An Interesting Thing Happened the Other Day.

Two weeks ago, I gave an assignment to my biology class dealing with genetic engineering. The question posed was, "Argue for or against this statement..."Extending the human lifespan through the use of genetic engineering would be a good thing for the human race." They were to write their paper "on line" and then the other students in class would read and critique their argument. The catch was that the students had to read and critique another student's paper using the opposing point of view of the original writer. The idea here was to get the students to see both sides of the argument. The thing that really surprised me was that out of 15 students, 6 said that extending the human lifespan would not be a good thing. What was the reason? Not overcrowding...not scarcity of resources...nope! It would go against God's will!

I really wasn't expecting that at all. What was difficult was explaining to them why I had to take points off...because religious beliefs, even if they might be correct (had to put that in there for the parents...wish I had the nerve to not do that), had no business in a scientific paper. They seem to have understood the problem...and I haven't had any parents call as of yet...but wow!...what a surprise!

It was a really good assignment...and I'll be ready next time!