Florida - The Missing Link

Finally, after a false start, the school year has started. I intended to post a blog today about MY first day of school. Today was the first day I began teaching my adjunct class at a local private university. But that went so colossally wrong, that I didn't want to relive it with a post.

So instead, I decided to talk about evolution. I was reminded by a post on a fellow Sunshine State blogger's site that this is the first year that our public school system is required to teach evolution. A change was made to include evolution in Florida's education standards last year after much debate. Which got me thinking about my science classes in high school.

Not that I remember much from my high school biology or chemistry classes, except that one of them always smelled of formaldehyde and there was a periodic table in there somewhere. Anyhow, I attended a private Catholic school (although I'm not Catholic) and at my school we had religion class every day and science class every day. Sure, we read the Bible and were taught the story of creation. But in science, we learned about the natural world and the origin of the species. Two separate classes. Unrelated to each other.

So, back in the 80s, the Catholics managed to keep creationism out of the science classroom. And I mean, if they can do it, can't we all?

Anyway, if you need proof of evolution, consider this.

Madonna kicked off her world tour this weekend in Britain. She also turned 50 this month (Can I just say 50 is the new WOW!). Take a look at Madonna's evolution since she burst onto the pop scene in the early 1980s. She is constantly evolving, and if you ask me, getting better and better. I wish I could say the same for Florida's public education system. Oh well, at least I managed to connect Madonna to a blog post on teaching evolution in the Bible Belt. Damn I'm good!