class pets, your opinion

[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