Teaching Science in a Classroom of Dogma

Topic: The struggle of educating the next generation in scientific rationalism.

As an educator, standing in front of a high school science classroom in Bangladesh is a tightrope walk. When the textbook reaches the chapter on natural selection and evolution, the room visibly shifts. Hands shoot up not with questions of curiosity, but with pre-packaged apologetics heard at local religious gatherings.

Science education in our country too often suffers from a fundamental compromise: teach the formulas for the board exams, but don't internalize the scientific method. When students are taught to memorize physics equations while simultaneously viewing empirical questioning as sinful, true scientific progress stalls. My job isn't to force unbelief; it is simply to teach them how to evaluate evidence. Once a mind learns to demand evidence, dogma naturally loses its grip.