Student Center: High School and Miiddle School

Don't Want to Harm Animals in Your Education?> Animals in the Classroom> Science Fairs> 10 Simple Things You Can Do To Help Animals!> How to Create a Student Choice Policy> High School and Middle School Student Testimonials> Choice Laws and Legislation (K-12)> The Science Bank> Contact Animalearn>

High School and Middle School
Don't Want to Harm Animals in Your Education? You Don't Have To.
Every year, millions of animals are dissected (cut up) or killed for classroom dissections and experimentation in elementary, middle, and high schools. Cats, frogs, fetal pigs, rats, mice, dogs, pigeons, and turtles are just some of the many animals used. While some of these animals are bought after they are already dead and then dissected to study their anatomy, some animals are bought and are used in painful procedures (vivisection) while still alive to test their psychological responses to chemical and/or physical manipulations.
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Animals in the Classroom
There is no need to bring animals into the classroom because the best way to learn about them is to observe them in their natural habitats. By doing this, one can learn many things about their way of life: what they like to eat, how they communicate, and how they move around, just by watching them.
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Science Fairs
While science fairs are terrific ways for students to display their knowledge of science, they do not need to include live animals. Often, when selecting a topic to study for science fairs, students may be encouraged by teachers to use animals in their projects. These projects can include experiments that involve physical pain or stress, psychological stress, surgical procedures, force-feeding, drug addiction, and/or radiation. Not only do these experiments often cause great harm and suffering to animals, but they are often wasteful of both resources and animal life, and produce little or no new information because they are duplicative of past studies.
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10 Simple Things You Can Do To Help Animals!
1. Say "No" to dissection! Every student from kindergarten through college has the right to choose an alternative to dissection. By speaking out about this issue, you are taking a stand for the animals as well as expressing your own right to freedom of expression.
2. Say "No" to animal experimentation! Let your teacher know that you have an ethical objection to animal experimentation in your classroom. There are plenty of alternatives that you can use instead of harming an animal.
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How to Create a Student Choice Policy
1. Speak to a teacher who is part of your biology department and who knows about the curriculum being followed. Ask if there is a policy that already exists, and if so, make sure that the policy is easily accessible. Since you had to ask, it is likely the policy is not well-known.
2. Try to form a group at your high school. Inquire at your main office if there are benefits to having an official club on campus. Find out what the benefits are, and decide if you would like to organize an official group. Go through the steps you need in order to become a recognized club at your school.
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Student Testimonials
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Choice Laws and Legislation (K-12)
There are currently nine states that have Students' Rights Choice Laws, which state that students have the right to choose an alternative to dissection. These states are California, Florida, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Virginia, and Oregon. Louisiana, Maine, and Maryland offer informal policies, while similar legislation is pending in Massachusetts and Michigan. Individual students have inspired the development of these student rights laws through their own actions.
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The Science Bank
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Contact Animalearn
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