The Peppered Moth

Way back in 1989, I taught at a suburban high school in Western Australia.  I had a mixed bag of classes because I was a late transfer to the school from a country school which was downgraded from a  Junior High School to a Primary School due to student numbers.

One class I had was a year 10 science class.  One of the units to be taught was natural selection.  If anything being taught was deemed unsuitable for Plymouth Bretheren students they got up and left the classroom.   

An example of natural selection was the Peppered Moth which because of its ‘peppery’ livery camouflaged it on trees in forests.  Predatory birds could not easily see them and white moths were eaten.    There were other examples of natural selection but I was reminded of the Peppered Moth when I read an article in an online magazine The Conversation.  If you are slightly interested, you can find the article here.     The Conversation is a free subscription and well worth a look.  Always a few articles by Australian academics to enjoy.

After teaching at that school for a year my wife and I took paid long service leave; something quite foreign to teachers in many countries.  

After leave I taught Plymouth Bretheren students at Willetton Senior High School.  At recess and lunch their parents took them away from the school because it was deemed not proper to mix with other students. One female PB had heard that my father had died of liver cancer and perhaps naively, told me he must have been evil.