From Today's New York Times

To the Editor:

I have my students do actual dissections, not only because they get a sense of the difference in tissue textures, strength, smells and so on, but also to give them a sense of humility.

Dissections are hard to do; it’s easy to cut too deep or not deep enough, and it’s hard to tell organ from organ, let alone nerve from muscle. I think it is important that students recognize how much effort went into discovering what we know, and how much more they will need to learn.

Do the school districts that feel they cannot afford a chemistry lab or dissection kits feel the same way about their sports programs?

Nat Eddy
Deep River, Conn., Oct. 20, 2006