Seaworld bullying the Scholastic News.

Today I realised just how low some pro cap people will actually go to stop people from having a differing view to their own.

 The Scholastic News this month has ran a story of a little girl called Kirra and her view on wanting to see wild orca against those in captivity. It asks children to join in 'the debate over whether to keep killer whales in marine parks', giving them views from Naomi Rose, a marine mammal scientist at the Animal Welfare Institute in Washington DC., who is against captivity and Julie Scardina who is the animal ambassador at Seaworld.

In my view this gives children the chance to think, the chance to see both sides of a story and the chance to make up their own minds about things. Apparently pro cap people do not see the same as it threatens their stance on captivity.

The article says

For nearly a decade fifth graders at a school in Malibu, California looked forward to their annual field trip. The students at Point Dume Marine Science Elementary School travelled to Seaworld San Diego to see the parks main attraction, the killer whale show. They watched as killer whales, or orca, performed jumps and tricks in a large saltwater pool for about 25 minutes.

But the students won't be making the trip this year. Fifth grader Kirra Kocler convinced the principle to cancel the trip. ''Its wrong to have killer whales in captivity'' Kirra says ''They're too big for the little pools they are kept in''.

Kirra isn't the only person who thinks that. Lately a debate has been growing about whether orcas should be kept in parks like Seaworld.

Making Waves

Orcas have been on display in marine parks since the 1960s. Today 24 orcas live in 4 parks in the US. Millions of people travel to these parks each year to see killer whales close up. But in 2010 a killer whale named Tilikum drowned a trainer during a show at Seaworld Orlando, Florida. the incident made many people question whether orcas should be in captivity. 

In recent years, India, Costa Rica, Hungary and Chile have all banned parks from displaying orca and dolphins. Naomi Rose is one of many people who would like the Unites States to do the same. She is a marine mammal scientist at the Animal Welfare Institute in Washington DC. 

In the wild orca's swim up to 100 miles per day and often live in complex family groups (see family matters). They are also highly intelligent which makes them easy to train. But Rose says that being kept in captivity leads to boredom for orcas. ''I think they are under a constant low level of stress simply by being confined when they are built to travel long distances'' she said.

Rose and other scientists think orcas get frustrated and get more aggressive in captivity. The scientists and Seaworld say that is not the case.

Some animal rights groups including AWI want Seaworld to create sanctuaries in the ocean for their orcas. these enclosed areas would give the orcas more space to roam than they have in the parks.

Orcas up close

Many people still see benefits of keeping orcas in marine parks.Julie Scardina is the animal ambassador at Seaworld. She says having orcas in the parks allows scientists to study them and learn more about them than they could in the wild. '' You understand about animals a lot more when you are allowed to get close to them'' Scardina said. ''When you see a killer whale and it jumps 14 to 15 feet right in front of you, that is a moment you will never forget''. 

Seaworld says that since the 2010 drowning it has spent $70 million to improve the killer whale habitats in its 3 US marine mammal parks. 

The federal government has also got involved. After the trainer was killed in 2010, new regulations were created to better protect the trainers at marine mammal parks. Trainers are no longer allowed to enter the water with orcas during shows.

Family matters

Though they are called killer whales, orcas are actually the largest members of the dolphin family. Like many other dolphins orcas travel in close knit family units called pods. A pod consists of up to 50 individuals.

In many pods orcas rarely leave their mothers sides even as they grow from calves to adults.

Each pod has its own set of whistles clicks and calls, that only the members of the pod recognise - similar to having a unique language.

The oldest female in the pod is usually the group leader.

Members of many pods hunt in teams. For example they work together to create waves to knock seals off ice flows and into open water.

Whale watchers

As for Kirra, she still wanted to catch a glimpse of killer whales. So she and her principle organised a field trip for her class to go whale watching in the Pacific ocean instead.

'' I wanted to see the orcas being free'' she said ''When they are in the wild they can do whatever they want''

WHERE IS THE BIAS IN THIS ARTICLE, IT HAS STATEMENTS FROM NAOMI ROSE AND FROM JULIE SCARDINA.?? 

It then moves onto these questions and answers asking what Naomi Rose would most likely agree with and asking why the author would include a quote from Seaworld's Julie Scardina as you can see from question 5 the only obvious answer would be ' to present a main argument for keeping orcas in captivity'.  As you can see from the options the answers are created to make elementary pupils think, not to present any bias.

After looking at the article above, why then would a pro captivity page on facebook make the following statements.

''Well the Schoolastic news... so take a look at their "quiz" which leads the kids to want to free the Orcas. Please remember to email Schoolastic News ASAP at magazinecs@scholastic.com and tell them that you think Zoological parks are valuable education tools, and that they shouldn't be promoting a radical Animal Rights agenda to kids.''

Where does it show that the 'quiz' leads the kids to want to free the Orcas, and where does it promote a radical Animal Rights agenda to kids???  

They then go on to say '' Read the Schoolastic Piece now and see the horrible Animal Rights Agenda that is being pushed on kids today! Email them and tell them to have Joe Bubar retract his article and write a new piece magazinecs@scholastic.com''

Where in that article does it present a horrible Animal Rights Agenda being pushed onto kids??  

The thing I find more disheartening to see is some of the comments their members then go on to put into print, bearing in mind the article gives no bias, presents both sides, and states why a little girl thinks how she does. 

 This is so gross. Especially number 7 - 

as you can see this is for elementary school children and the article says 'words to know' confined (kuh-n-FINED) adjective 'kept within a small area'. sanctuaries (SANGK-choo-wehr-eez) noun, plural natural area where animals are protected. Number 7 on the quiz simply asks 'What word means the opposite of confined? a, bored, b, caught, c, caged, d free.

HOW IS THAT GROSS?

I am also going to recommend to all the local schools I do programs for to consider cancelling their subscriptions with them. I provide free presentations to local schools about the marine environment. The ORCA can not just be freed anyway, they would never survive in the wild.

Backed by what evidence?  Would you be so petty as to get people to cancel subscriptions because the article doesn't support Seaworld as you do?

The lack of research done by lead educators in the public school system is extremely concerning. To allow this biased material influencing our children is disheartening.

Where is it biased when it includes both Naomi Rose AND Julie Scardina and then asks on the quiz why both their points were relevant? 

 Thank you for the article. Upon reading it along with the quiz at the end, the entire article, seems very leading to the view point that captivity is wrong. Julie Scardina's quotes were basically used as a straw man argument sandwiched between radical ideology. 

Naomi Rose, has sued sea world, and advocates for extending person hood to Whales, Apes and and other animals. She is not a non-biased scientist. She is an animal rights advocate who happens to also be a scientist.  

The Whale Watching industry WDC put out a white paper about the harm that whale watching causes to wild populations.  

Pollution
Noise
Changes the breeding and feeding patters of pods.

Whatever your personal feeling towards Naomi Rose she is still a marine mammal scientist at the Animal Welfare Institute in Washington DC.

The article was also balanced here -  Rose and other scientists think orcas get frustrated and get more aggressive in captivity. The scientists and Seaworld say that is not the case.

As for Julie Scardina's quotes being a straw man argument it says  Julie Scardina is the animal ambassador at Seaworld. She says having orcas in the parks allows scientists to study them and learn more about them than they could in the wild. '' You understand about animals a lot more when you are allowed to get close to them'' Scardina said. ''When you see a killer whale and it jumps 14 to 15 feet right in front of you, that is a moment you will never forget''.  Seaworld says that since the 2010 drowning it has spent $70 million to improve the killer whale habitats in its 3 US marine mammal parks.

How is that sandwiched between radical ideology??

The only other person with any view in the article is an elementary school child, who didn't want to go to Seaworld again!

just look at what the kids read which will most likely be the blue bubbles and the family matters portion.

What is in the blue bubbles that is not true? It tells them how orca families structure themselves. 

Are you trying to say that you don't want people to know that because that is not how it is at Seaworld? Why would you feel threatened by those facts? 

 Because a one fifth grader in a class is obviously an expert on Marine Mammals...

She is a child who rather than go to Seaworld AGAIN wanted to see a different side and see wild whales too. What is wrong with that and why would you feel the need to ridicule a fifth grade child? 

Is this a joke? Why did scholastic publish this?? They fail to mention our rescued animals who have been shot or stabbed by people out in their natural environment. They fail to mention that 70% of the killer whales at SW San Diego were born into a zoological environment. Ugh, this makes my blood boil. "We protect what we love, we love what know, we know what we experience." Those kids could have had the same life changing experience on that field trip that I did when I was in third grade.

If they printed all this would they not then be moving from a balanced article to a pro cap agenda? 

What a shame. I used to read this as a kid. I'm very disappointed they've chosen to publish such a biased article. Not arming the target audience with complete information is horrible.

Where have they not armed the target audience with complete information? 

Dawn's death is a tragedy, and no child will be able to understand what happened that day, so there is no reason why it had to be included in this article. Young kids should not be exposed to such a heavy and sensitive event unless it is to pay tribute to her life, not publicizing her death.

This article did not mention Dawn once, it also says 2010 drowning, if they were exposing the event surely they would have put what Tilikum actually did to her wouldn't they? I don't condone lying to children but being economical with the truth as this article is, is the best way as they do not need to know or be exposed to the details as you said,  and it was mentioned to allow the statement that Seaworld has spent $70 million in improving their orca habitat. 

I actually do contract work for them from time to time, and did just email them. Sensationalism sells, but so do facts. I just sent a nice reminder to my contact and then their general contact area reminding them that Scholastic News should remain neutral.on another note, a school here had the students watch 15 minutes of the docu-fiction. The high school students then had to write about if SeaWorld should be shut down. I am proud to say, many supported SeaWorld and gave facts with citation and did not buy into the hype.

Where have they not remained neutral? They gave both sides, and ask questions regarding both sides. The only person with a wish to not go to Seaworld was the young girl Kirra and as this is a Marine Science Elementary School, she has probably realized some things herself and all to her for voicing them. I find it amazing that you would try to use your position as a contract worker to influence an article to promote a pro cap view, as the article is neutral, if it wasn't there would be no mention of any quotes from differing points of view.

The biggest problem I see is they are brainwashing children to think the way animal rights activists want them to think. I've never been "whale watching" but from what I hear, good luck actually spotting a whale. It's all about luck and if you do see it, it'll be the a mist of water spouting from his blow hole... that is about it.

Where are they brainwashing children, there is plenty on the article from Seaworlds OWN ambassador?  I would also suggest you look up whale watching tours there are hundreds of them on Facebook and more on the internet. I haven't seen one where they saw nothing.

 I posted the article on my personal page as well. I am asking all my educational colleagues to email Scholastic. I have worked for 3 school districts across the state of PA and have friends in the field across the country both at the elementary and secondary level and since I retired from the K-12 level and pursued my doctorate now at the higher ed university level. I'll get them to email too. It's gotta stop!!

  It's a replay of the oversight hearings w/Congress. Naomi Rose vs. SeaWorld. And then they put a 5th grader in there who convinced a principal to not send kids to SW. Based on WHAT? If a 5th grader (one kid) came to me and then I canceled a much loved and anticipated trip I'd better have a better reason than one fifth grader asking me to cancel. And BLACKFISH wouldn't be that reason!!!!

Not once does this article mention Blackfish. As for Naomi Rose vs Sea World, where is the argument in this article? The article states what Naomi Rose thinks followed immediately that Seaworld refutes that  ''Rose and other scientists think orcas get frustrated and get more aggressive in captivity. The scientists and Seaworld say that is not the case.'' 

As for based on WHAT?  This is a Marine Science Elementary school who have been regularly to Seaworld San Diego. This little girl wanted to see a different perspective and asked to go to see Wild Orca. Maybe her principle listens and takes a balanced view as to what educational value it would have to see a different aspect rather than constantly seeing the animals in tanks, I doubt very much that it would have been based on just one child's view although it may have been that child that sowed the initial seed. Some teachers and principles do things like that rather than appear as dictators. 

As for encouraging all your colleagues to email Scholastic, surely that is again trying to use your position as a teacher to influence the views of others rather than allowing them to make up their own minds. Trying to whip up lots of people to push your agenda is nothing more than bullying which teachers should be aware is not right at all. 

Sent an email. They should do their own research before posting articles like this!

I find this quite funny, they have quotes from Naomi Rose and Julie Scardina to get a balanced view but they need to do research, where do I keep hearing that.  lol. 

 
There are many many comments but I will make this the last one as it is a brilliant example of how wrong some people can be. 

That's a very one sided article They don't go into how they got the whales. (Rescued) How they are allowed in different sized pools and they actually tend to hang out in the shallower pools and that at one park there are twin brothers (SA) and that the mothers are never separated from the calves Behind the scenes they do hang out in a pod and have family bond. All animals in captivity are wild and always will be, there is always the risk of being injured The trainers know that It takes years of education and training before one is allowed in the water period. They just don't say "Here get on him and ride" as the one supposed trainer in BF said... And it wasn't even HER on the whale. There are so many things left out. And maybe we should start worrying about making the oceans safe from poachers , oil spills and pollution before we start worrying about releasing them. They would not survive out there They didn't mention these whales were rescued from sea side circuses or parks that weren't capable of taking care of them,
So they are now safe and would die if released now. I can't believe they wrote that article because of one 5th grader who was probably just repeating what her parents said. They should take her behind the scenes and let her ask questions and get the facts before printing such an obviously biased article.

The whales were rescued?? Really lol. 5 Seaworld orca still in the tanks were wild caught, they were rescued???? 

Twin brothers? where are the twin brothers? Orca twins are exceptionally rare and definately not in Seaworld parks.

Mothers are never separated from calves. Really??

All animals in captivity are wild and always will be, there is always the risk of being injured - this is that OSHA have been saying so why are Seaworld arguing with that?

 They didn't mention these whales were rescued from sea side circuses or parks that weren't capable of taking care of them - they weren't!! 

I can't believe they wrote that article because of one 5th grader who was probably just repeating what her parents said. They should take her behind the scenes and let her ask questions and get the facts before printing such an obviously biased article. - that 5th grader has been to Seaworld with the school every year, she wanted to see them in the wild. If everyone did the same thing they might get a view of the difference which is probably what this young girl wants to do. Why should they take her behind the scenes to try to make her opinion the same as yours?

I know each side pro and anti cap have their own views but I was truly saddened to see full grown adults post such horrible things against a magazine for children and against a child which in my opinion presents both sides of an argument in a way children would understand. To see full grown adults state they are going to email the magazine over and over again, they are telling people to stop their subscription, they are using their positions as teachers etc to try to influence the magazine, purely because someone stated it has a radical animal rights agenda which it blatantly doesn't is just outrageous, and shows how sheep like some of the followers actually are. 

The article was prompted by the view given by little Kirra, who for once wanted to go and see wild whales in their own habitat doing as she says 'whatever they want'.

This page has repeatedly said anti cap protestors are bullies, are Peta supporters who kill animals, are ignorant and biased and this just shows them for exactly what they are, the very things they accuse others of being. Not once have they considered what this young girl may think to an argument starting over something she said. Not once have they stopped to consider this young girl is part of a school that studies marine science and not once have they considered that this young girl may be affected by their comments.

It is a truly sad thing to see.