• Most people would agree that education is an import aspect to the well being of society. However, there are parts of the public education system that are not without controversy. Most recently, one of the most recognized problems the system faces is whether or not to allow intelligent design to be taught alongside evolution in a public classroom. Intelligent design is a theory that states that certain aspects of the universe were created by an “intelligent designer” as opposed to natural selection. Evolution is a scientifically recognized theory explaining that populations of organisms change over long periods of time in a process: genetic variation, reproduction, and natural selection. It is clear that evolution would not be a problem because public institutions teach curriculum based on what the public wants. Intelligent design on the other hand, is a subject that should not be added to the science curriculum because it is unconstitutional and is biased in nature, which can affect the performance of students in the long run.
    One of the major reasons intelligent design should not be taught in a public institution is because it would violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the Constitution. The Establishment Clause states that “"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion", which means that there needs to be a clear separation between church and state. Although public institutions are not directly connected to the government, the academic standards presented in a public institution are set by the government. Teaching intelligent design, whether it is taught alongside evolution or not, completely violates this clause because of its religious founders. Intelligent design was founded by a group of creationist who believed that public institutions should teach creationism to their students. However, these people knew that creationism was against the Establishment Clause and decided to modify the idea into a theory that would not violate the Constitution. Regardless, the theory continues to violate the clause because the principles of the theory consist of a belief system even if it is not a specific religion. This creates an issue because it would leave room for religious interpretation that will be made by either the students or the teacher.
    Also, it is important to recognize that the intelligent design theory is biased in nature. This theory states that an “intelligent designer” is responsible for the creation of the universe. This claim is biased because it explains that there is some sort of supernatural being that somehow created the earth and all of the organisms in it. This is idea cannot be scientifically observed because it deals with supernatural beings and therefore there is no process that can be analyzed for research purposes. Evolution on the contrary, has several factors that provide evidence that human beings developed over time from a common source. Some of these factors include fossil records, DNA testing, and environmental observations. Advocates of intelligent design might say that the “intelligent design theory also support the theories of evolution.”(Intelligent Design Network) One of these theories is of course, that human beings come from common source and then changed over time. But unlike the evolutionary theory, intelligent design is stuck on the idea that the common source is a “greater being”. Evolution on the other hand, explains that the common source is a single cell organism, which has already been proven by science. These examples prove that intelligent design is an over the surface theory and because it cannot be proven through observation or scientific analysis, there is not room for deeper, detailed explanations to this phenomenon.
    In conclusion, it is evident that intelligent design would make a bad edition to the academic standards of a public school. Intelligent design would not provide sufficient logical explanations to the creation of the universe and it is biased and would only confuse students even further. The purpose of an academic institution is to provide students with the best education possible. This is only achievable if one presents the best and most correct explanations to all subjects at a school. The goal of evolution advocates is not to completely override the intelligent design theory, because after all public schools teach what the public wants, but its intentions are to provide a more scientific perspective to life. That being said, intelligent design does not provide answers, only more questions, which is why it isn’t fit for instruction alongside evolution. If the public really wants intelligent design taught to their children, then take them to a private school where it is part of their standards. Public schools are intertwined with the government and therefore, intergrading intelligent design into the standards would be unconstitutional. It would be best if intelligent design was kept away from public school standards. It is for the best of the students. After all, the big question continues to be, “where do we come from?’, and evolution is the most qualified to answer that question.