Regarding a recent inquiry about dissection...
I have stopped doing dissection as a class requirement for freshman Biology.
Students may opt to do the fetal pig dissection if they choose; they come in
before or after school as I arrange with them. There certainly are pros and
cons to doing it...there was a nice article summarzing pros and cons in The
Science Teacher about 5 years ago. I have copies if anyone needs the
reference.
I did do dissection for many years, but stopped doing it after a student
brought me a video to watch about how the animals are obtained and prepared
for dissection. (PETA video). There are so many topics to cover in first
year biology that I felt I could easily justify not doing it...and therefore
would be able to cover something else instead.
If you do choose to do dissection, something I did in the years before I
stopped that I think was effective is as follows.
Give the kids stuff to read on the pros and cons of dissection. If you have
the time and internet access, have them find the articles, themselves. Then
hold a class discussion/debate on the issue. Next, you can hold a vote to
let the kids decide if they want to dissect. In the years I did this, they
always voted to do the dissection. But this really makes them think about
what they are doing and I think it led to having less kids disrespect the
animals as they did the dissection. Furthermore, it gives the kids with
strong views a chance to present their case and model a strong belief to the
classmates!
Susan Camasta
Hinsdale South High
Darien
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