They might as well teach it. Most high school science courses are geared for preparing students for university, and they don't tiptoe around the issue like public schools do. I started out in a Bachelor of Sciences seven years ago, and the first day of Biology 1001 the prof was very clear that he was not going to discuss the validity of evolution, nor was he going to make curriculum exceptions for anyone. If you answered that evolution was an invalid concept on a test, you got zero. He said it was an accepted scientific principle, and until such time as it is disproved we were required to learn it.
I believe that actual evolution has been observed in several species. I kind of remember one study done on domesticated foxes. Within a few generations several characteristics had changed to better serve their needs as domestic animals. The most notable change was a significant reduction in the length of the snout. I also believe its been observed in species of insects, especially those with quick reproductive cycles. And I know that bacteria is capable of adapting to new conditions exceptionally well, not just by changing the way it behaves, but by altering its DNA i.e evolution.
I guess I didn't realize that this was even still an issue. I thought that it was mostly accepted by just about everyone. But then, Canada is a more secular society than the States, and I know most of you guys are rocking the stars and stripes.
I don't see how anyone can look at what dog breeders can do and then say that evolution doesn't exist. Its kind of a proof of concept if you ask me. If a person can take an animal and turn it into everything that dogs have been become, then I imagine natural selection can do the same.
