This week, Take Action Thursday challenges parents and non-parents to find out how science is being taught in your local school system—and recommend a change.
As the new school year begins across the country, NAVS is dismayed about the continuing pervasive use of dissection in schools to teach life science curricula.
The use of dissection as a tool for grade school education started in U.S. classrooms in the 1920s. During the past 100 years, the number and variety of animals dissected has grown as students start dissecting at a younger age. While student choice laws or policies allow individual students to opt out of dissection in 16 states and the District of Columbia, this has little impact on the overall number of animals sacrificed for elementary and secondary education.
Many adults are surprised to learn that dissection on frogs, fetal pigs and cats is now prevalent in secondary schools around the country. While some individual schools have moved away from the use of animal specimens, they are still, sadly, the exception, and not the rule. Where does your school stand?
- Does your school district rely on early 20th century teaching methods for 21st century material?
- Does your school district have a policy to allow individual students to opt out of dissection?
- If there is a policy, do the teachers in your school know about it? (50% of teachers polled in states with a law or statewide policy did NOT know if their school had one).
- Do students know if there is an option to opt out and how to participate? How are they informed?
As students return to their science classrooms this school year, please contact your local school district to see where they stand on dissection.
If your school district does NOT have a student choice policy, please share the NAVS Model Law on student choice with your local school administrators, Parent Teacher Associations and elected officials.
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