherty
Biological Sciences Curriculum Study
Carol Gontang
Mountain View High School,
Mountain View, CA
Paul Hummer
Hood College, Frederick, MD
Alexander Johnson
University of California,
San Francisco
George Johnson
Washington University,
St. Louis, MO
William Leonard
Clemson University,
Clemson, SC
Joseph Levine
Science Writer/Consultant, Boston
Marilyn Lisowski
Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, IL
Linda Lundgren
Bear Creek High School,
Lakewood, CO
James McLaren
Newton South High School,
Newton Center, MA
Joseph McInerney
Biological Sciences Curriculum Study
Kenneth Miller
Brown University, Providence, RI
Raymond Oram
Peddie School, Hightstown, NJ
John Penick
North Carolina State University,
Raleigh, NC
Peter Raven
Missouri Botanical Garden,
St. Louis, MO
Gerald Skoog
Texas Tech University
Eric Strauss
Boston College
Albert Towle
Retired, Auburn, CA
Peter Walter
University of California,
San Francisco
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This is from the National Association of Biology Teachers:
Three unfortunate facts conspire to put most high school biology teachers at a severe disadvantage when challenges to evolution arise. First, few teachers are acquainted with the ever-evolving range of creationist arguments. Second, most teachers do not have enough background and training in the range of subjects and disciplines pertinent to evolution to respond effectively when parents or students confront them with those arguments. Third, teachers get little help from their administrators when creationists begin to make noise, because most administrators themselves do not understand evolution or its importance to biology cause they do not like controversy. Most administrators are more likely to compromise, or even capitulate completely to creationist demands, than they are to support their teachers or to protect the integrity of science. Many teachers, for example, have told me that their principals suggest that "it would be okay not to get to evolution" during the course of the school year, and others have told me that they simply avoid evolution because they do not want the controversy themselves, specially when their administrators fail to support them. It is, in fact, quite easy for teachers to avoid evolution, because most biology textbooks relegate the topic to one or two chapters, often near the end of the book, and do not integrate evolutionary perspectives throughout the program. |
