Education Commons^™

Student (And Animal) Welfare, Leonard M. Krause

Education Collection

Adolescents exhibit affection for numerous vertebrates and appear to sympathize and to identify with traumas these animals experience. Therapeutic benefits students attach to nurturing and breeding certain vertebrates are evident; destruction of these same creatures produces clearly negative attitudes by students toward the science course and the instructor. "Case histories" documented while teaching high school students working with vertebrates are reviewed and are related to specific techniques (e.g., pithing) utilized by numerous instructors. Motivation, increased attention span, sustained interest, involvement with community issues and other desirable educational goals are demonstrated to be resultants of student involvement with living vertebrates studied …