"Seriously, Miss - instead of testing on animals, why don't we test on people on death row?"

Oh, the risks of following up the animal testing unit with one on the death penalty - without fail, each time I teach this class, at least two students come to this conclusion.

It's always interesting to follow up the "test on death row inmates" argument with a comment about how they are then saying that the inmates lives are worth less than animal lives. Half the room jumps up and starts shouting about how they're not even worth being called animals and the other half starts screaming about how they are humans no matter what. It's fascinating to watch, especially when I have some insight into which students have served time, have family in jail or who have a particularly violent past. They're all fantastic in the classroom, but I know talking about our justice system hits home for a lot of them, whether they talk about it or not.

Though I particularly love how so many of them said that they were completely horrified by the way animals were treated and that they shouldn't be tested on for cosmetic purposes - and then not a single one of them raised their hands when I asked them if they would be willing to stand behind that by switching to cruelty-free products. One girl even said, "Miss, my hair will frizz if I don't use my gel."

Clearly my priorities are the ones out of whack.

Sigh.

Someone had asked me what my students had to say about the Heinz dilemma. Most believed that the druggist has every right to charge whatever he wants, but that he's morally wrong for charging what he did. They also believe that Heinz should steal the drug (partially simply because the druggist was so wrong and should be taught a lesson, and partially because it's the "right" thing to do for his wife, even though stealing is wrong) - and surprisingly, many of them said he should still steal it even if he doesn't love his wife because he took an "in sickness and health" vow. They are fascinating little creatures.

Heh. Have I mentioned how much I love teaching Ethics?