Dissection Choice in the Classroom
Supporting Student Rights to Choose or Object to Dissection in Class
May 9, 2009
Dissection choice, or more accurately a lack thereof, affects students in virtually every school across the county that has science or biology classes. The standard curriculum in the majority of biology courses involves students having to dissect an animal, most commonly frogs or small rodents, as a major component of the course, with a grade weighted heavily on such participation. This weighing of the grade acts as a coercive force in silencing students who might object to dissection for fear of it negatively affecting their grade.
Dissection Choice and Student Rights
While it might seem obvious that students who object to dissection on moral, ethical, or religious grounds should have the right to opt out of such practices without it having a negative impact on their grades, this is sadly not the case in most school districts through out the country where there is almost no legal framework in place protecting students rights in the classroom. Only fifteen states currently have laws on the books to protect students who object to harming animals, with Connecticut likely to follow suit, as a bill allowing students to opt out of classroom dissections passed in the house by 114 to 32 and is headed for the state senate.
The Cost of Animal Dissection
According to Stacy Lopresti-Goodman in the May 6th 2009 Hartford Courant, "an estimated 20 million animals are used for educational purposes in the United States each year, with more than half being killed for use in classroom dissection alone." Lopresti-Goodman also says that "some students at all levels of education object to using animals in dissection and other experiments," and that "forcing students to participate in these barbaric practices discourages some, especially females, from pursuing careers in science."
The Dirty Truths of Dissection
Most schools who use dissection in the classroom obtain their animal specimens from specialist suppliers. According to People For the Ethical Treatment of Animals in their info packet on Dissection, these suppliers raise some animals specifically for dissection, while the rest are obtained live from fur farms, factory farms, and from "Bunchers," who according to PETA citing undercover investigations, "answer free-to-a-good-home ads and pick up stray animals and animal companions who have wandered off. They have even been known to steal animals from people’s yards."
Dissection Can be Harmful to Students
Forcing students who object to dissection to participate or witness such activities can according to Lopresti-Goodman, be traumatizing, and "hamper students' ability to effectively function and learn." PETA also warns that chemical preservatives used on specimens contain formaldehyde, which has been attributed to causing throat, lung, and nasal cancer, as well as other health hazards.
Alternatives to Dissection
The Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association (HSVMA) has developed an Alternatives in Education Database, containing thousands of alternatives to animal use in education, for many levels of education, and for a number of disciplines.
Fostering a Positive Educational Environment
When all the facts about dissection are considered, educators seeking to foster a positive environment conducive to learning in the classroom should support and defend the rights of students who object to the practice, and either allow students to opt out, or replace the practice completely with more humane alternatives. In the pursuit of education, curiosity shouldn't kill the cat.
