9th Grade Biology--2 Classes on Evolution

I'm a para-educator (teaching assistant) at a junior high school in the Midwest. We just got done doing a pretty large unit on DNA--the mechanisms, the way it's copied, the way it's made up of a chain of amino acids, the possibility for errors and changes, etc.

When it comes to the theory of evolution, however, they are going to spend 2 brief class periods on it...no test. I can't help but think it's a shame they're glossing over the foundation of biology, especially after having discussed most of the mechanisms that drive it, going into great detail about Mendel's pea plants, etc.

I'll refrain from making overgeneralizations and whining too much about it. I think it speaks for itself. The next time you see statistics showing the US giving way to other countries in science and innovation, take a look right in your own back yard.

Creator vs. God

I just sat in on an 8th grade social studies class in which the teacher told the kids they get their rights from their "Creator", like it says in the Declaration of Independence.

Now, the interesting thing is..this teacher went on to claim that he prefers to use the term "Creator" in school because "God" is too religious.

I tried to keep my face from doing one of these: 0_o

Honestly, I'm not even sure I agree that there is a superficial semantic difference between "Creator" and "God" let alone an ACTUAL difference. Why do people still think that they're avoiding saying something religious when they say "Creator"? Do they think the word "God" is the actual NAME of their Christian(tm) god?

Am I missing something here? Seriously...am I?