Lesson plan about eating cats sparks concerns for mom, teen
By Cheryl Browne, Barrie Examiner
First posted: Wednesday, November 19, 2014 07:34 PM EST | Updated: Wednesday, November 19, 2014 07:43 PM EST
BARRIE, Ont. - A high school lesson plan involving eating cats has one student and his mother upset, but the school is standing by it.
"Cat meat is a delicious source of protein. Because cat muscle is so dense, the meat is very tender," begins the lesson handout from a Grade 10 teacher at Barrie North Collegiate.
Student Creed Matton, 15, says there is also a poster on a door in the classroom that shows a small child holding a cat by the neck and reads: "So Many Cats, So Few Recipes."
"There's something very wrong with a poster of a child strangling a cat," Matton's mother, Bridgit Miezlaiskis, said Wednesday.
Matton, who joined the class in October, said on his first day in class, there was discussion about eating cats.
"There's another picture behind his desk with two slices of white bread and a cat that says, 'Another White Meat,'" Matton said, adding there's also a white, fluffy toy cat suspended by a string around its neck near the recipe poster.
The teen said he has a 14-year-old cat at home and doesn't consider the thought of killing or eating cats humourous.
The teen's teacher, Brian Adduono, declined to comment.
But Principal Dana Barakauskas says the approach is teaching kids "critical thinking."
"It's to teach them not to take all information at face value but instead to be discerning," she said.
Barakauskas said current brain research studies indicate students learn better when they're engaged and feels the teacher's method of creating discussion with his pupils is relevant.
"In no way is the teacher being serious about harming cats," Barakauskas said of Adduono, who has an almost 30-year career teaching high school students and received a teaching award of excellence last year for a program he runs at the school.
Barakauskas said the poster would be used to explain how satire, tone, irony and hyperbole can be used effectively.
Barakauskas said she doesn't believe she's been contacted by Miezlaiskis, but said she's willing to discuss the lesson to determine if it's appropriate for what the teacher is trying to convey.
As for Matton, Miezlaiskis said he won't be attending the class until the material is removed.
"He's not going to English class in the interim because this is not OK," she said.
cheryl.browne@sunmedia.ca
Twitter: @cherylbrowne1
Bridgit Miezlaiskis and her son Creed Matton, a student who attends Barrie North Secondary School, is upset with a teacher's idea to use animal cruelty as an lesson tool. (Mark Wanzel/QMI Agency)
Lesson plan about eating cats sparks concerns for mom, teen | Barrie | Ontario |
By Cheryl Browne, Barrie Examiner
First posted: Wednesday, November 19, 2014 07:34 PM EST | Updated: Wednesday, November 19, 2014 07:43 PM EST
BARRIE, Ont. - A high school lesson plan involving eating cats has one student and his mother upset, but the school is standing by it.
"Cat meat is a delicious source of protein. Because cat muscle is so dense, the meat is very tender," begins the lesson handout from a Grade 10 teacher at Barrie North Collegiate.
Student Creed Matton, 15, says there is also a poster on a door in the classroom that shows a small child holding a cat by the neck and reads: "So Many Cats, So Few Recipes."
"There's something very wrong with a poster of a child strangling a cat," Matton's mother, Bridgit Miezlaiskis, said Wednesday.
Matton, who joined the class in October, said on his first day in class, there was discussion about eating cats.
"There's another picture behind his desk with two slices of white bread and a cat that says, 'Another White Meat,'" Matton said, adding there's also a white, fluffy toy cat suspended by a string around its neck near the recipe poster.
The teen said he has a 14-year-old cat at home and doesn't consider the thought of killing or eating cats humourous.
The teen's teacher, Brian Adduono, declined to comment.
But Principal Dana Barakauskas says the approach is teaching kids "critical thinking."
"It's to teach them not to take all information at face value but instead to be discerning," she said.
Barakauskas said current brain research studies indicate students learn better when they're engaged and feels the teacher's method of creating discussion with his pupils is relevant.
"In no way is the teacher being serious about harming cats," Barakauskas said of Adduono, who has an almost 30-year career teaching high school students and received a teaching award of excellence last year for a program he runs at the school.
Barakauskas said the poster would be used to explain how satire, tone, irony and hyperbole can be used effectively.
Barakauskas said she doesn't believe she's been contacted by Miezlaiskis, but said she's willing to discuss the lesson to determine if it's appropriate for what the teacher is trying to convey.
As for Matton, Miezlaiskis said he won't be attending the class until the material is removed.
"He's not going to English class in the interim because this is not OK," she said.
cheryl.browne@sunmedia.ca
Twitter: @cherylbrowne1
Bridgit Miezlaiskis and her son Creed Matton, a student who attends Barrie North Secondary School, is upset with a teacher's idea to use animal cruelty as an lesson tool. (Mark Wanzel/QMI Agency)
Lesson plan about eating cats sparks concerns for mom, teen | Barrie | Ontario |