Dogs in the classroom....
Hi all!
At the Middle school my son attended year, His principal often brought his dog to school with him. I know also, that a couple of teachers had brought their dogs into their classrooms at various times (one had a litter of puppies she brought in to socialize, and another teacher had an injured dog he adopted that needed to be watched after surgery - so he brought the dog with him to school) Jon also went to a daycare for many years thru grade school, where the director raiser her dog(s) and trained them as therapy dogs.
Anyway - the Principals dog - Jett - was a stray they found while at the family cabin up north. they tried to find the owners of the black pup they found, but no one answered adds in the local paper or contacted the county shelter there, so they brought him home and kept him. When school started in fall 2003, Mr. H started bringing the dog to school with him on some days. Jet is some kind of black lab mix - with a curly, long-furred tail that curls over his back.
This year, I am between jobs and am filling in by substitute teaching. Yesterday, I had the 7th & 8th grade special ed / "life skills" class - 8 physically handicapped or downs syndrome kids, and I found out that Jett now spends the majority of every school day in this classroom.
I am one of the few subs who will sub for LD or Special Ed classes - for some reason, many of the subs don't want to tackle them - they are kind of afraid of them - though I really don't understand why. Though I have no specific training, (there are always multiple teachers and aides in these classes, so you are never totally on your own) I really enjoy working with these kids. Many of the LD kids will have emotional disorders as well as learning disabilities, and watching the class with Jett in it all day, vs. some other classes was a rewarding experience.
It was a double blessing to see how the dog really helped the kids to focus their energies, and it was wonderful for me to spend a day with gentle Jett, as well, as I have been missing my dog, Tristan, who died three weeks ago.
what I saw was the Jett has become so used to the routine of being in school, that he behaves in the classroom just as any dog at home would behave - he picks different spots around the room to lay, wanders in and out of the desks, occasionally walks by a childs desk to get minor attention or sprawls under a desk for a nap - just as my dogs would do while I was working around the house.
With the various problems the kids have, the frustration levbel and emotions can often run high. This was the CALMEST Special Ed room I have ever been in.
There were a couple of boys who got a little overly physical (wild), playing nerf basketball during free time - their activity attracted Jett, who wanted to play also - and they switched from fighting over the nerf ball, to sharing playing with Jett and his ball!
One girl who had severe communication/speech problems was having a hard time communicating to one of the aides something that she wanted. When the aide couldn't understand her speech and the girl was obviously near tears in frustration, the aide distracted the girl by calling Jett over. As they BOTH petted Jett, the girl calmed, and her speech became more controlled. The message became more clear, and the aide was able to understand that the girl wanted to leave the class to get her forgotten valentines from her locker.
Jett is used as a reward, as well - when a student earns behavior points, they are allowed to be the one to escort Jett back and forth to the office, or hold his leash for his outside potty time.
Like all dogs - Jett has an instinct for those who are not feeling well, physicaly or emotionally. the teachers and aides told me that Jett will often 'hang around' a child who is unhappy or not feeling well, and that they have learned to watch his behavior as a barometor for a kid 'on the edge' of a meltdown.
Jett is well known throughout the school - When my son was there last year (he's in HS now) Jett spent most of his time in the office, with occasional visits to various classes. Mr H. said that he learned that he could get kids to open up to him easier with the dog around - esp when dealing with behavior problems and problem kids. The whole atmosphere at the school took on a friendlier note once Jett joined the staff.
My son put it this way - he said,"when you have to talk to Mr H - he looks really stern, like he's gonna yell at you, even if you know you didn't do anything - but when Jett is there, you know he can't be that bad of a guy if he brings his dog to school with him everyday!" LOL! !
It is a real treat to watch Jett 'work the halls' during class breaks as the kids move from class to class - every kid smiles and tries to get in a quick (or longer) touch contact with Jett. Jett, of course, thrives on all this attention and love. (not to mention the treats and leftovers the kids sneak to him when they can!)
My thought is that more classrooms should have a resident dog - if this is the result!
Laura
