My students need a class set of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks for a semester literacy research project about stem cells and bioethics in a biology class.
Whose cells are they anyway? Every teacher wants their students to contribute to their community. My students need to develop the skills necessary to make educated decisions about bioethics in their future.
My school is a career technology school dedicated to the agricultural sciences.
It is located in an urban area and the students apply for admission. The mostly minority students travel from all corners of the city to attend our Title I school. Many have to travel over an hour on the bus in the morning and afternoon.
My Project
My students need a class set of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. In the burgeoning field of biotechnology, scientists and citizens will be faced with many novel situations that require ethical decisions which affect many. Analyzing historical accounts of bioethical decisions can help provide students with the tools they will need to make educated decisions in the future. Rebecca Skloot's, "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" tells the story of early research into stem cells and encourages readers to examine the question of who actually "owns" the cells.
Today's students will be faced with decisions that we can only imagine.
If educators enable them to develop the tools to analyze situations and make educated decisions, we can be sure that they will become active citizens. Reading this book will help the students begin to develop the tools they need to analyze these situations.
Nearly all students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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