dissection & students' rights

8/8/2019 Dissection & Students' Rights

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You dont have to dissect animals

There are options

There are alternatives


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Animalearn is working hard to help give every student rom kindergartenthrough college the right to say NO to dissection. Several states havestudent choice laws and other states are considering similar legislation.Over 500 state o the art non-animal alternatives to dissection exist today

because o high demand rom individuals who want to enhance theireducational experience without harming animals.

Non-animal alternatives to dissection not only beneft animals, but theyare also much more cost eective, environmentally sae, and educationallyeective than dissecting a once-living animal.More and more educators and students are discovering a kinder way toteach and study science by implementing non-animal alternatives intodays classrooms.

Dissect This!

Making the Decision to Say No to Dissection

Students rom all educational levels may be aced with the ethicaldilemma o whether or not to participate in the dissection o animals.A growing number o students and educators are choosing to cut outtraditional dissection methods in avor o non-animal alternatives.

Many students say no to dissection because they are aware that animalsare oten killed specifcally or dissection purposes, and the animals usedoten experience tremendous suering beore they are killed.

Frogs, earthworms, crayfsh, etal pigs, and cats can be obtained romthe wild, slaughterhouses, shelters, or are purposely bred in acilitiesthat proft rom their sale. Also, many companion animals can be thetarget o animal dealers who make money rom stealing and selling themor use in dissection.

Whatever reasons you may have or choosing not to dissect, there aresteps you can take to cut out cruelty in the classroom!

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I you dont want to dissect, youre not alone!In a recent teen survey, 86 percent of the students

polled said that schools should give students the

option to use alternatives to dissection.


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Many students rom K-12 have the legal right to reuse to dissect a once-living ani-mal. Student choice laws exist in Caliornia, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New York,Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Virginia, and other states are consideringsimilar legislation. Visit www.animalearn.org/lawsandlegislation.php or the latest inor-mation on student choice bills. Additionally, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachu-setts, and New Mexico oer inormal policies. Individual students have pushed or thedevelopment o these student choice laws. Students play an important role in theireducation, and their choices can make a signifcant dierence or animals.

Typically, these student choice laws require schools to notiy students and/or theirparents at the beginning o courses involving animal dissection. Students are able touse a humane alternative instead o dissecting an animal, and are not penalized ormaking this decision.

I you live in a state that does not have a legal policy intact, you can still object todissection. In many cases, students living in states that do not have protective poli-cies have been successul in encouraging their teachers to allow them to use alterna-tives to dissection. Some students have even succeeded in banning dissection at theirschools through their eorts.

College and university students can also make a dierence or animals used in educa-tion. Unlike elementary and secondary schools, most colleges and universities do not

have an overriding school code that is dictated by a state or overarching governingbody. As a result, individual institutions prescribe their own guidelines on dissectionand vivisection in the classroom.

Students across the U.S. have attempted to implement student choice options at col-leges and universities, and many have succeeded in their eorts. Due to the persis-tence o students and/or student groups, Cornell University, Hostra University, SarahLawrence College, University o Illinois Champaign-Urbana, Virginia CommonwealthUniversity, and many others have student choice policies in place, ensuring the rights

o uture students who do not want to harm animals in their education.

Legal Protection or Students


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There are hundreds o alternatives or educators and students to use in place odissection specimens including CD-ROMs, models, videos, charts, and much moreat every educational level.

With interactive and comprehensive alternatives, students gain a ar greaterunderstanding and respect or animals than with traditional dissection.

The Science Bank (www.TheScienceBank.org) is Animalearns ree lending pro-gram o alternatives to dissection and other harmul animal usage. The ScienceBank enables educators and students to try out the most cutting-edge productsavailable.

Alternatives to Dissection

The Benefts o Using Alternatives

While objecting to dissection may be an ethical decision, many educators andadministrators need additional reasons to justiy the use o non-animal alternatives.When trying to encourage your school or university to consider these options, besure to also address the issue o cost savings and educational benefts, as well as

the negative impact that dissection can have on the environment.

Lower School BudgetsEducators and administrators oten make curriculum decisions based on the schoolbudget, and many may be interested to learn that using alternatives to animaldissection could save their school thousands o dollars over a three-year period.Animalearn has a cost comparison sheet assessment, which proves the cost benefto using alternatives. Instead o purchasing animals each year or use in theclassroom, alternatives only need to be purchased once and can be re-used everyyear, which saves the school rom needless expenditures.

Improve Lie Science EducationIn at least 30 research studies published in scientifc journalsthat compared learning levels o students using alternatives todissection and students dissecting animals, dissection alternativeswere ound to be more educationally eective. Over 50 percentshowed higher learning levels or students using the alternatives,

while the remainder o the studies showed similar learning levels.This is important inormation or educators, administrators, andschool board members because improvements in education arestrong reasons to adopt new policies.


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Help Preserve our EnvironmentChemicals used to preserve dead specimens, such as ormaldehyde and ormalin(diluted orm o ormaldehyde) are respiratory irritants, carcinogens, andenvironmental pollutants. Careless or irresponsible disposal o these preservatives oranimal remains can contaminate water and soil and potentially harm wildlie.

Additionally, many rogs used or dissection are wild-caught. This in turn creates anadverse eect on rog populations, which can upset an entire ecosystem. By usingnon-animal alternatives you are making a positive impact not only or the animals,but also or the environment!

What You Can Do

Whether you are a student, a parent, or an educator who is concerned about the

use o animals in education, there are a number o things that you can do tohelp end this practice.

I You Are A Student

Voice your objections early!As a student who has ethical concerns re-garding animal dissection, the frst thing you must do is tell your teacheror proessor as soon as you are made aware that dissections are part o

your coursework. By simply speaking out about this issue, you are notonly taking a stand or the animals, but also or your own right to ree-dom o expression.

Talk to others about your decision, especially parents or guardians.It really makes a dierence to have support rom others, especially i youare a jr. high or high school student and are apprehensive about ap-proaching your teacher alone. It also helps to talk about this issue with

others who may eel as you do. The more students object to dissec-tion, the more educators will want to explore the possibility o

using alternatives to dissection.

Spread awareness about dissection!Start an animalrights group at your school and pass out literature on

the subject. Show a video about the horrors o dissection.

Write a letter to the editor in your school paper and/or yourlocal paper on the subject. Have students, teachers, and/or oth-

ers in your community sign a petition in support o alternatives todissection.

With persistence you WILL defnitely see a change, which willultimately help the animals rom being used in your classroom!

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I You Are a Parent/GuardianParents or guardians can be extremely eective in urging their childs teacheror school to use alternatives to dissection.

Schedule a meeting with the teacher to explain why you support yourchilds decision to say no to dissection!

I a child is apprehensive about talking with his/her teacher or is not suc-cessul in doing so, then the parent should make an appointment with theinstructor.

Gather inormation rom Animalearn to give to the teacher.At the meeting, make sure to note that Animalearn can provide the teacherwith suitable alternatives ree o charge or your child. I the teacher isleery about the quality or eectiveness o alternatives, let him or her knowthat Animalearn will also loan out alternatives or the teacher to examinebeorehand.

I the teacher is still unwilling to allow your child to use alternatives,make an appointment with the principal o the school.Bring a letter documenting your meeting with your childs teacher. Let theprincipal know that you support your childs decision to opt out o dissec-

tion and inorm him or her that there are several other states that givestudents this option. Usually a parent or guardian will receive compliancerom the teacher or principal, but i not, you can always bring the issue tothe school board.

Go to a school board meeting and persuade them to pass a studentchoice policy or ALL students who do not want to dissect, not just

your own.Even i your child is given the opportunity to use alternatives to dissec-tion, you may want to go to a school board meeting and try to persuadethe board members to implement a student choice policy or possibly even

ban dissection or the entire school district. Animalearn will assist youin your eorts to eectively work with school administrators to createa student choice policy.

When a parent or guardian takes a stand on an issue, administra-tors oten pay attention. Thereore, parents and guardians can andDO make a signifcant impact on the use o animals in education.

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I You Are An EducatorEducators rom elementary to university levels are becoming more open tousing technological and alternative methods o teaching science, biology, andother subjects where live or dead animals are used. Yet there are still manywho preer the traditional methods o slicing up dead specimens. I you careabout the welare o animals and/or you want to guide those students who do

not want to participate in dissection laboratories, you can take action.

Oer dissection alternatives to your students.I you are open to using alternatives to dissection in your classroom, thenyou are already helping animals by decreasing the numbers o animalskilled or dissection purposes.

Voice your concerns to the principal, dean, or university president.Even i you do not teach science, but eel that dissection and other harm-ul animal use in your educational acility is unjust, talk to the appro-priate decision makers about taking the necessary steps to address thisissue.

Write a letter o support or the student(s) who may want to pass astudent choice policy.

Since you are an educator, your opinion will most likely be highly consid-ered, especially i you have used the alternatives and fnd them extremelycost eective and overall more efcient than wet labs.

I you have a student(s) in your classroom who wants to pass a student choicepolicy, you CAN be a valuable asset to that student(s) by providing your opinionand support.

Take a compassionate stance or animals used in education! I you objectto using animals or educational purposes, ollow the steps above to en-sure that more high-quality, humane alternatives to dissection are used!

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Perspectives

How do students, parents, educators, and doctors eel about alternatives to dissection?Nancy Harrison, MD Pathologist San Diego, CA

Computerized dissection alternatives have grown so sophisticated they now surpass traditionalwet dissections in many ways. No student should be orced to participate in the academicallyinerior teaching mode o animal dissection. Serious pre-meds and pre-vets can best master the

dissection by repeatedly studying the superb images ound on CD-ROMs.Bonnie Berenger Science Teacher Hunterdon Central Regional High School, NJ

Providing students with progressive alternatives to traditional animal dissection, has provenvery eective in my classroom. By respecting the ethics o students and oering such options,students seem relaxed and comortable, and are thereore encouraged to learn. This atmosphere isempowering and stimulating.Dr. Kathleen T. Brown Professor and Dept. Head Dept. of Natural Science

Georgia Military CollegeAugusta Community College, GAWe have recently abandoned animal specimen dissection in our anatomy and physiology coursesin avor o virtual dissection. The student response to this decision has been extremely avorableand the aculty are impressed with the versatility and thoroughness o these products. We arevery glad to have made this decision and believe it is a most worthwhile investment that isalready enhancing our program.Allyson Kirk StudentScience Bank Borrower Northern Virginia Community College, VA

Ater a lot o work and persistence, Northern VA Community College allowed me to use the etal

pig alternative provided to me by Animalearn. I returned to class and took the same test the resto the students did. Success! I received the highest grade in the class: 100 percent.

Genevieve Stark StudentScience Bank Borrower Holy Cross Catholic School, KS

I learned just as much, i not more, rom the alternatives. Plus I received an A or a grade.

Mark Davis StudentScience Bank Borrower Hudson Valley Community College, NY

When an internet site sent me to Animalearn, I elt ecstatic and relieved. My proessor, who wasinitially skeptical about alternatives, was totally impressed with the dissection programs, and I

scored a 10/10 on the rat dissection quiz the ollowing week.Heidi Krieger ParentScience Bank Borrower Canada

I am ever so grateul to your dedication and commitment to treating animals more humanely(non-violently), and or providing the quality o educational support to students o all ages thatyou do. The quality o your products exceeded my expectations and gave more inormation thanmy daughter would have needed to complete her assignment.

801 Old York Rd., #204Jenkintown, PA 19046

(800)[email protected]

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