Do you remember the classroom pets we had in elementary school? They were our cute little furry friends we could say hi to on the way into class, look at during times of boredom, and say goodbye to at the end of the day. I personally miss having a classroom pet quite often. Classroom pets can be a sort of relief for some students, something to take their mind off the grueling test they are about to take or their maybe-not-so-good report card grades. Classroom pets should not just be something that are in our memories from our younger years, they should be in every classroom, in every grade.

Having a pet is a lot of responsibility. For classroom pets, teachers can give this responsibility to some of the students. Giving students this responsibility teaches them life skills that they might not have at home. The teacher can assign a group of students to watch after the classroom pet; feed them, give them water, and clean the cage after school. The teacher can then change the group to a new set of students; they can do this every two weeks or whatever they decide. This is not only an individual learning exercise but a group building exercise. Students will be taking care of a living organism in a group, depending on each other for its survival. Students may also meet and talk with other students that they wouldn’t have if it were not for this “project.”

As students age and move up in their academic career, their work load doubles in size and the difficulty triples. Having a classroom pet could possibly lighten up a high schooler’s daily routine. Seeing a cute animal in class daily would definitely brighten my day. It would bring more life to the classroom and therefore most likely bring more joy. When students are happier they are more likely to listen and pay attention to lesson plans rather than when they are upset and stressed over school.

Classroom pets may not be the solution to all the world’s problems or the problems in our school system, but what they can do is create a little break in everyone’s day by seeing the cute little hamster, fish, or rat in the classroom. Classroom pets would definitely brighten up each and every classroom at DCHS.