Get Schooled

By Been There

March 2, 2006 11:28 AM | Link to this

My 3rd Grade teacher raised Hamsters in our class. I thought they were cute and always begged my mom to let me have one. But they DID smell. I remember having a lot of headaches and looking back, I was prob. allergic.

Pets are ok to an extent, just don’t go nuts and have a menagerie. Good way to teach responsibility and promote class unity I suppose. But focus on the task at hand: Passing the TESTS!! :>)

By Erin

March 2, 2006 11:49 AM | Link to this

I went to DeKalb County schools and I remember having rabbits in the courtyard of my elementary school for several years. We’d watch for the babies every spring and thought it was great.

I also remember having pet goldfish in my class one year. We took turns feeding them and cleaning the bowl each week.

I think it’s a great idea to have a classroom pet because it is fun for the kids but it also teaches responsibility, too, because the kids themselves, in most cases, take turns caring for the animal, feeding it and cleaning its cage. S

So it goes beyond just being fun for the kids. It’s also a great teaching tool. Not all the kids are going to have pets at home and may not otherwise learn about animals and proper care of and respect for them.

By meme

March 2, 2006 12:08 PM | Link to this

No pets, please. Too many allergies.

By oldteacher

March 2, 2006 12:10 PM | Link to this

We had a science teacher across the hall from me who kept a menagerie. That is, until the morning we came in and the snake was gone. I think I taught standing on my desk for about a week. LOL

By jim dumond

March 2, 2006 12:23 PM | Link to this

So if a pet bites a kid in the classroom Is it still cute? Are schools insured for this type of negligence or would taxpayers foot all the bills?

Appears I might be the only one with concerns.

By Robert

March 2, 2006 12:37 PM | Link to this

Jim, You are right. Animals can bite. People do have allergies. Accidents can occur and yes, the taxpayers do have to pay for this.

However, if you base your decisions on this, then there will be no science labs - couldn’t a student have an accident with a scalpel during biology dissection, or couldn’t a mild acid in chemistry class hurt someone, or couldn’t a flying ball in physics lab hit someone?

But wait a minute! What about sharp pencils! A point on a pencil can put someone’s eye out. Ink flying out of a broken pen could kill if ingested. Certainly there must be some allergies from chalk dust or ink fumes from dry board erasers.

I agree with Jim, 100%! All students and teachers should be completely encased in a plastic bubble. No supplies at all should be allowed in schools. All floors should be rubberized and certainly no glass in the windows! No science labs, no lights (light bulbs are made of glass), and no seats (can’t a student fall out of the seat?).

By posterchild

March 2, 2006 12:40 PM | Link to this

I think pets are a great idea. We have some here, and the kids really enjoy looking after them. Kids have more allergies these days because they are not exposed to a lot of things. Also, I don’t really school pets to be a danger (maybe a snake, depending on what kind). Animals bite. Kids do, too, as I’ve been lucky enough to witness with students. That aside, I (and I’m sure many other bloggers here) have been bitten by various pets, and I’m still breathing. I also rode a bike without a helmet (fell several times, too), didn’t wear a seatbelt until they passed a law saying we had to, and routinely hung upside down from monkey bars.

By V for Vendetta

March 2, 2006 12:46 PM | Link to this

I think pets are fine… for K-5 that is. After that, they should probably be retired. Simple as that. But I do agree with what others have said, there needs to be good judgement used. A classroom does not need two of every animal. Not as long as the books say that’s how all the animals survived the flood. I’M KIDDING, kidding, kidding… don’t want to start that whole debate again.

By waterbug24

March 2, 2006 12:53 PM | Link to this

All Pre-K classrooms are supposed to have either a plant or animal (something living) that the students help take care of.

By Patti Ghezzi

March 2, 2006 01:04 PM | Link to this

Jim, I did sustain an injury in the reporting of this story! I got bitten by a rat. It barely broke the skin, even though I made quite the melodramatic fuss about it at work.

Patti

By jim dumond

March 2, 2006 01:43 PM | Link to this

Robert, I fear you’ve jumped to a bad conclusion. I’m neither in favor nor do I oppose having pets in school. I merely asked a couple of questions regarding liability issues that could certainly be raised at a later date. Better to ask now.

By jim dumond

March 2, 2006 01:48 PM | Link to this

Patti, I highly recommend keeping your fingers out of rat cages. But you’ve proven my point. One never knows how an animal will react to a given situation. Should you become infected with something due to the bite there wouldn’t be a jury in the world, with the possible exception of here in Ga., that wouldn’t find in your favor.

By Erin

March 2, 2006 02:07 PM | Link to this

OK, yeah, there are liability concerns that must be addressed and thought through, but that doesn’t mean having pets in class would be a bad idea.

But concerns can be taken way too far. And some people will sue over any little thing. Going by how some people might react, I should probably sue my friend whose cat gave me a slight scratch on the arm while I was playing with it this weekend!

By Erin

March 2, 2006 02:11 PM | Link to this

I should probably add this to my comments about liability concerns: If the teacher chooses the pet wisely and the children are taught respect for the animal and are taught how to handle the animal carefully, then there shouldn’t be a problem. That’s part of why small pets in elementary schools are, I think, a good idea. Kids should have respect for animals and should know how to handle them correctly.

I’d say it should be a matter of common sense, but unfortunately, common sense just isn’t common. rolling eyes

By Patti Ghezzi

March 2, 2006 02:20 PM | Link to this

I take responsibility for my injury. It was I who jammed my fingers in Jasmine’s surprisingly cute face.

By OldSchool

March 2, 2006 02:20 PM | Link to this

I think wisely selected pets in a classroom is a wonderful idea. My sister, who teaches 4th grade, had a wading pool with hermit crabs in her classroom Quite an experience for her students. They even grieved together when one died.

On a related note, there is a website out there devoted to public and school librarys around the country and world that have resident cats. Can’t remember the url but you can always google “library cats.”

By labmom

March 2, 2006 02:57 PM | Link to this

Liability is a major consideration in anything a teacher does. Look at a kid wrong today, and you could get sued. If the Cobb therapy dog is the one I know, it has been tested and registered through a national organization.(I tested it.) The teacher has a protocol to get parental permission and assurance that the children are not alllergic to dogs. She also has a plan for “potty” breaks, crating, and expected safety rules. If the children break the rules, the dog stays home. A class pet, particularly a dog, shouldn’t be a haphazard thing. Therapy dogs are trained and tested to handle stressful or unusual situations. The important thing is they are tested to prove that they have the temperament for doing therapy work. Not just any dog should be allowed in a classroom. After working with therapy dogs and having my own therapy dog in my class, I feel that a teacher that isn’t willing to go the extra steps necessary to get their dog credentialed shouldn’t have a dog in school. It is too traumatic and expensive to have a dog bite a child in school.(or anywhere else for that matter.) That being said, the Cobb therapy dog is a delightful sight to watch. She helps “check” school work by barking if the answer is correct. She is a nonjudgemental reading partner. She’s used as a behavior reward. She is used in dogbite prevention lessons, math problem solving lessons, and character education. A well planned, safety concious program with a therapy dog can be a beneficial part of a class. An untested, unproven dog is a lawsuit waiting to happen.

By jim dumond

March 2, 2006 03:18 PM | Link to this

Patti might be able to get you a job training and regestering a rat.

By Nel

March 2, 2006 03:41 PM | Link to this

Now Jim, you know some parent would get a lawyer in a heartbeat if their child was nipped by a school pet. My son’s pre-school class had gerbils that the kids got very attached to and I would get detailed accounts of everything they did every day. When one died, it gave the teacher an opportunity to deal with the subject of death with them, so it was all a learning experience. All, in all, I think it’s a great idea but you have to choose your pets..don’t know about snakes though.

By SET

March 2, 2006 03:48 PM | Link to this

I wouldn’t want to be the one issuing life insurance on classroom pets in some of the public schools around here.

By Dan

March 2, 2006 03:59 PM | Link to this

Jim it is sad but your point may be valid. I could see some idiot suing the school cause a rat gave their kid a nip. On a funny side, when in 7th grade kids sometimes brought their pets in for a week or so kind of a show and tell, caged pets hamsters mice birds etc. One of the girls had a pet snake that she brought in, in a fish tank. One morning at the bus stop I saw a small snake in the road so I took my lunch out of the brown back and caught the snake and brought it to school. Since the teacher didn’t want me walking around school with a snake in my lunch bag she out it in the tank with the girls pet. Well suffice it to say the next morning the girls snake was gone and my snake was shall we say a bit larger. I know it wasn’t funny for the girl but looking back it is a funny story

By Nel

March 2, 2006 04:11 PM | Link to this

Dan, you’re lucky that her mother didn’t sue your parents and the school for negligence and emotional trauma.

By Dan

March 3, 2006 08:49 AM | Link to this

hey the teacher put the snakes together not me. Plus that was a while ago before all the zero tolerence and PC garbage ruined any chance for reasonableness

By OldSchool

March 7, 2006 07:06 PM | Link to this

Back in ‘64, my biology teacher had a box turtle living in one of the lab sinks. It was my job to fetch the frozen liver from the cafeteria and feed him bits during studyhall each day.

Today, one of my students announced that she was bringing a turtle to live in my drafting lab. I told her the mice (it’s a farming community) might get jealous.

I’ll keep you posted.

By another teacher

March 14, 2006 07:07 PM | Link to this

When I was in 7th grade, our science teacher had two bunnies that were allowed to roam free in the room. We all enjoyed their company very much.