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07.09.04, 08:58
W niektórych klasach sekcja zwłok zwierząt jest jedną z opcji
In Some Biology Classes, Dissecting Is Optional
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: September 6, 2004
RICHMOND, Va., Sept. 5 (AP) - Grace Kendall knew back in seventh grade that
she did not want to cut open a preserved frog.
Her teacher allowed her to use a computer alternative. Now a junior at
Stafford High School, Grace has declined to dissect ever since.
"I thought there was something really wrong with dissecting a dead animal
when I knew there were other options," she said. "Dissecting something that
was killed so we could learn about it was unsettling."
Grace said she was glad that Virginia had joined a handful of states that
have enacted laws allowing students to opt out of dissecting fetal pigs,
cats, earthworms or other animals.
Starting this academic year, all Virginia students must be told they can
decline to dissect without penalty, and instructors must provide them with
alternative learning tools, including computer programs, Internet tutorials
and plastic models.
The law has surprised some teachers, including Rebecca Ross, who teaches
senior anatomy and physiology and 10th-grade biology at Cave Spring High
School in Roanoke County.
"I don't think there was anybody speaking for biology teachers" when the
legislation was being written, said Ms. Ross, president-elect of the National
Association of Biology Teachers.
But she agreed that students with "moral, philosophical, religious or
ethical" objections to dissection should be able to use alternatives.
Such materials should supplement, but not replace, dissection, said Anne
Tweed, president of the National Science Teachers Association and a former
biology teacher. "They can't get the same hands-on learning."
Virginia is among nine states that require school districts to provide
dissection alternatives. Florida was the first to pass such a law, in 1985,
followed by California in 1988. New Jersey is also considering similar
legislation. Argentina, India and Israel are among nations that have banned
dissection in schools.
The trend is driven in large part by animal-welfare groups like People for
the Ethical Treatment of Animals and the Humane Society of the United States,
which encourage students to oppose dissection. The groups contend that many
animals used for dissection often suffer during their capture, handling and
killing, and say the practice devalues animal life.
"We believe that dissection in the classroom is an antiquated method of
dissection and promotes the widespread abuse of animals," said Jacqueline
Domac of PETA.
The Humane Society estimates that six million animals - mostly frogs, fetal
pigs and cats - are dissected annually in American high schools. The society
distributes anti-dissection videos and loans alternative software to schools.
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