Those Furrier, Scalier Students: It Is Time to Rethink Classroom Pets

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Animal Expulsion? The Barriers Keeping Pets Out

It seems as if a generation ago, the classroom pet was as ubiquitous with education as chalkboards, apples, and school dances. Nearly every student, particularly those in elementary and secondary science classes could count on there being at least one classroom pet or mascot. Most common were hamsters, lizards, toads, fish, or spiders and other insects for the teachers who were not faint of heart. Typically, classes would name their pet and sometimes get into arguments over who got the coveted role of getting to feed and clean up after it.

Since then, times have changed. Although there are no nationwide studies tracking the presence of classroom pets, there has been consistent pushback that educators have been experiencing that has been making it increasingly harder to have one. Typically these involve health concerns, school district policy, and the logistics behind keeping pets. All of these concerns are valid hurdles that warrant at least some pause from teachers looking to bring an animal into their classrooms.

Perhaps the core barrier, and the one that most impacts others, is safety. Indoor allergens remain one common concern, particularly among inner city students, as cockroaches, mice, cats, dogs, dust mites, and molds (common among specific animals) have been known to be common triggers for allergies and asthma (McCoy et al., 2015). Regarding specific asthma triggers, dogs and particularly cats, are prone to triggering reactions in the most sensitive of asthma sufferers (Klotz et al., 2017). Understandably having certain types of classroom pets, particularly those with fur, comes second to preserving the safety of students.

The second barrier is a direct reaction to the first: school district policies. Because of the potential health impacts that having animals in the classroom might have and out of an abundance of caution, many districts have implemented strict policies regarding classroom pets, including which specific pets, if any, are permitted and under what conditions, at times creating a framework that can feel both overwhelming and at times contradictory for classroom teachers (McCoy et al., 2015). Such policies often feel so complex for teachers to follow and administrators to uphold that it becomes easier to simply ban pets with the exception of low maintenance ones such as fish.

Further compounding this is that many school boards and district administrators do not have the hard evidence to justify updating their policies to increase animal inclusivity. As of now, the positive educational impact of classroom pets remains understudied with no real data to support a correlation with higher student performance other than anecdotal evidence from teachers (Kog et al., 2023). Although district administrators and school boards are often more empathetic and receptive to teachers’ described experiences than they are given credit for, this still is often not enough to offset the health risks of having classroom animals, however minute they might be. This often makes the idea of encouraging animals in the classroom high risk - low reward for most.

Even when teachers are given the permission from the school policy and the blessings of the school community to have a classroom pet, the sheer logistics of following health and district policies can sometimes be daunting enough to discourage having them. Teachers are already constantly overworked with lesson planning, classroom management, differentiation, and the numerous other clerical components of their jobs. Adding the policies and regulations of keeping a classroom pet, in addition to the specific logistics of caring for the animal itself, simply feels like too much for most dedicated professionals. Furthermore, educators must also balance the needs of the students themselves. For students with sensory or emotional support needs, choosing the right animal can often be the difference between providing a valuable resource or an emotional trigger (Guérin et al., 2017).

The Benefits of Having Class Pets

Even with these barriers, educators can still make a strong case for the presence of classroom pets. Although there is a gap in research on the positive academic effects of animal interaction in the classroom, researchers have conducted enough studies to find consistent benefits to behavior, social-emotional wellness, and classroom engagement to point to this being a highly positive practice for students. When viewed holistically, it becomes readily apparent that despite the barriers, bringing animals into the classroom has real, tangible benefits that outweigh any risks.

Perhaps one of the most appealing to educators is the positive impact it has on student behavior. Because animals can act “as a bridge for social interaction, particularly for children who struggle with traditional social cues,” their presence can help decrease negative behaviors while supporting prosocial ones (Kog et al., 2023). In the post-COVID era, where many teachers have reported seeing a marked increase in classroom disruptions, particularly in terms of outright defiance and disrespect, incorporating a classroom pet offers a simple yet effective way to target the very same empathy, cooperation, and nurturing qualities that schools have been leaning into through expensive curricula and workshops.

Additionally, bringing animals into the classroom can impact the overall classroom environment by creating an emotionally healthy atmosphere. This is because animal interaction has been scientifically proven to reduce the cortisol levels and heart rate associated with stress, producing a calmer classroom where students are able to better focus on learning (Gee et al., 2021). This, of course, directly ties into the power of having support animals for students with emotional and sensory needs, where students who are more prone to become emotionally dysregulated due to external stimuli and triggers, suddenly now have a resource in the form of a pet who can help them regulate and remain in the classroom successfully. This is not only a win academically but also in creating a truly inclusive classroom.

The improvements to classroom culture, however, do not simply focus on preventing adverse behaviors. Rather, there are specific skills that classroom pets allow all students to develop. Fine (2019) writes, “The responsibility of caring for a classroom pet—such as feeding, cleaning, and monitoring health—teaches students essential life skills, including empathy, reliability, and respect for living creatures.” These specific skills are known as transferable skills as they are the kind of life skills that can be applied to any course or context and have been increasingly sought after by employers and institutions of higher learning. Indeed, many of these same skills have been incorporated into school districts’ Portrait of a Learner (otherwise known as Portrait of a Graduate) frameworks.

As mentioned earlier in this article, one of the barriers to having classroom pets has been a lack of established evidence that they have a direct correlation to positive academic growth. It would be myopic, however, to ignore the fact that the benefits described here often have direct impacts on student academic performance. Teachers, for their part, report that when they have classroom pets, students show increased motivation and engagement, particularly in science and biology, when given the opportunity to observe and care for live animals  (McCoy et al., 2017). With further research, it is highly likely that educators can find additional correlations between animals in the classroom and increased academic proficiency.

How to Keep Pets in the Classroom

There are several key ways for teachers to effectively bring animals into the classroom. To make it meaningful, however, there must be some deliberate planning that teachers do first both independently and with students as well. First and foremost is establishing clear and consistent procedures regarding the role of the pet and what the expectations will be for the class looking after it. This is largely because caring for a classroom animal constitutes a major responsibility for students. Because this task requires the class to do this collectively, “They must work together to care for the pet, take responsibility and communicate with one another to accomplish tasks or discuss concerns about the pet, creating positive relationships” (Meadan & Jegatheesan, 2010). Teachers must provide the framework for allowing this collaboration to be structured to avoid conflicts and confusion.

Procedures are also necessary for when the teacher wishes to utilize the classroom animal as a way to de-escalate a situation or to help a student regulate. The studies are consistent that removing a student from a stressful situation and allowing them to regulate with a pet is an effective way to allow them to express their emotions and return to learning (Stone, 2010). With that said, the teacher will need to be mindful of what this intervention looks like so as to ensure that it is effective and does not turn into a way for students to avoid nonpreferred tasks (such as academic work) for a preferred one (playing with a class pet). Having clear expectations and steps for this will be necessary. 

The final factor in incorporating animals into the classroom is being deliberate as to what the instructional objectives are for the animal’s presence. As mentioned previously, classroom pets can serve as a powerful resource for teaching social-emotional skills. To do so effectively, however, teachers must first identify what specific skills  students will learn by taking care of one. This is most effective when the teachers themselves are able to model what it means to be a humane role model and work with students to learn to determine the animal’s needs through its posture and reactions (Brous, 2010). Essentially this not only allows students to develop empathy but also critical thinking and creative problem-solving. 

The instructional value of classroom pets, however, does not only have to live in transferable and social-emotional skills. Stone (2010) writes:

Classroom pets can be brought into the curriculum in many ways to make connections to learning in a fun and motivating way. Concepts can be taught by using the relationships and interest that students have with the pets. For example, [teachers can] discuss the differences, similarities, and diversity of different pets and people. (Stone, 2010)

Of course, this often becomes contingent on the type of pet, its personality, and the content being taught, however, a teacher's ability to incorporate a classroom animal into the curriculum is only limited to their imagination.

With the push towards teaching the whole child and ensuring that we are not just teaching our content areas in isolation, classroom pets surely become one attractive option. Although there are some logistical hurdles that teachers must manage first, the power of bringing an animal into the classroom presents students with a wide range of opportunities to grow personally, emotionally, and even academically. Perhaps it is time for educators to start pulling out those old terrariums and fish tanks after all; and may add a dog collar or litter box for good measure. 

References

Fine, A. H. (2019). Handbook on animal-assisted therapy: Foundations and guidelines for animal-assisted interventions (5th ed.). Academic Press.

Gee, N. R., Rodriguez, K. E., Fine, A. H., & Trammell, J. P. (2021). Dogs in educational settings: Guidelines and recommendations for implementation. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 8(621744). https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2021.621744

Guérin, N. A., Lanning, B. A., & Bloom, M. E. (2017). Assessing Preferences for Animals in Children with Autism. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 4(29). https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2017.00029

Klotz, A., Valat, C., Maury, C., & Brouard, J. (2017). Environmental triggers and avoidance in the management of asthma. Journal of Asthma and Allergy, 10, 47–56. https://doi.org/10.2147/JAA.S121276

Kog, J., Heukelom, V. V., van Driel, M., & Enders-Slegers, M. J. (2023). Animal-assisted education: Exploratory research on the positive impact of dogs on behavioral and emotional outcomes of elementary school students. Animals, 13(16), 2624. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13162624

McCoy, K. D., Kercsmar, C. M., & Matsui, E. C. (2015). The school environment and asthma in childhood. Current Opinion in Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 15(5), 432–437. https://doi.org/10.1097/ACI.0000000000000201

Meadan, H., & Jegatheesan, B. (2010). Classroom pets and young children: Supporting early development. Childhood Education, 86(3), 207–214. https://doi.org/10.1080/00094056.2010.10523153

Stone, K. (2010). Pets in the classroom: The difference they can make. Fisher Digital Publications.