I remember the scene in Fast Times at Ridgemont High when the weird science teacher took the students to see an autopsy. I thought it was odd then--did science teachers really do that?
Apparently they did, and some still do--although this one might reconsider doing so in the future, given the brouhaha generated over a recent such visit.
When I was 17 and at college (which is an institution equivalent(ish) to the last two years of high school in the USA) I attended an autopsy and a number of operations. Of course, I was not doing an entirely normal course as mine was specifically designed for people hoping to attend medical school..
ReplyDeleteThe state police used to come to our high school every semester and show us these uncensored car wreck videos. They'd be in that section of Blockbuster that has the ultra-gory Grade Z flicks, like Scenes of Death IX. I suspect if the video had been of a classmate, the school and state cops would have thought it a bonus. We never saw an autopsy, but we dissected lots of things in biology.
ReplyDeleteHow times change.
I'm not a fan of gore although I have done my share of dissections of animals in Biology classes. But I do think viewing the autopsy of a classmate ranks down there with bad choices throughout the ages. While it may seem like a joke to some, we are talking about kids who may have known the student. Doctors don't perform surgery on their own family for a reason. Medical examiners don't perform autopsies on their own family either. Asking students to view such an event is stupid.
ReplyDeleteI don't know. I think it might be have more impact being someone they know. It would be less like watching special effects.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I've requested to, and watched, several family members be embalmed, since I find things like that interesting, so I may not be the best person to ask.