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In a back-to-school op-ed today, science professor Jeffrey A. Lockwood confronts the scourge that has plagued small children down the ages: the project of watching caterpillars turn into butterflies. We have fond memories of such an experiment ourselves, but Lockwood is concerned that this activity perverts the course of nature. His solution?
If the point of the educational venture is to teach important lessons, then here's one: We are responsible for the harm that we may cause in the world. So once the butterflies have emerged, pop them in the freezer. Tell the children that protecting our environment is not always easy, that we must accept the responsibility that comes with bringing a life into the world, and that like other animals produced for our needs and wants (the industry refers to the butterflies as "livestock") we owe the butterflies a quick and painless death.
Holy shit! Nobody tell this guy about the classroom hamsters.
