(She noted the boys at the back were talking and addressed a question
to them).
Teacher: What is evolution?
Pupil: Sorry ejeke, what did you ask?
Teacher: (with a firm voice) You heard the question. What is your last name?
Pupil: It’s Aliev. Evolution is development. It is growth.
Teacher: What kind of development? Development since when?
Pupil: Since life appeared on earth....
Teacher: When did life begin on earth? (She continued asking questions
from those pupils who were making noise).
Pupil: During the Archaeozoic period....
Pupil: No teacher. There was no life during the Archaeozoic period. Life
appeared in the Proterozoic period.
Teacher: OK. What is the main driving force of evolution?
Pupil: I... I forgot... It was ... (he murmured something which was not
clearly audible).
Teacher: No, it is not. It is heredity. That is the main thing. Animals have
been living from the very beginning because of heredity. And of course
they will continue in the future because of heredity. Heredity and natural
selection are the driving forces of life. And what is heredity?
(The teacher noted that some girls from the front two benches began speaking
among themselves and she turned the question to the whole class).
Pupil: Heredity is human reproduction. Offspring take the genes of their
parents and they look like their parents.
Pupil: Sometimes a child may look like a neighbour too (several pupils
giggled about the joke).
Teacher: (with a serious look and ignoring the joke and laughter) Look at
the body structure of a human (showing a picture of a man). What is the
origin of heredity? How do animals reproduce? (Pupils burst into laughter.
Some girls seemed to be embarrassed).
Pupil: Animals are born after their parents have sex... (Laughter again).