Is having a classroom pet a good or bad idea?

its a great idea, the kids just love it !! they get such a kick out of having a pet in teh room, that they can take turns looking after, a fish tank is any easy option ! :)

Liability becomes an issue. It seems everyone wants to sue over the most triial stuff so I say no. Mr Bill

I liked what Mr Bill and Miss Paradise said. I personally think that it is a good ideal for the children. My son (5 yrs old) have pet gerbils and he is great with them. But it might be a liability issue, especially for those that dont like animals.

For the pupil defintely not :)

Its a great idea... Until someone forgets to feed it or they fumigate over the holiday weekend?

I suppose it is a good way to talk about death too?

In my kindergarten class, we had an ant colony.
I remember it to this day. On one occasion I brought to school a Pepsi bottle with many big ants in it, and soon learned from my loving teacher that big ants don't get along with the little ants we had.

I think it can be a very valuable learning experience and has often worked.

Depends what kind of pet. Something in a cage would be fine... kids could volunteer to take it home for rotating weekends. The typical caged animals don't care about people.. as long as they are warm and get food, they don't really care. It will give the kids a chance to take care of a living creature and learn to share also.

i think it can be a good idea. Allows children to understand 1) responsibility, 2) respect for living things, and 3) how to care for something that is weaker than themselves.

It's not a bad idea. It teaches the kids how to care for a pet while learning about them. The only problem is when they finally have to let it go. It sad for them

It's a great idea, Mastedon! Anything that draws in a diverse group and still draws out extroverts is a good thing!

I think it is. A pet can be a good teacher, it teaches nurturing and responsibility in a very hands on kind of way.

I would not want to be a classroom pet.

I think it is a good idea because it teaches children a sense of nurturing. Also, it will teach them responsibility and you can use the pet to make sure they behave. For example: "Little Billy, if you keep misbehaving, you won't be playing with the bunny later." You just need to be sure to keep the pet out of the line of sight of the children while they are learning because it will be a distraction.

Just make sure that you are prepared to explain the concept of death to children who are too young to fully understand it, who have parents with such drastically differing opinions on how children should learn about it that no matter what you say you will be dealing with at least one angry phone call.

I think its a good idea. In a way it shows kids how to have responsability since they take turns feeding and sometimes cleaning the pet. My four year old loves the one in her class and she comes home with a different story everyday about the pet and how she wants to clean her room because "chi-chi" (pet) cage was cleaned today

the kisd love that then you just get a hamster or a cat and every friday give it to a kid to go home with it and bring it next 2 days bring it to school

I believe that having a class pet teaches responsibility. Although fights may be apt to happen over who gets to pet or feed the animal first.

Great question!+3

Its a great idea, the kids will enjoy looking at it. It will help them learn about animals. You can get a hamster.

yes it will teach them responcibity have each child remember what day is there turn to feed it

It could be good and bad. A class fish, turtle, hermit crab, ect, would be great. But any animal that can make distracting noises such as a bird or a bunny, would not be a good idea.

good idea be/c it teaches the kids to take care of some thing. but bad for the parents who have to take the pet him for the weekend or breaks.

Lyle the lizzard, drop dead in the hands of one of my classmates. Can you say ISSUES?

It's a great idea if you do it right! Check out the website http://www.PetsintheClassroom.org. It is a grant program called Pets in the Classroom that provides up to $150 to K-6th grade teachers for the purpose of purchasing a classroom pet and/or pet supplies. The website has some great information on why having a pet in the classroom is so beneficial and things to consider before choosing a classroom pet.

Phenomenal idea.

depends how you abuse them

no bcuz there are kidz out there who never felt how it feels to be favored by any one they mayb small but are full of feelings and this can affect them for a long time

Depends on the pet. I remember we had a class pet. It was a parakeet that was mean as hell. Everyone was scared of it. Teacher had to get rid of it.

That's a great idea! It teaches he kids resposibility and you can reward pet time for good behaivour and good grades!

Well its good and bad really

Good:kids love pets it be a great way to show our responsability and children love it

Bad: if the pet died the children would be very upset, something could go wrong and children get very overwelmed

Both,(unless it's a fish),It's good for kids to have interaction with pets!
But,classroom pets require lots of attention. (Ex. My friend has 2 guinea pigs in her classroom and her room smells like a pee pit) Just make sure you clean the pets cage or tank weekly and you should be fine!

No, children should be taught that animals should be free, not kept in cages their entire lives for us top gawp at.

I think it is great; however, our fish and hamster died. We had to find books that deal with death to read to the children because they were very upset that these "animals" had died.

The other group in our room says it is not a good idea. Students can be allergic to pets. They also think a pet can be a distraction in the classroom. A pet could potentially harm a student.