I've been studying year 11 Biology Units 1&2 this year and everything had been going really well.
Until yesterday in my double period the teacher said we were dissecting rats. Now me being Vegetarian and completely against animal cruelty said I didn't want to do it, nor did i want to be in the lab whilst the class was doing it. My teacher just said "oh,just hang on, *mumble mumble*"
Then he started dissecting a rat up on the teachers bench, putting the camera on it so there was an enlarged rat being horribly disrespected and dissected being shown on the screen in class. One of my friends sitting next me is also vegetarian and was just as disgusted as i was... So someone who was sitting next to us put up their hand and said "Excuse me but if people are having trouble with this can they please leave? Crystal (me) and Hannah (my friend) are vegetarian and obviously don't want to witness this." to which my stupid, ignorant, horrible teacher replied "So? They are doing Biology. They have to deal with it."
Now don't quote me on this but i was almost 99% sure that in Australia you have the freedom of choice when it comes to dissecting and learning. Doesn't the teacher have to provide and alternative such as a virtual dissection?
The whole lesson was the most traumatic thing i have witnessed and i have never felt so queasy in my life. Having to sit there and watch, smell the chemicals they were soaked in, hear the cracking of their bones, was very hard for me to do.
To end off the lesson my teacher decided to dissect a PREGNANT rat up on the massive screen as well. He then proceeded to cut out the babies inside of her. It was at this stage i started crying. He wouldn't let me leave the room. I didn't eat all day.
I'm ringing the school and asking for a formal apology to be given to my friend and myself. I think the laws and naivety in Australia need to be assessed. And teachers should definitely be more accommodating for people who respect animals.
I don't think that's necessary, when I did biology in grade 11-12 we did have to some some dissection, but we did it on lamb hearts from the butcher, which wasn't so bad, I didn't take one, I watched another groups.
I think it's well within your rights to even put a formal complaint in about the teacher not allowing you to leave the room or sit outside, that's really sadenning. You don't need to dissect an animal to learn about it's biology, it's been done a million times already, no more animals need to be cut up!
Lodge a complaint! I would tell my parents and refuse to go to class again if you can get away with it.
Sounds drastic, but you can learn everything from your textbook. I study Biology from Distance at Uni and I have only my textbook and study notes from the teachers sent over the internet and I am getting High distinctions when in Biology in year 11 and 12 I only got 63% on my HSC.
Tell your teacher they have no right to dictate what you do. im studying Zoology and no uni professor expect you to dissect anything.
Yeah i told my Mum about it and surprisingly she was infuriated about it. She was the one who told me to complain to the school, or she would.
Yeah, apparently the whole rat dissection thing isn't even relevant to the content in year 12. So we basically don't need to know it anyway.
I was just offended that my values didn't matter. And that he was so rude.
dissection was never a requirement for us in biology. submit a formal complaint to the school. i know that it has been proved that virtual dissection has been proven to be just as effective a learning tool as real dissection. but you should definitely take it up with the school, dissection should not be a part of school curricula period. and you should get a formal apology from the teacher for forcing you to watch and be in the room, if he does it again i suggest throwing up in the class room maybe then he'll get the message.
dissection was never a requirement for us in biology. submit a formal complaint to the school. i know that it has been proved that virtual dissection has been proven to be just as effective a learning tool as real dissection. but you should definitely take it up with the school, dissection should not be a part of school curricula period. and you should get a formal apology from the teacher for forcing you to watch and be in the room, if he does it again i suggest throwing up in the class room maybe then he'll get the message.
Hhahah. yes. Well i was planning on, in case of vomit, aiming for him. And yes, i'm definitely complaining and asking for a formal apology. Personally i don't think dissection teaches you any more then a diagram in the text book does, it just seems so pointless.
it really is, i remember doing a dissection in year 9 -heart, kidney and eye (we were allowed to sit out, i wasn't vegetarian back then though, still feel callous for having done it) and no body learned anything, they just played with it (made me feel ill to watch). we saw more detail in the diagrams and learned from them so it really was a waste. even vet students in university can learn at least as well from a virtual dissection.
your teacher sounds like an a-hole. you should complain! 
