class pets, your opinion

[icedtea]

our class is thinking about maybe getting a pet. what are your thoughts on the matter????

[king2005]

I think its a good idea, BUT only if the teacher knows how to care for it & willing to take the critter in if it doesn't work out in class.

Back in grade 7-8, the grade 4-5 teacher had a HUGE ginniepig pen in her classroom. She taught the students about animal care, respect & so on. Every year she breed one of the females & would let kids take them home as pets, BUT the kids parents HAD to show up to the parent teacher interview to claim the one their kid wanted & had to listen to care tips & so on about the animal.

In my grade 12A english class, we decided to get a goldfish. I supplied the bowl & airpump. I made sure they only got a little goldfish & said at the end of the year it had to go to a bigger home, like a pond. So as far as I know there was a new fish every year & it went to the bio teachers pond at teh end of the year.

[dab_20]

It's a good idea AS LONG AS this animal is treated with respect by your class mates. In 5th grade my class got a rabbit named Cocoa. The teacher ended up having to give it away because it became vicous and starting biting and lunging at the kids. It was because the kids did not treat Cocoa with respect when the teacher wasn't looking.

[lute]

i think a class pet is a good idea as long as it's being cared for properly and isn't being abused by the children/teacher. we always had hamsters,gerbils, guinnie pigs, parakeets, and snakes in our class rooms. on weekends and holidays we'd draw from a hat to see who got to take the pet home.

i like the idea of having pets in class rooms because if the kids don't have pets at home it teaches them about the responsablility and what it takes to own a pet.

[Chilli]

I agree with what everyone else said, and I'll say it again, its a great idea as long as everyone treats it with respect and knows the proper care.
Also, you must have a back-up plan incase the head of your school suddenly declares a "no-class room pet" rule (it happened at my cousin's school). You also need to make sure that the animal has a home to go to during the summer and such.
Our teachers at our school are too lame to have classroom pets. We had one in science last year. A goldfish. But everyone would shake the tank and poke at it and such. As a result, the fish died.
I wouldn't really suggest anything such as a rabbit or any other larger furry animal. I think you all you try something like a tarantula, lizard, scorpion, or other non-everyday-house-pet. In other words, something that no one in your class really has as a pet so that they can learn something from it.
I hope you all decide on a good choice!

[IRescue452]

As long as its taken care of properly and students are taught proper care. If I ever saw a goldfish in a bowl in a classroom I would go off on the teacher. Proper care cannot be taught if the animal isn't in a proper situation.

[CagneyDog]

Honestly, I'd prefer that nobody had classroom pets. It stresses the animal out to know end with all the loud children in the classroom. Most of the animals either get too much attention, or very little. I remember when I was in Grade five we had a rabbit. The rabbit was completely overwhelmed by all the kids trying to touch/hold/pet it. I also remember in grade seven when we got fish and everyone ignored them etc. Also, It must be really stressful to the animal when it is being moved around every weekend etc. I really just don't think it is a goodd idea. Kids should be taught how to care for pets, however, it's not like they are getting the full view on how to take care of one. I know for certain that most kids aren't asked to clean the cages/tank etc.

[Jessika]

I think it is a wonderful idea so long as the pet is age-appropriate for the class. For example, hamsters are not suitable for younger children in my opinion. Maybe if it were one or two children, but not an entire classroom. Guinea pigs are especially not suitable for younger children because if dropped even from a few feet they could break their back which will lead to paralysis or even death.

So as long as the teacher is RESPONSIBLE, the children understand the animal and is quiet and patient around them, and it is age-appropriate for the group, an animal in the classroom can be a WONDERFUL learning experience for children of any age :)

[icedtea]

i am in the extension class, also known asa the smart class and most kids in our class have pets and are disgusted by animal cruelty etc. we wouldnt get a rabbit or guinea pig as we wouldnt want to keep something like that inside. we are stillthinking. we dont have hamsters here, and wedont want mice so we're still thinking. I have no doubt that the kids in my class would be nice to the pet.

there were axalotlyls a couple of years ago but the teacher left and took them with her. they were called rosie and rex,and i think they would be a good option.

[Miss Z]

Honestly, I'd prefer that nobody had classroom pets. It stresses the animal out to know end with all the loud children in the classroom. Most of the animals either get too much attention, or very little.

I think you are very right there. Class pets isn't such a big thing over here, so i don't know too much on this subject. But i totally agree with you. I've seen programmes of schools with class pets and basically i think the animal (in this case a hamster) was scared out of his wits. The thing is with a lot of young kids is that they like to pet and admire and hold a pet for a while, but soon lose interest. If this is definitely not the case for a class, then there's not really a problem, but there will always be kids like that. Also, kids like to crowd around animals, bang on the cage to wake the animal up and shove a mass of hands towards the pet in an attempt to stroke it. And i've heard of kids taking home class pets during the holidays, well, unless that child can be FULLY trusted to care for the pet throughout the whole holiday without getting bored, that's a really bad idea. I'm sure many class pets die in the hands of those kids. Sorry to put a bad name on kids here, and of course there are kids who would put 110% into looking after the pet, but some just wouldn't. Animals don't float everyone's boat unfortunately.

But, icedtea, if your class is disgusted by animal cruelty, then it should be OK. And i was talking more about younger kids. In a high school then it wouldn't really be so much of an issue.

[king2005]

I was in kindergarden & the teacher had green Anoles (sp). They were HER pets, but she thought it was a good idea to have them in the class so kids can learn about animal care.. However, we never got to touch one & we were NOT allowed to go near the cage without the teachers permission.. I was the lucky one. My desk was move beside the Anoles as I couldn't comunicate with the other students & was very lonely & distructive. The teacher said I was great after she moved my desk there & I had few to no oubursts. I was raised french & then I had to stop french cold turkey to learn english.. thats why I couldn't comunicate with other students & my vocab is still quite poor :(

[bckrazy]

:) Actually, Bunnies and Guinea Pigs should only be kept indoors, IMHO. But I don't think they are at all suitable for a class full of young kids, they can be very shy with too much activity, and they would be left alone for most of the day.

I would think, either 2+ rats (that go home with a teacher for weekends/summer) or fish. I suggest a nice planted 5-10 gallon tank on a stand or on the teacher's desk with 1 pretty male Betta and maybe a couple of African dwarf frogs would be perfect. Bettas can happily go weekends without eating, and it wouldn't be a huge mess to take him home over the summer. They also live 3-4 years when treated well, and when acquired from a reputable aquarium shop or breeder.

[CathyBogart]

I don't care for the idea of classroom pets. My bearded ragon was a rescue from a classroom situation, and he was at less than half of his ideal body weight, his chewing muscles had atrophied almost all the way away, and he was completely listless.

He had spent eight years in a room full of noisy stressful kids with almost no food, a pathetic water dish, and no UV light. What kind of life is that?

Even if the animal gets good care, I just feel that it is too stressful for any animal to spend its life in a room full of children who may or may not know how to take care of it.

[caseysmom]

I guess the thinking is that if they don't get contact with pets at home or something, I am not sure.

My daughters 5th grade teacher asked me to rescue the class rat because the teacher got pregnant and didn't want to deal with him over the summer so we adopted him, the other rat had already died.

We had 2 females already so she knew I liked rats, I won't have them anymore though because of their short life span. My younger daughter now has class mice in her 8th grade class and she said there are 3 of them and they get going on the wheel and one of them can't keep up so he kind of hangs on while the other 2 make the wheel go around, it sounds pretty distracting the kids end up watching the mice.

[Giselle]

Don't mind my pessimism, but IMHO school is for learning and, in my personal experience, class pets distract the students and detract from the learning enviornment. While the arrival of a class pet may interest the students for awhile, there are FAR too many risks, too many liabilities, and too many "if's" to ensure a healthy and happy lifestyle for the animal.

Beyond that, some parents may feel insecure about their child's safety and health with an animal in the classroom. There are many diseases that young children can contract from animal feces. I would hardly think it safe to allow young children to handle animal feed or excrement (which is what taking care of an animal is about). Besides *that*, in compliance with proper hygenics, the children MUST wash their hands after handling the animal. This will require a LOT of handwashing and a LOAD of supervising. I'm sorry, but parents don't pay their hard-earned money to watch their children to dawdle around a bunny or guinea pig.

Therefore, if the purpose of a classroom pet is to educate the children about the proper care of animals, what purpose does it serve when the children are not allowed to pet or care for it? It's just not a good idea... :/

[jesse_3]

I think that class pets are okay IF the teacher is fully responsible, and supervises everything that happens with the pets. The teacher should make sure that they are handled, but are not handled too much. The teacher has to watch their weight, and make sure the cages are clean. My teacher (in my animal class) has a guinea pig, a hamster, 2 birds, and a couple of fish. They are all healthy, happy, and well maintained. This teacher loves the pets, and really watches them.

So, if the teacher is responsible, and WANTS the class pet, then sure, go for it! - but if the teacher has doubts, I would definetely say no...that is just my opinion though...

Steph and Splinter