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Photo: Marc Beaudin/News-Press“Dissection Day” at Cape Coral Charter School was the subject of a story in Friday’s News-Press. For the 150 or so middle school students who attended the lesson, the cutting open of frozen fish may have been entertaining, but we’re not sure what the children learned?

The article described how “[Science teacher Lynn] Cloum did manage to squeeze the red drum’s mouth enough to show off the teeth. ‘Ewww!’ several kids said as Cloum manipulated the fish’s mouth. Those groans — along with cries of ‘Yuk!’ — grew louder when she and her student assistants began to carve out the fish’s eye.”

The science teacher claimed that dissection helps her teach scientific concepts like rigor mortis and what sharks are made of (cartilage). That may be true, but passing around parts of dead fish is certainly not the only way to teach these lessons. And dissection also teaches damaging lessons of disrespect for life and that animals are disposable objects. “After carving out the shark’s eye,” the article continued, some students “went out of their way to make sure they didn’t touch even the containers with the eyes. Others wanted to use the eyes to scare their squeamish classmates.”

Two students featured in the article enjoyed the dissection; one 14-year-old thought it was “cool” and said, “People who are interested in being a surgeon or a coroner should definitely do it.” Thankfully, for students not interested in becoming a coroner, and for those students who have ethical objections to the killing of animals for education, students in Florida public schools (grades K-12) have the legal right to refuse to dissect on animals (Florida statute 1003.47).

Today, there are many humane alternatives to classroom dissection— including models, computer software and other state-of-the-art educational materials. Please contact ARFF if you know of a school that has refused to provide students with an alternative to dissection, or that is penalizing students for choosing a non-animal alternative.

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