I am the proud recipient of NABT's 2014 Evolution Education Award, but pride was not the sole result. The award afforded me an unexpected degree of political agency – the ability to take action. This national honor told me and others that what I was doing in my classroom and beyond was both significant and meaningful. The award resulted in a cascade of events that included a surprise classroom visit from the governor and an invitation to be part of the “Rhode Island Strategic Leadership Team.” The award empowered me and gave a larger voice to ideas that I thought were correct but now am even more sure are valid.

I suggest that to enable students to comprehend the beautiful and powerful connections among living organisms, we must instill in them a strong sense of evolutionary biology that provides extraordinary unifying explanatory power. This could be accomplished by introducing the...

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