100 years on: How the Scopes Trial impacted me as a teacher

What is research?

We can often fall into the trap of thinking that research is only the things we see formalised; for example in doctoral studies, master’s qualifications or work done in higher education. Research is much wider than this and for most teachers it is something they are regularly engaging in to improve their teaching and the learning of the pupils.

When I received this excellent vlog from Ruth Marx I was fascinated by research she had done 20 years ago which still influences her work today.

Scopes Monkey Trial…100 years ago

Ruth unpacks what the Scopes trial was and how it was important for the development and history of fundamentalism. The trial happened 100 years ago in Tennessee where there had been a law brought into say that teachers could not teach about evolution in the classroom due to the fear of these ideas of evolution challenging the account in the book of Genesis. The trial was really about much more than this and was part of what some called a ‘battle’ between religion and science. Ruth shares how we can use this to have more nuanced debates about this topic and even act out the different characters in the trial.

Listen to this vlog from Ruth Marx to find out more.