The Case for Classroom Pets

In a way, school districts might find that making their classrooms pet-friendly could result in an overall benefit to their school system.  More and more corporations are welcoming dogs and cats into the workplace, either on a permanent or monthly "pet day" basis.  Why?  In their article “Taking Your Pet To Work” for the Delta Society, Ellen Shay and Shauna Shipley note:

Because of the many health benefits of companion animals, allowing pets in the workplace can create a workforce that is happier and less stressed.  Being able to bring your pet to work is considered a desirable employment benefit by many people.  This can translate to less employee turnover and a more committed workforce.

Just think – if only our schools were more pet-friendly, boards of education across the country might find themselves retaining more qualified educators, paying less for medical coverage, and settling fewer union disputes… and all at no additional cost to the town's taxpayers!

What it all comes down to, of course, is really about the educational benefits of classroom pets.  Psychological and physical health benefits be hanged, in many school districts, it’s the almighty standardized test that holds sway over what goes – or stays – in the classroom.  Can pets be useful in direct relationship to delivering curricular goals and meeting national standards?  Of course!

People in general, from third graders to business executives, tend to devote their attention more completely and their efforts more fully to matters in which they feel a personal stake.  Classroom pets provide a specific, tangible, living and breathing focus for a multitude of lessons.  Over fifty five examples are cited later in this text, but in very general terms, classroom pets can become…

& Reading teachers – Children who love their class pet will read books about that pet’s species.

& Writing teachers – Class pets become the main characters in narrative fiction, subjects of expository essays explaining why one class pet is superior to another, allies in persuasive debate focused around ecological or animal-rights issues, and muses for poetry.

& Math teachers – Think living, breathing math manipulatives that can be measured, weighed, placed in word problems, generate statistics for graphing (how much food does our pet eat?  How much water does he drink?  Which is more?), and facilitate the learning of abstract concepts such as symmetry.

& Science teachers – Classroom pets and their wild relatives can teach about biology, zoology, ecology, physiology…

& Social studies teachers – Classroom pets can help demonstrate geography, the legal system (how do animal protection laws get passed?  What are the steps to electing an animal-friendly senator?), current events (animal stories in the news are always a hit), and complex comparisons of culture (why would wealthy societies own many pets while economically disadvantaged societies own relatively few?)

& Health teachers – Eating right isn’t just for humans any more!  Neither is exercising!

& Humane educators – Studies show that the way people treat animals often parallel the way they treat other humans.  Can students learn to respect all life with the help of a classroom pet?

Of course, it's easy to sing the praises of the classroom pet.  Is it, however, the best solution for ALL classrooms?  And could it, perhaps, have a darker side?

The answer, of course, is a resounding YES - but that's a topic for another post.