50% of South Korean biology teachers do not accept evolution

#1

Post by E-for-Endetta » Sat, Jul 27, 2013, 12:36 PM UTC

Quotes from the article:

A petition to remove references to evolution from high-school textbooks claimed victory last month after the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST) revealed that many of the publishers would produce revised editions that exclude examples of the evolution of the horse or of avian ancestor Archaeopteryx. ...

In a 2009 survey conducted for the South Korean documentary The Era of God and Darwin, almost one-third of the respondents didn’t believe in evolution. Of those, 41% said that there was insufficient scientific evidence to support it; 39% said that it contradicted their religious beliefs; and 17% did not understand the theory. The numbers approach those in the United States, where a survey by the research firm Gallup has shown that around 40% of Americans do not believe that humans evolved from less advanced forms of life. ...

[A survey] also found that 40% of biology teachers agreed with the statement that “much of the scientific community doubts if evolution occurs”; and half disagreed that “modern humans are the product of evolutionary processes”. ... [T]here are only 5–10 evolutionary scientists in the country who teach the theory of evolution in undergraduate and graduate schools.

50% of South Korean biology teachers do not accept evolution
nature.com

Re: 50% of South Korean biology teachers do not accept evolution

#2

Post by cm2012 » Sat, Jul 27, 2013, 2:06 PM UTC

I'm not really sure what to say, except wow. One interesting note: "However, a survey of trainee teachers in the country concluded that religious belief was not a strong determinant of their acceptance of evolution".

Re: 50% of South Korean biology teachers do not accept evolution

#3

Post by E-for-Endetta » Sat, Jul 27, 2013, 2:08 PM UTC

cm2012 wrote: post #2

I'm not really sure what to say, except wow. One interesting note: "However, a survey of trainee teachers in the country concluded that religious belief was not a strong determinant of their acceptance of evolution".

I wonder why they do not accept evolution then. Any guesses? To me the single most depressing line in the whole article must be this: "40% of biology teachers agreed with the statement that “much of the scientific community doubts if evolution occurs”; and half disagreed that “modern humans are the product of evolutionary processes”."

Re: 50% of South Korean biology teachers do not accept evolution

#4

Post by mhd » Sat, Jul 27, 2013, 2:17 PM UTC

cm2012 wrote: post #2

I'm not really sure what to say, except wow. One interesting note: "However, a survey of trainee teachers in the country concluded that religious belief was not a strong determinant of their acceptance of evolution".

I wonder how they "concluded" that. Questionnaire results? Might just be the old trope of "creationism is science, not religion" they're trying to sell for ages.

Re: 50% of South Korean biology teachers do not accept evolution

#5

Post by Nursie » Sat, Jul 27, 2013, 2:18 PM UTC

E-for-Endetta wrote: post #3

cm2012 wrote: post #2

I'm not really sure what to say, except wow. One interesting note: "However, a survey of trainee teachers in the country concluded that religious belief was not a strong determinant of their acceptance of evolution".

I wonder why they do not accept evolution then. Any guesses? To me the single most depressing line in the whole article must be this: "40% of biology teachers agreed with the statement that “much of the scientific community doubts if evolution occurs”; and half disagreed that “modern humans are the product of evolutionary processes”."

Sounds like the old "I'm not descended from a monkey!" thing to me.

Re: 50% of South Korean biology teachers do not accept evolution

#6

Post by yread » Sat, Jul 27, 2013, 2:20 PM UTC

Have you guys seen the comments there? Is it usual that Nature is read by people like that? What does God have to do with evolution anyway? Evolution is falsifiable theory on which some very useful models (which work) are based. They can believe in whatever they want, but they surely can't base any models on "God created everything".

Everybody can program a little evolutionary algorithm yourself and see that it can create something out of chaos... It works :)

Re: 50% of South Korean biology teachers do not accept evolution

#7

Post by binderbizingdos » Sat, Jul 27, 2013, 2:20 PM UTC

> do not believe in evolution

exactly... you need to believe in it because there can't be any proof as long as we can't travel in time.

get over it and recognize that everything that goes beyond the scientific method is mere speculation.

Re: 50% of South Korean biology teachers do not accept evolution

#8

Post by E-for-Endetta » Sat, Jul 27, 2013, 2:21 PM UTC

yread wrote: post #6

Have you guys seen the comments there? Is it usual that Nature is read by people like that? What does God have to do with evolution anyway? Evolution is falsifiable theory on which some very useful models (which work) are based. They can believe in whatever they want, but they surely can't base any models on "God created everything". Everybody can program a little evolutionary algorithm yourself and see that it can c…

I have learned never to read comments left on popular science websites. :-)

Re: 50% of South Korean biology teachers do not accept evolution

#9

Post by inkaudio » Sat, Jul 27, 2013, 2:31 PM UTC

yread wrote: post #6

Have you guys seen the comments there? Is it usual that Nature is read by people like that? What does God have to do with evolution anyway? Evolution is falsifiable theory on which some very useful models (which work) are based. They can believe in whatever they want, but they surely can't base any models on "God created everything". Everybody can program a little evolutionary algorithm yourself and see that it can c…

Yes you are creating something out of chaos because you have an algorithm. No algorithm, no programming means you can't create.

Re: 50% of South Korean biology teachers do not accept evolution

#10

Post by harrytuttle » Sat, Jul 27, 2013, 2:35 PM UTC

We should exclude such people from educational institutes by nature of belief. They're not teaching science if they already have an agenda, bias or belief and allow it to interfere with objectivity and professionalism. In fact any religious school or education institute should be of independent of religion how the church and state supposedly are.

This shit is unfortunately rife.

I had to explain this to my daughter's teacher who refused to teach evolution under science, even though it is part of the curriculum in the UK at primary level. The most annoying thing is that I was called into the (non-religious) school because my 9 year old daughter said she didn't believe in god and the teacher found it offensive and didn't want to teach her!