Should You Have to Dissect?
Do you cringe when your science teacher tells you what animal you'll be dissecting this year? When the big day comes to cut apart that animal in the name of science do you suddenly come down with a fake illness or do you arrive early to class? Personally, I didn't think dissecting animals was gross, but a lot of my friends did.
Not everybody has the heart to take a sharp blade and slice open the stomach of a frog, grasshopper or baby pig. Just the thought of poking through body parts has sent a weak-stomached student running in terror. What I don't understand is, what's the big deal? It's science class and you're there to learn science. The anatomy of animals is part of the learning experience.
The first animal I dissected was a grasshopper. The girl next to me watched in horror as I pulled its legs apart as far as they would go and then pinned them to the tray. The grossest part of the entire process was the smell of formaldehyde. That's the chemical that preserves the animals while they sit.
I understand that everyone doesn't consider it fun to cut apart some animal. However, how else are you going to learn? Sure you can draw pictures, but it's not the same. Besides, it's not like you have to kill the animal yourself. It's already dead. All those animals were collected for scientific purposes. Even if you don't want to be dissecting something you would never eat, it's good to know how that animal functions. There might come a day when you have the chance to rescue a frog and if you don't dissect one in science class, you're not gonna know what to do. (Okay, so maybe that's a stretch!)
To find out what Kidzworld members have to say about the topic of dissection, click here.
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