E-mails needed - school promotes Iditarod cruelty

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PLEASE CROSS POST

 

From the Sled Dog Action Coalition, http://www.helpsleddogs.org

 

A Wilmington, MA teacher, Lynne Gordon, is promoting the Iditarod, with the

support of the Superintendent of Schools.

 

See below an article about the controversy and a guest Op-Ed, opposing the

Iditarod.

 

Please send letters to the Superintendent and to the Principal of

Gordon's school (a public school, teaching grades 1 - 3), urging that their

impressionable, very young students be taught compassion, not cruelty and

exploitation. Letters from educators, child psychologists, and parents will

be especially helpful.

 

Gordon is disingenuous in stating that the Iditarod opponents are pushing

their own opinion onto others, when she is the one who will indoctrinate

impressionable children into accepting the Iditarod's PR. She states, below,

" If a child is writing an essay the subject isn't important .As long as they

are learning they can write about whatever they find interesting. " She will,

however, be telling children what to think, by promoting the Iditarod - not

teaching children how to think, which the best teachers do.

 

CONTACT INFORMATION:

 

1. Robert J Arsenault, Principal

Woburn Street School

FAX: (978) 694-6014

Email: barsenault

 

2. William H McAlduff, Superintendent

FAX: (978) 694-6005

Email: wmcalduff

 

3. Send letters to the editor of the Wilmington Advocate, re: the below

articles to: ftucker

 

Thank you.

 

Margery Glickman, Sled Dog Action Coalition

 

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http://www2.townonline.com/wilmington/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=176931

 

Teacher's part in race criticized: Iditarod deemed cruel to dogs

By Sandra Fletcher/ Staff Writer

Thursday, February 3, 2005

 

For Lynne Gordon, life on the trail begins in two weeks.

 

After 18 months, that included a 35 page application, four trips to

Alaska, and interviews with the Iditarod Association, Gordon, a second grade

teacher from the Woburn Street School, was named the official 2005 Iditarod

" Teacher on the Trail " last year.

 

The national program sponsored by the event identifies a teacher who

will use the Iditarod - the annual big-time dog sled race from Anchorage to

Nome,

Alaska beginning March 5 - as a learning tool.

 

But what Gordon and the Wilmington school administrators see as a great

teaching opportunity, others raise serious questions of alleged cruelty to

the dogs participating in the race, and of a relationship forged between a

teacher and a private organization during school hours.

 

" I believe the teacher is supporting this race out of ignorance, and if

she and the Wilmington School system knew the real story behind the race,

they would not portray these animal abusers as heroes to their students, "

said

Tricia Panitz, who along with Miami resident Margery Glickman, belong to

Sled Dog Action Coalition, a group that advocates against long distance dog

sled

racing.

 

They charge that racing these dogs over such great distances both

injures many, and results in the death of several of the animals.

 

" Everyone sees the race as a positive thing, but the downside, the abuse

to the dogs, is overlooked, " said Panitz, who heads the Cape Cod Coalition

for Animals. Glickman is the founder and director of the program based in

Miami, Fla.

 

While Glickman and Panitz question why a public school teacher should be

allowed to support the cruel and abusive treatment of dogs, Gordon is

finding support from her boss.

 

Superintendent Richard McAlduff said the district was " proud of Gordon "

for her achievement, seeing this as this as a great teaching and learning

opportunity for all involved. The school administration is promoting this

opportunity as a learning tool and guide line for academic excellence in the

middle school class as well as other classrooms, according to McAlduff.

 

" This is an honor for Gordon and for the Wilmington public schools, "

said McAlduff. " Her time spent out of the classroom is an innovative and

creative method of teaching through technology. "

 

Yet the critics feel that the association running the yearly dog race

are using teachers as tools to prompt the Iditarod's agenda. Glickman and

Panitz have targeted Gordon because of the unfiltered message she and the

school

department are spreading to students and the public.

 

" She is promoting this race in a positive manner as required by her

contract, but she does not have all the facts, " said Panitz. " She is

participating in this project for her own interest and using the students to

do it. " They

point to a contract with the Iditarod Association, who run the annual event,

that requires the teacher to make positive statements about the event.

 

Glickman feels that information regarding the treatment of the dogs

during training and the race is overlooked.

 

" Although the rules are there to prevent cruel and inhumane treatment to

the dogs, they are not followed, " said Glickman. " The rules stated are just

empty words, and the dogs pay the price. "

 

McAlduff had no comment on the terms of the contract Gordon was required

to sign making her eligible to participate in the program, nor would he

comment as to whether he or the school's lawyer reviewed the contract.

McAlduff also had no comment on the charges by the Sled Dog Action Coalition,

but was

not surprised to hear from them.

 

Gordon had received the same literature, but feels the group is pushing

it's own opinion onto others.

 

" What Margery Glickman and her organization is missing is the teaching

aspect of this race, " said Gordon " The idea is to develop teaching tools for

other teachers, I will be creating lesson plans and keeping a journal while

there for others to use as well as myself when I return. "

 

Gordon feels that Glickman should spend some time in the classroom or

visit the kennels in Alaska before she makes accusations.

 

" I've been to five or six kennels in Alaska and these dogs live a happy

wonderful life, " said Gordon. " They are extremely taken care of and when

they see their running gear they are excited and want to participate. "

 

Gordon also noted what finely tuned athletes the dogs are very strong

and fit. She stated that the dogs are taken better care of then some of the

drivers. The veterinarian care is performed by volunteers " simply for the

love of the animals and the race, " according to Gordon.

 

" These dogs are supreme athletes and I did not find any that were

mistreated, " said Gordon. " Just as athletes in the Olympics or Boston

Marathon become injured or even dying, the dogs enjoy the work of pulling the

sleigh

and running together. "

 

Gordon has been a teacher for eight years and using the Iditarod in her

curriculum for six years. Gordon noted that the theme of the Iditarod is an

excellent interdisciplinary approach to teaching and unites children to

their love of adventure, animals wilderness and their curiosity about

different

life styles and cultures.

 

Gordon believes that keeping her students engaged in a subject will help

them learn necessary skills.

 

" If a child is writing an essay the subject isn't important, " said

Gordon. " The point of writing the essay is to see if they are learning the

skills. As long as they are learning they can write about whatever they find

interesting. "

 

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http://www2.townonline.com/wilmington/opinion/view.bg?articleid=176877

 

Iditarod dupes taxpayers, students

By Margery Glickman and Tricia Panitz/ ZGuest Commentary

Thursday, February 3, 2005

 

When teachers waste children's time and our tax dollars promoting their

personal agendas, something should be done.

 

     This practice is especially outrageous when teachers endorse activities

that wouldn't be legal in Massachusetts. That's exactly what happens when

teachers promote the Iditarod, an Alaskan dog sled race that begins the

first Saturday in March.

 

     Because the Iditarod has a long, well-documented history of dog deaths,

illnesses and injuries, the race could not be legally held in Massachusetts.

The race would violate the state's animal cruelty laws which state that a

person who " overdrives, overloads, drives when overloaded, overworks or uses

an animal in a cruel or in human manner in a race " is guilty of animal

cruelty.

 

     Wilmington teacher Lynne Gordon was named the official 2005 Iditarod

Teacher on the Trail. To get this position, she signed a binding agreement

to represent and promote the race for a full year, and promised to spend at

least three-and-a-half weeks in Alaska. While taxpayers pay for a substitute

teacher when Gordon is away promoting the Iditarod, her students pay by

having their classroom routine disrupted.

 

     But it gets worse. Gordon was required to submit support letters from

the Woburn School administrators showing that they would help her promote

the Iditarod locally and statewide.

 

     When teachers and schools wish to deviate from the standard curriculum,

it's important that they check facts first. Surely if Gordon and the Woburn

School had checked the facts, they would not have agreed to portray animal

abusers as heroes.

 

     Here's the truth. In the Iditarod: dogs race 1,150 miles, the

approximate distance between Boston and St. Louis, over a grueling terrain

in 8 to 15 days.

 

     The dogs are not the indomitable animals Iditarod lovers portray. What

happens to the dogs during the race includes death, paralysis, penile

frostbite, bleeding ulcers, broken bones, pneumonia, torn muscles and

tendons, diarrhea, vomiting, hypothermia, ruptured discs, broken teeth,

viral diseases, torn footpads, dehydration, dislocations, sprains, lung

damage and tendinitis.

 

     Stories about the dogs receiving top-notch health care don't square

with the facts. At least 122 dogs have died in the race. The dogs who died

in the 2004 Iditarod had undiagnosed stomach ulcers, a condition often found

in these dogs. One dog died from blood loss due to ulcers, while the other

dog regurgitated and then inhaled his own acidic stomach contents, which

caused him to choke to death. Veterinarians ignored the detectable signs of

ulcers, namely, lack of interest in food, severe vomiting and abdominal

discomfort.

 

     On average, 53 percent of the dogs who start the race do not make it

across the finish line. According to a report published in the American

Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 81 percent of the dogs

who finish the race have lung damage. According to the Journal of Veterinary

Internal Medicine, 48.5 percent of the dogs who participate in the Iditarod

have ulceration, tissue erosion, gastric hemorrhage, or a combination of

these conditions.

 

     Dogs are often sick before the Iditarod starts but are made to race

anyway. While some sick dogs are dropped during the race, others are given

massive doses of antibiotics to keep them going. Records show that many

mushers pass through checkpoints without stopping for veterinary physical

exams. No one knows how many dogs die in training or after the race.

 

     The Iditarod, with its dismal report card, is nothing more than a money

making ploy that has no place in Massachusetts schools.

 

     Margery Glickman of Miami, Fla. and Tricia Panitz of Centerville, Mass.

are members of the Sled Dog Action Coalition, www.helpsleddogs.org. Panitz

is the head of the Cape Cod Coalition for Animals.