Conclusion: Save the Frogs

The previous chapters have developed what can be called the materiality argument against frog dissection. This argument has proceeded through the identification and criticism of assumptions often made about animal dissection and its alternatives that can make dissection appear to be the better educational option for precollege classrooms. With such biases set aside, the materiality argument continues on to consider the often under-recognized educational limitations and problems of animal dissection, as well as the often under-explored potential for expanding dissection simulation beyond a primary aim of mimicking the cutting up of a dead animal. This final chapter reviews this education-focused argument and combines it with the larger ethical and environmental case against classroom animal dissection.