This week my students got to dissect for the first time this semester. Everything they've learned up to this point is about plants, so even though they break stuff apart to look at it, it's not the same as slicing a scalpel blade through some animal tissue. That, my friends, is a good time. The students finally get excited to be in lab when we get to this point of the semester, and that makes teaching them easier. However, that doesn't mean I don't say things that are probably too inappropriate. Here's an excerpt from teaching this week:
You guys are also going to be dissecting an earthworm. We don't have preserved specimens, so you're going to have to kill your own. When you're ready to do that, grab one out of that styrofoam container, place it in the dish of ethanol, and leave it for a few minutes. If you're squeamish and don't want to do it yourself, find someone in your lab group who doesn't mind and have them do it. If none of you want to, I'll do it for you. I don't mind killing things. After you place it in the ethanol it takes a few minutes for it to die, and you may want to turn your back so you don't have to watch it squirm. Also, make sure you leave it in there long enough that it actually dies, which will be a few minutes longer than it takes for it to stop squirming. If you take it out sooner, cut it open, and then it starts squirming again, you're going to feel really bad. I suggest that you put it in there, and then go do something else for a few minutes. If you stay and watch it die, and seem to be enjoying it too much, I may have to have someone follow you when you leave here just to make sure that you're not going down to the park to strangle homeless people.
8 comments:
For my tuition dollar, I am generally looking for my disecting animals and what have you, to arrive on my lab table already dead. --
thats just me, but I earned myself A "D" in Biology when I was in College so by inference you can figure I wasn't real good with all the gore and stuff...
Now only if you would have given that speech in my lab. You would have had to watch out for me.
Geez, I hated Biology 101.
Smashing Mountain Whitefish against rocks...that's all I have to say about that.
Your labs kill them first?
Wow, I just have my students get them drunk.
i love dissection, even though i am a vegan and all. i guess that's hypocrtical, but i think it is so fascinating! i don't know about killing them myself, but am down to cut them open. i dissect a little with my middle schoolers and they have a love/hate relationship with it all!
Sorry, Pretty much I just LMAO reading your conversations with the students.
I went on a field trip with my son's class last week. One of the girls in the class begged for me to sit next to her. My son was engrossed in his guys friends. She went on to tell me about how she loves animals. Then I said to her, "I love animals too, they taste delicious."
She had tears in her eyes. They're not going to let Ms. Michele go on field trips again, I don't think.
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