High School Dissection

[Linn]

Your thoughts on it?
We just did that unit last week. On Wednesday the teacher did a sheep's heart and a turtle (ran out of room crying, no turtle dissection for me XP). Thursday was a fetal pig (I did that one, and it was pretty interesting). Friday was a sheep's eyeball (still cool).

I'm going to to be a vet hopefully, so I need this stuff. It's interesting, and may be helpful later on in life.

But how many of those other idiots are going to find that useful?

I like dissections, because it's interesting, but it shouldn't happen in High School. Only in Vet School.

[AnimalAvenger]

If you want to be a vet, you'll have a ton of time to dissect in college. There are many books that can teach high school students the same, exact things that dissection can and maybe even more than they don't observe, too. It's illegal in many states not to let students do an alternative project, instead.

[Linn]

Yeah. Even though I know that's when I'm going to do, I still think that HS dissections are wrong. The idiots just want to play with a dead body, whether they're learning stuff or not. It's horrible. They don't respect the dead animal at all.

[Bhuvana]

Dissection is never neccesary, no matter a career choice. It's actually illegal to force a student to take part in it now because we have so many alternatives. 99% of the time, they slaughter an animal for the share reason to dissect (Like that sheep eye, most likely a whole sheeps body got thrown out just so the eyes could be taken). Don't want to offend, but I am here to inform. Dissection, for any reason, is barbaric. We have evolved so much, but why is it we refuse to do so in this field?

[Black Dove]

Oh, wow. Just had this talk with my dad today. He said I had to do it, because I offered failing this assignment. Next school year, we will be dissecting and I plan to confidentially ask my teacher about alternative choices before I even think about asking my dad. I guess if you haven't noticed, I'm totally against this.

I don't believe in dissecting because an innocent animal had to die in the name of education, which is basically animal-testing school-edition. I mean, when doctors dissect humans, the human dies naturally or whatever, it isn't slewn like the animals are. So, if we kill animals for research, should we kill humans for it as well?

[Linn]

For the most part I agree with the above, but I think it is necessary for veterinary school.

If I went through my entire school career without once cutting into an animal and moving organs around and stuff, then I'd feel awful for my first patient. How would I know how much pressure to use when opening it up? I wouldn't want to cut into an internal organ. How would I really get a hands-on idea of how fragile or tough the organs themselves are? Practicing on a live animal would be a disaster - for the animal. I don't agree with killing animals for dissection, and animals that died naturally should be used. But if one dog is humanely killed to save the lives of hundreds, maybe thousands, isn't it worth it?

[Linn]

......How did I miss that? XD

And no, they can't. When my class dissected the turtle I got up and left as soon as the teacher started to take it out. She asked where I was going then let me go.

[AnimalAvenger]

It really depends on what state you live in. Some states have laws protecting the students' rights to refuse to dissect, but some others don't.

Laws:
www.hsus.org/animals_in_research/animals_in_education/dissection_laws.html

I plan to print out the one for my state and put it all over my school.

[Linn]

I laugh at the law.

If my teacher had told me that I was required to sit through the turtle dissection I would have flipped her off, likely said something highly unpleasant, and left anyway. And my mom probably would have backed me up. XD If it's against your morals, then you shouldn't be forced to do it. End of story.

[.: Z I Z I A :.]

We dissected a frog in seventh grade, but those frogs were raised in a lab and killed for just that.... I don't weither I should have or not, but my science teacher (Who was all for animal rights and stuff like that) said it was ok... But I'm taking biology this year, and I will refuse if we dissect anything.

[GYARADOS.]

im completely against it. all the animals are kills specifically FOR the high schools (except the fetal pigs, which must buy from factory farms- supporting them). plus its' COMPLETELY unnecessary. even if you're studying to be a vet or doctor, you DO NOT need to dissect in high school. they make you do it in college (but you can refuse to to dissect animals specifically killed to be dissected. you can dissect euthanized shelter animals instead).

[.: Z I Z I A :.]

That's another topic. Should shelter animals be euthanized?

[AnimalAvenger]

We have a debate about that, too.

[GYARADOS.]

this is why we shouldn't dissect: