why those who deny evolution are incorrect

Well, people like to say that Evolution is essential knowledge, but I think there are thousands of topics that are more important than evolution.

For one thing, most American kids are essentially science illiterate, meaning that they leave school having no idea how REAL science works. They think Science is nothing but a collection of facts, when it is a method. They mostly (and this in far too many cases includes American college grads as well) couldn't tell you how people make discoveries in science. They sort of have a vague sense that it's something that happens in a laboratory somewhere, using lots of odd equipment and jargon that no-one understands. They don't know about things like falsifiability, hypotheses, what the word theory means, peer review, repeatability or why it's important. And that's the REAL tragedy of modern science education. People in America tend to see scientists as priests and science as a type of dogma. So when they read some odd theory (and I name string theory as an example) they assume that it's something revealed to scientists, and that it's true because science says so.

They never seem to get the idea of asking whether there are any experiments confirming or denying an idea. And the worst stuff I've seen are the conspiracy type ideas that science is suppressing something just because they haven't yet endorsed it.

That would be my approach to teaching any science. Teach the logic of science first. Make sure that the kids know where our science comes from and how we use the tools to find out about the universe. Make sure that they can recognize faulty logic and unfalsifiable statements, and make sure that they understand WHY an experiment performed this week might be refuted next week. If you won't do that, then it doesn't matter if you teach the kiddies that they were created from the FSM's meatballs or through evolution or creation. They'll be just as scientifically illiterate as they were before you started.

 

The problem is that small children (below teenage and even some teenagers) are not ready cognitively for the logic of science. Have to teach the wonders of nature and science first.

 

Outstanding post!

 

We are ready for the logic of science from the age of toddlers.

 

Haha this is sort of true!

 

kids are pretty much literate in this crap, as the experience of reading them here shows. logic, falsfiable, about the universe, verify a hypothesis by an experiment and all other crap is pretty much revolving in their lexicon no less that in yours. They all have gone through the same brainwashing as you have.

 

Well, parts of it, but not most. The most important thing we can do for kids in terms of science education is encouraging them to observe, and to waken a love for natural things. If we start to worry about the steps of the scientific method, we will turn them off.