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Public schools must teach the theory of evolution as a part of the state-mandated science curriculum. That curriculum is selected carefully to promote scientific thought. Our modern views of science education are oriented to help students learn how to address subjects with a scientific approach. The ability to develop and evaluate an idea through testing and analysis is a skill that is useful in life, even outside of a career in science.

Science is not a collection of facts and beliefs. Science is a process by which we attempt to understand the world around us, based in observation and experiment. Scientific theory is never to be taken as irrefutable fact. "Theory" is a word that means "our best explanation based on our observations and experiments to date". If a theory can explain all the phenomena related to a subject, it is regarded as plausible. Theories are more valuable when they make fewer assumptions. "Occham's Razor" is a metaphorical device which basically says that the simplest explanation is the best one, if equally plausible theories are available.

The vast body of current scientific evidence points to the existence of evolution. Successful mutations are documented within modern times in many species. Darwin's concept of "Natural Selection" has been observed as well. There are numerous genetic similarities between species, including dormant genes in the human genetic code that appear to have no use to us, but code for tails and other features in other species. The fossil record has allowed eons of life to be observed indirectly, with physical features like skeletal structures that suggest a slow changing over the centuries. Certain fossils only appear during certain historical periods, suggesting that species came into being and later died out.

With reams of data, scientists developed and stand by a theory that centers on evolution. It is the best explanation that they have, based on the evidence. Few assumptions are required for it to work. Probably the weakest part is the idea that life originated through the random collection of chemicals into a functional strand of DNA or RNA. The assumption that an improbable (but not impossible) chemical event began the chain of life that eventually created humans is a part of the generally accepted scientific view.

A responsible teacher will teach their students that based on the evidence; the theory of evolution is our best explanation for life as we know it. That teacher should also be responsible enough

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