Public schools have people from all types of religious backgrounds. These diverse backgrounds create a rich environment for learning, but they also present a complex environment when it comes to certain topics during instruction. One of these topics is evolution.

People – especially those who come from such diverse backgrounds – have varying beliefs on how the world was created, and the school system should understand that, when topics such as evolution are talked about.  I trust my teachers with my education, but I don’t know how to feel when they counteract my beliefs.

I know that I am not the only one who feels this way. A classroom is the last place where you want to feel uncomfortable. My biology teacher was talking to us about evolution recently during a class, and was implying that we came from monkeys. My friend and I, who share similar beliefs, looked at each other and were surprised at his comment. Then she said, laughing, “I know I did not come from a monkey!”

I came to PB from a private Christian school where we were taught from the Bible that God created the Earth and Adam and Eve were the first two people, so coming to a school with different takes on creation was a shock! Especially coming from a teacher, though I know that teaching this content is his responsibility.

It can be confusing to grow up hearing something from church and your parents, and then going to school and hearing something different. And it isn’t just Christians who don’t believe that humans have evolved from monkeys. The religions of Islam, Buddhism. and Judaism also disagree with the evolution theory. Going to a large public school such as Paint Branch means that having a variety of students with different religious backgrounds. Many of those backgrounds have creation attached to them. From the Big Bang to The Matrix Theory, to the theory that we came from a black hole, our creation is uncertain.

My point is, there are so many different beliefs and, with different beliefs come arguments. We could argue about creation every day of the year. Science teachers have much to teach us, but I don’t think that it is their place to tell us – definitively – how the world was created.

Wanting to look into how others feel about this topic, I asked a friend, Ida Giorgis, also a freshman, who said, “Teachers tend to force the subject onto us instead of teaching it as a scientific observation. Instead of starting with ‘scientists believe or confirm…,’ they say: ‘We come from…’ as if it’s a proven fact while it contradicts our own beliefs.”

No matter what you feel or think on this topic, it is important to remember to be respectful of every student in school.