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do not avoid the use of scientific
names and do not discourage your students from the use of
scientific names. It is easier to learn one name for a butterfly
rather than two names. It really does not matter how one wishes
to pronounce them and since gardeners have no problem using
the word Chrysanthemum; there is no reason to shy away
from using words like Pieris marginalis. |
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remind your students that
the vast majority of animal biodiversity on our planet consists
of little critters without backbones. It is not good enough
for us to look after the habitat needs of large furry creatures
and go away thinking that we have done the right thing for
animals in general. |
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cultivate open minds and healthy
scepticism. Encourage students to ask ‘why?’ and ‘On what
basis do you come to that conclusion?’. Not everything that
is written is correct and we have a whole lot to learn about
small animals |
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conservation and sustainable
use of natural resources is vital BUT forget just about everything
you ever learned about vertebrate animal biology when dealing
with conservation issues about insects. Their biological and
ecological realities are fundamentally different. Killing
an insect is not the same as killing a grizzly bear or moose
from a biological and ecological perspective. |
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cultivate observational skills
as well as logical and lateral thinking skills; these are
essential to the creation of new knowledge. Society will be
well served by equipping people with the ability to think
outside the box of existing paradigms. |
