Please enlighten me as to why high schoolers dissect cats?

Question

This is what my cousin had to do for science class..
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=1514065&albumID=915687&imageID=18342632

I understand that animal testing is SOMETIMES alright.. but high schoolers dissecting? Just enlighten me, please.

This type of thing should be reserved for graduate study/med school. These kids have learned nothing. I dissected 3-4 things in middle school-and can't remember what the "lesson" was.

This reminds me of the time my biology prof talked about dissecting german shepherds in med school and I choked on my drink (in front of 30 ppl).

Answer 1

omg! are you seriuos!...i'd refuse to do such a horrible thing...the only way it is acceptable is if the cat died from NATURAL causes...thats wrong...h so wrong...what if one of those cats was a pet to someone who had to dissect it?...

Answer 2

We dissected worms in middle school, and then frogs. chicken wings, and fetal pigs in high school. Some classes also dissected sharks. It just gives a better understanding of the anatomy. It really is different to see everything through dissection than in a book or model.

I thought the whole thing was gross, and I had the hardest time with the pig, but overall it wasn't terrible. It really was a good lesson, and did encourage some students to go into the medical and veterinarian fields.

I would have protested the cat though. I just wouldn't be able to do it.

Answer 3

I dissected a frog in middle school, worms and insects in high school and a fetal pig (and examined a sheep and dog heart and a sheep eyeball) in college. Each contributed to my respect and understanding of the variety and function of various organism. It is becoming more and more rare to dissect animals in high school/middle school because of the cost. Generally, if a student has an objection then that student can perform an "online" dissection or abstain from the actual dissection.

I learned a lot about the structure and function of the organs. It gave me a greater understanding and respect for the body and how the parts move together. We treated each animal with great respect and reverence in each class. I can't tell you how much it helped my understanding and ability to make medical decisions for my child years later when he needed heart surgery. I could picture vividly from the combination of pictures and schemes and my hands on experience with animal hearts what was being done, why and where.

At the high school level students have not specialized, they are still gaining a general education. A basic understanding of the sciences, including biology, chemistry, and physics is needed to understand the complexity of the issues that one will face as an adult. By college and certainly by medical school people have chosen their specialty. Why take away such a potentially illuminating portion of that basic education?

Just because a select few kids don't pay attention and grasp a concept or learn does not make it a worthless endeavor.

Answer 4

It's not illegal if the source is credible. Like previous answer, you can't kill a cat on purpose to dissect it. Some vet locations offer animals for dissecting for science. It's much like being a donor on your license. If the cat is already dead, it is very legal. Also, some schools offer an optional assignment for those that don't want to dissect animals. If you don't feel comfortable with it, either talk to your parents/principle/or instructor a little in advance and they may allow you to do another assignment. If not, sometimes you just have to be there and a partner can do all the work, you just have to pay attention unfortunately if you have a quiz/exam on the procedure. Best of luck!

Answer 5

Why do you assume that they learn nothing? Just because you didn't appreciate the lesson or take anything away from it doesn't mean everyone has the same problem. I've seen middle school students take part in dissections of fish and frogs etc. and yes to some it grosses them out, but for others it sparks an excitement to learn and become interested in the biology, anatomy, natural science, etc. People with opinons like yours are one of the many reasons the American education system is lagging. You can't see past you own opinions or experiences.

Answer 6

its one thing to tell you how all the body's organs function together, but its so much easier to learn if you see it.

Why do you have a problem with it. These cats are not raised to be killed like cattle, these are cats that overcrowded the pound and were going to be euthanized regardless, so instead of spending money for this cat to be disposed of, why not let the cat be able to teach some highschool students something.

This kind of stuff is too simple for graduate study or medical school, they have more complex and important things to do.

Can you remember the lesson from ANYTHING in middle school? that is not a valid argument. In highschool, i dissected a worm, a flower, a crawfish, a frog, a fetal pig, and a cat. Its not that big of a deal, it helps us study the organisms better than pictures in a text book can.

Answer 7

I've never heard of dissecting cats. I have two cats of my own and would definitely refuse to do it. When I was in high school, we dissected a Fetal Pig, a Dog Shark, a worm, and a Cow's eye or Sheep's eye. I did learn a lot about the anatomy of animals and how similar and dis-similar they are from us. It's much different reading the material than actually experiencing it for yourself. It's part of the learning process, nad it gives students a chance to be in control and learn things for themselves. But I would have definitely prtested dissecting a cat.

Answer 8

Because in science and anatomy classes you learn about how to disect things, how to tell the difference between different organs/growth.
its really all a part of the learning experience.

Its basically like asking, tell me why I had to learn calc, or chem or about shakespeare.
In school they dont know what each person wants to be, or study, however they want to give you the basis of knowledge for many different things and make well rounded pupils.
This is just one more thing that they do to expand your mind, and show you another form of learning.

Youd never be able to find out what you want to do with your life, without learning a little bit about it first.

If its something that someone just cant do, because of belief or religion, and they can bring a valid and HONEST point to the teacher as to why they cant disect the cat, they will normally let you do a virtual disection or write a paper... but again that depends on the school

Answer 9

It teaches students Anatomy, and is usually for an Anatomy class or a Biology class. Anatomy is hard to learn from a two dimensional picture in a book, and is easier to understand when you can see it in 3 dimensions. Believe it or not, there are very few basic differences between cat and human internal anatomy. Stop being a Crazy Cat Lady.

Answer 10

We did cats and fetal pigs for AP Anatomy in HS. That was the "lesson". Anantomy. They are not that different from people. And we cannot be dissecting people in Anatomy!!!!!

We did worms and frongs in Biology. We are quite different from frogs and worms.

* This was an ELECTIVE. You KNEW what the course work was before, so if you did not want to do it, you didn't have to take the class.
And these cats were not some shelter animals, or stolen pets...they were bred for this purpose.

Answer 11

My son and I have discussed this issue and it is his school policy as well as the policy of most schools that you can refuse the assignment in lue of another though you may have to take a lower grade. He has decided that even if he were to get an F he does not wish to participate and he has my blessing. The only thing that you can do is to let your kids know that you will support them if they decided that this is not something that they wish to do.
He (my son) says that if he decided to go into a medical field in the future then he knows that this is something that he will have to do but he is not of a medical mind at this time. He is only 14 right now after all.
~Tyed~