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Senior Andrew Root, 18, prepares to dissect a cat in his anatomy/physiology class at Dartmouth High School.Peter Pereira

By JENNIFER LADE

May 22, 2012 12:00 AM

"It's cat dissection season!"

Only a science teacher could deliver that announcement with such excitement. Yet Peter Bangs, science chairman at Dartmouth High School, was genuinely eager for the high school's anatomy and physiology students to get going on one of the most anticipated projects of the semester.

Bangs is not alone in his enthusiasm. Science teachers and curriculum directors at local high schools said even in a high tech age of virtual everythings, dissection remains a part of the curriculum and is approached with seriousness by the students.

"I think the kids take it much more seriously and really get into it, and for us, motivation's everything," said Craig Berriault, a biology, zoology and anatomy and physiology teacher at Wareham High School.

Zoology students usually do a frog dissection, while anatomy and physiology students dissect cow eyes and hearts and culminate with a rat dissection at the end of the year, he said. Whether a dissection is undertaken in biology is up to the teacher.

Anne Oliveira, director of science and technology for New Bedford Public Schools, was a classroom science teacher until she took her current position six years ago. She said it was the hands-on learning that had the greatest impact on her students.

Read more:
Cutting up in the classroom: dissections still hands-on, not virtual