Letter to a Teacher of Evolution

Lee:

I understand and sympathize with your conundrum with regard to teaching evolution. You are on the forefront of the battle between science and religion. As a scientist and former fundamentalist, I don't envy your position one bit. Absolutely everything in the universe evolves, so evolution is absolutely critical for scientific thinking. Nothing in the universe is the same as it was seconds ago. My own conversion occurred slowly (at age 22), as I was exposed to more and more scientific facts along with their logical connections. I agree that you have to be gentle with especially young students who have been heavily indoctrinated by the time they appear in your class (if they are allowed to appear at all). Others will be more accepting--those are the ones you want to spend the most time with. The unconvinced nevertheless will be there, in the background, taking it "under advisement," just like I once did. Remember, evolution involves the motion of every single portion of the universe throughout every microsecond. You are part of the grand process on this particular planet. Don't give up. Thanks so much for your valuable service to science.