As a child, I thought the natural world was fascinating and full of amazing things to explore and learn, and was constantly asking questions. It wasn’t until later in life that I realized that many of my childhood questions could be answered simply by understanding evolution.
Learning about evolution helped me understand the very nature of science. To comprehend biological evolution, scientists need to ask questions and look at evidence to be able to understand not only the history of Earth and how it has changed over time, but also more importantly how we know what we know. What evidence is used? How much evidence is there? What qualifies as evidence? How was that evidence collected? How is that evidence interpreted and are there different ways to meaningfully interpret the evidence? Teaching evolution helps students develop a deep understanding of evolution but, more importantly, it helps them understand what science is as a discipline.