Girl, 16, forced out of anatomy class

Baltimore Sun ^ | 9-25-2002 | Jonathan D. Rockoff

[Cagey]

A 16-year-old student at Kenwood High School who refused to dissect a cat was forced to abandon her honors anatomy and physiology class Monday, even though her mother offered to buy a computer alternative.

Jennifer Watson, an A student from Essex who cares for a pet cat named Fluffy, resisted dissection as inhumane.

The girl wanted to remain in the class, and her mother proposed buying software for performing simulated dissections on the computer, according to the girl and her mother, Maria Watson. But the teacher threatened to fail the college-bound student if she didn't participate in the dissections.

[Cagey]

What happened to worms and frogs in High School Biology class? When did they start using cats?

[Cagey]

This is right up your "Alley Cat", so to speak.

[dts32041]

Maybe she would be more comfortable working with an aborted Fetus, sounds like that would be the schools speed.

You don't want to do the requirements complain and get the teacher fired.

[Arkinsaw]

Young PETA moron in the making.

[Dog Gone]

Jennifer Watson, an A student from Essex who cares for a pet cat named Fluffy, resisted dissection as inhumane.

How did she become an A student without realizing that the cat was already dead?

[Huck]

I design computer based instruction for a living. I have seen some pretty neat disection simulations.

[SouthernFreebird]

People whine over the stupidest stuff.

[The FRugitive]

I disagree. If she doesn't want to dissect a cat they shouldn't force her to.

[discostu]

It's the honors class they get better stuff. In my school they got fetal pigs, since the pigs had all been in fermaldahyde the whole floor stank for about 2 weeks when AP bio disected them.

[Amelia]

What happened to worms and frogs in High School Biology class? When did they start using cats?

Worms & frogs are in basic biology. Anatomy classes, especially the Honors ones, "graduate" to minks, cats, or fetal pigs (unless it's a budget cut year, and the school can't afford them).

[TheRedSoxWinThePennant]

this should insure her acceptance to almost every northeast college probably scholarship to an ivy league school

[A. Morgan]

Jennifer Watson, an A student from Essex who cares for a pet cat named Fluffy, resisted dissection as inhumane.

Duh! It's a cat. Cat's aren't human.

[fourdeuce82d]

If she doesn't want to dissect a cat they shouldn't force her to.

If she doesn't want to dissect a cat they shouldn't force her to be in AP biology...

stupid little twit.

[philetus]

"Hello? Humane society? Yes this is the teacher at Kenwood HS.
We need 40 cats for tomorrow. Thank you.

[Michael.SF.]

Jennifer Watson, an A student from Essex who cares for a pet cat named Fluffy, resisted dissection as inhumane.

I assume the cat was already dead before they were going to dissect it.

This very poorly worded sentence should probably have read:

Jennifer Watson, A member of PETA, who also refuses to eat meat and is an active Vegan, resisted the use of animals for lab testing, as being inhumane and cruel.

[Dog Gone]

I disagree. If she doesn't want to dissect a cat they shouldn't force her to.

I think it's inhumane to diagram a sentence, and so my teacher shouldn't threaten to flunk me.

[TomServo]

When did they start using cats?

When the Korean restaurant moved in down the street.

[homeschool mama]

I graduated in 76 and we discected a cows innards.

[discostu]

it's the honors class, it's not mandatory for her graduation, it provides (usually) college credit. Since bio/ phys is generally not considered core curricula (ie those classes aren't part of every degree) she's apparently going in this direction, she better get used to it, she's got more dissections in her future. It's part of the class, if she's gone to that school previously she should have already known this was part of the class. She either should have never signed up or gotten the instructors approval for an alternative method before signing up. When they start distributing dead animals is not an appropriate time to lodge your objection. On the other hand now is a good time to learn an important life skill: how to suck it up and do unpleasant things that need to be done. A lot of people in this country don't know how to suck it up, this would give her a step up on the general populace.

[philetus]

That reminds me. Does anyone remember the Orange County Calif. dog pound back in the 60's?
They had a night drop. Two cages with shutes.
Every once in a while someone would drop a cat down the dog shute.