By Filip Ivanis
A senior, Supreet Kaur, from Rockwall-Heath High School, submitted a bill. If it were approved, it would require public schools to make Anatomy and Physiology mandatory to graduate from high school.
“Everybody should know Anatomy and Physiology. Anatomy and Physiology teach us how our bodies work, what happens in our bodies, and I feel like we should all have this knowledge. It would help in emergencies as well,” Kaur said.
“Let’s say that someone has a stroke,” Kaur said. “Would you know how to help them? By making Anatomy and Physiology mandatory, we can not only get higher education but an education that will save someone’s life.”
A couple dozen delegates stood in a line with questions and concerns, 12 amendments were submitted. The delegates were not satisfied with the original wording of the bill.
The most debated topics were the consequences for the schools who disobeyed. Delegates noted the ever-increasing cuts in the budget were too harsh, some wanted the cut to be increased, some wanted a set amount.
After a motion, to save time, amendments were skipped and the proponent and opponent speakers were called.
Proponent, Aaron Adair said, “I think it should be a mandatory class because the skills might be important in life. You never know what might happen.”
Opponent speaker, Zach Wilburn said, “Depending on what you want to do in life, what you want to make a living from, you should be able to take the according classes and not be forced to take the ones that you will not need.”
The second proponent, Grace Thompson said, “I think it would be a great idea to include Anatomy and Physiology in mandatory classes, since it’s mandatory knowledge. By that I mean that everybody should know how their bodies work, and by passing this bill we will be doing a huge favor to this state.”
An opponent, Charis Thompson said, “I agree that a higher science class should be added, I think that we should not limit it to Anatomy and Physiology.”
After the final vote, the chair was in doubt, and a standing vote was taken. With a small difference, the nay’s had the winning count and the bill was not passed.