How to Virtually Dissect Frogs
Although it might seem like just your child's problem, but when your child refuses to dissect a frog, the parents are inevitably involved. Refusing to dissect an animal in school was not an option until the 1980's. Now, many schools are used to the idea that many of their students will be raised in homes that teach animal rights. You should never let your child compromise his or her core beliefs just to get a good grade in class. What lesson will that teach? If you are a student who has parents that just don't understand, there are still steps you can take to save the life of the frog and your grade.
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Instructions
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It's Not Easy Being Green: Students
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Ask your biology teacher at the beginning of the year whether or not dissecting a frog (or other animal) will be required. Try to do this as calmly as possible.
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Ask if you can dissect a virtual frog rather than a real one in order to gain credit. If the answer is no, then you must talk to your parents to see if they can plea on your behalf. If your parents refuse, then offer to do extra credit work for the class to make up for not dissecting the frog. If the answer is yes, go on to Step Three.
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Determine what virtual frog program will work for the class requirements. An excellent program is called Frog Guts, but it isn't a free program. For your own use, it's about $30 (US).
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Download program off of the Internet and pay, depending on the program. You'll need the help of your parents for the paying part, most likely.
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The programs themselves are simple. They give you all of the directions and list all of the anatomy. Click on the mouse and drag in order to move any virtual tools about. In order to operate "cutting," "pinning" or "probing", you may need to double-click on the appropriate tool.
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Your test is to do the whole dissection procedure without any instructions given to you from the computer. There usually is a separate "test" feature on the menu to click and go into. In grading you, the teacher can watch you go through the program or have the program send the teacher's computer your test results. This depends on the program, of course.
It's Not Easy Being Green: Parents
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Know what subjects your child will be taking in any given school year. If they are taking any science class (especially biology), have the child ask the teacher at the beginning of the school year if dissecting a frog is required.
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Go online to the FrogsAreCool website to find out if your child has the right of dissection refusal based on moral grounds in the state or province where you live.
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Offer to gift the school with a subscription program like Frog Guts if they do not have virtual frog dissection software. It's about $300 for a school per year. Perhaps this could be a good fund raising project for your child's class. It never hurts to ask the administration about such a possibility.
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Using the programs themselves are dead simple. They work like a video game. They tell your child everything he or she needs to do in order to dissect a frog. Just clicking and dragging the mouse are the main skills needed. You may have to hit "Enter" at times when the program prompts you to.
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Play the lawyer card and threaten legal action if the school still refuses. If this is a private school, usually all you have to do is threaten to withdraw the child. The school will lose the tuition payment it needs. This usually makes a school administration cave in.
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Ask PETA for help if your school still refuses. They'll make sure something gets done.
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Tips & Warnings
Canadian students have the right to say "no" to animal dissection (see Frogs Are Cool! link for details).
Many public schools in many American states will also give students the right to say "no". Private schools, however, are exempt from these laws.
Buying a program for a private school can often be written off your taxes as a charitable contribution. You have to check with your tax preparer to be sure.
Don't threaten legal action immediately. This just makes the teachers and administration automatically assume you are crazy and they will refuse to listen to any compromises.
Resources
- Photo Credit Tree frog image by Sisi Fili
