The greatest scientific discoveries all started with curiosity. And it's curiosity that David Campbell '77 tries to instill in his students as he teaches the science of evolution in an environment sometimes hostile to such concepts.

A biology teacher at Ridgeview High School in Orange Park, Fla., Campbell visited campus Feb. 11 during Darwin Days to share his experiences teaching evolution and natural selection -- scientific principles that may be contrary to many of his students' religious beliefs.

"Students are walking into our classrooms with misconceptions," he said. "They have different ideas of what evolution is, what creationism is and how science is supposed to work."

Campbell asserted that the teaching of science needs a radical overhaul. Teachers need to inspire students to be curious about the world, to ask questions and to think logically and critically, he said, instead of demanding rote memorization and cramming of facts.

After breezing through a brief history of the evolution vs. intelligent design debate, Campbell shared methods for drawing students into science, such as opening up his evolution unit with a lesson on how Mickey Mouse has "evolved" over time.

To questions that range from inquisitive to harassing and hostile, he said, answers must always be knowledgeable, respectful, honest and persuasive. He tries to "amaze" his students with both enthusiasm and credibility. And he doesn't expect his students to "believe" evolution -- but he does expect them to understand it, he said.

Campbell is co-author of Florida's recently revised statewide science curriculum and an ardent believer in keeping creationism and intelligent design out of the science classroom. He majored in biology at Cornell while studying on an ROTC scholarship, and after serving in the military, he began teaching in 1994 and has been at the same Florida school ever since.

Campbell cited several Cornell professors who not only taught him science, but also taught him what it means to seek knowledge.

"The single most important lesson I took from this university when I graduated 30 years ago was that science does not start with stating a problem; it doesn't start with conducting research -- it starts with curiosity, and that's what you have to start with."