ESEC Responds

Texas Student's Letter to Amarillo Globe-News Prompts ESEC Response: "Dissecting Animals is NOT a Great Experience"

January 5, 2000

Amarillo Globe-News

To the Editor:

It is ironic that the Dimmitt High School student’s letter "Keep education on a fun level " (12/30/99 Letters to the Editor) began with a wonderful idea ("Maybe teachers can try new methods of teaching students in a way that is educational, yet fun.") but ended with the outdated and appalling notion that dissecting animals in science class is a great hands-on learning experience.

Student Ironica Taylor states that "It is a proven fact that students learn and remember things better when they perform hands-on experiments…." However, studies today show conclusively that students learn as well, and often better, when given the opportunity to use alternatives to dissection, such as computer programs. Dissection alternatives are also important in keeping young people – particularly women – from opting out of medical and scientific careers because of their ethical and moral aversion to cutting up once living, feeling beings.

The Ethical Science and Education Coalition (ESEC), a Boston-based educational non-profit, wholeheartedly agrees that "new methods of teaching" are essential to keep students interested in learning. What ESEC disagrees with is the contention that dissecting dead animals is the best way to do that.

ESEC has helped make the latest computer dissection alternatives available to school systems throughout New England and other parts of the country. These programs are truly state-of-the-art and a wonderful learning experience. For example, Neotek’s Cat Lab CD-ROM has been meticulously prepared by microsurgeons and offers students 3-dimensional interactive dissection labs. Many programs also provide tutorials, self-quizzes and vocabulary help – all in an exciting, cruelty-free format – ensuring that compassion no longer means having to sacrifice learning.

ESEC would like to offer Ms. Taylor and other students, educators, and administrators more information about dissection alternatives. Contact ESEC at 617-367-9143 (fax: 617-523-7925; email: esec@ma.neavs.com) or visit the Web site at http://www.neavs.org.

We offer Beyond Dissection, a catalog of more than 400 dissection alternatives, as well as many videos, books, and slides from our free loan library. We hope that Ms. Taylor and her peers take advantage of these cruelty-free alternatives.

Sincerely,

Theodora Capaldo, EdD
President
The Ethical Science and Education Coalition (ESEC)