Be Worried if Your Kid is Psyched for Dissection

Recently, a friend said of his seven-year old, Joey, "He’s gonna be a scientist. He’s so excited to start dissecting stuff. I can’t wait to get him his own dissection kit." And this is a super-bright, 40-something guy.

I did nothing, as my husband was tossing me an evil eye, anticipating the beginning of a conversation he didn’t want to be part of. He’s in the unenviable position of being a Republican carnivore married to an Independent–perhaps Libertarian–almost vegan (dessert at restaurants inevitably has dairy, and I do have a monthly slice of pizza and then have nightmares about it).

Let’s dissect (heh, heh):

• The best thing we’ve learned about/from dissection, is just how negatively it affects children. It desensitizes them to violence against animals, as the
  more they are exposed to the situation, the more comfortable they
  become with it.
• The next best thing, if it can be called that, is the relationship between children who like to dissect and pursue it, with adults who later become serial killers (Jeffrey Dahmer, for instance), and other violent criminals (the Columbine killers, for instance). The link between human violence and animal cruelty is clear and not debatable.
• Dissection is big business, as the millions of frogs killed so small children can take them apart come from companies that make frogs to kill them so small children can take them apart. It’s no wonder that the "value" of dissection (how can you study life without cutting it open when it’s dead? It’s the only way!) is vehemently touted by those who have something ($$$) to lose.
• Oops! It turns out that there are many alternatives to dissection, many of which are free of charge. Cut Out Dissection is a great resource, for both kids and adults, and TEACHkind is a great resource for teachers. Caring Consumer has some fabulous stuff, too. My personal favorite is Dissection Alternatives.
• Nearly a dozen states (including Florida–shocker!), along with many school districts, have laws or policies protecting a student’s right not to dissect.
• The National Anti-Vivisection Society has a hotline (1-800-922-FROG) for tips on what to say to object to dissection, and how to proceed to create an organized, effective campaign to provide non-animal alternatives.

Now all I have to do is find a tactful way of getting my veal-eating friend with the dissection-excited boy, to read this blog.