Too bad neither William Jennings Bryan nor Clarence Darrow was available. Their presence at the recent “Controversial Issues in the Science Classroom” workshop at USF would have underscored how far we haven’t come when it comes to evolution.
Indeed, evolution was prominent on the agenda. One speaker, archaeologist Debra Walker, A Monroe County School Board member, soberly noted that she “was shocked at how many districts just totally ignored evolution.”
Actually, it’s arguably not so shocking – given that for the past two years the Florida Legislature considered bills challenging the validity of evolution. No wonder. According to the Pew Research Center, less than a third of the public now agrees with the proposition that life – including the human variety – has been evolving.
Then, again, it’s only been 83 years since the Scopes trial. Evolution obviously takes a while.