Classroom squirrel
A Rosedale, California high school has welcomed a new pet into the classroom: a squirrel. CJ Addington, a physics teacher, caught a baby squirrel that some students spotted outside the school.
I have some (just a few) issues with this:
- In most areas, catching and keeping wildlife is illegal, for good reason.
- A baby squirrel wandering around outside is not necessarily an orphan that needs saving. There's a good chance this squirrel will die now that it's been taken from its habitat.
- I doubt the teacher has a wildlife rehab license and knows how to take care of the squirrel.
- The teacher wants to "take care of it until it's a full grown squirrel and ready to go back in its habitat." Releasing an animal that has been hand-raised in captivity back into the wild is likely going to result in a quick death, and that's completely unethical.
- I have a hard time figuring out how to incorporate a pet squirrel into a physics curriculum.
- The teacher says "The administration did not have any disputes about having the squirrel." The administration, therefore, is clueless about a host of issues, including capture and care of wildlife and CDC recommendations against having wild animals in situations like this.
- Mr. Addington also said, "It is too young of a squirrel to be carrying anything, so I didn't have to vaccinate it or anything like that." Uh...no. This squirrel could be carrying a wide range of pathogens, including rabies. The number of people that have been exposed to rabies through handling baby wildlife is astounding.
- "It's cool to have a squirrel that freaks out at random points of class" said one student. That certainly sounds like a healthy, stress-free animal that is thriving in its environment (note the sarcasm here). Also, it shows how it's a potential classroom disruption.
Pets can be useful additions to classrooms in specific and well-controlled situations. Things to consider when deciding if an animal is reasonable to have in a classroom include:
- Are there any school rules that cover this?
- Are there any students that are at increased risk of infection because they have compromised immune systems? (Part 2 of that question is "If no, are you SURE that you would know if there was an immunocompromised child in the class?)
- Are there any students who are afraid of the animal? (Part 2: are you sure? applies here too).
- Are there any students who might be allergic to the animal? (Part 2 again...)
- Is there an educational value, or is it just a novelty?
- Will children eat in the same room as the animal?
- Can the animal be kept safely and in a humane manner?
- Who will care for the animal on weekends and holidays?
- What happens if the animal gets sick?
- Will protocols be established before the animal arrives, covering the above plus other issues, such as who will have access to the animal, how it will be handled, what type of hygiene practices will be used, etc?
The list goes on. Clearly, having an animal in a classroom is something that requires a lot of thought, time and work. It is possible for animals to be valuable teaching tools in a classroom, as part of the curriculum, as well as providing entertainment and increased empathy towards other species. It's also possible for animals to expose people to serious infectious diseases, to be distracting and to disturb the education of individual students or whole classes.
Wildlife should never be classroom pets.
http://www.wormsandgermsblog.com/admin/trackback/221971
Good afternoon,
As the teacher mentioned in this blog about the squirrel, I thought I would respond with a few comments. The student newspaper article that you mentioned had the basic points correct, but left out a few important details that I believe are the source of your concerns. First, although I do teach Physics, I also teach Biology and have a Biology degree from UC Davis. I have many years of experience in rescuing and rehabilitating baby animals, and have a pretty good track record on successful returns to the wild. In this case, some predator attacked a squirrel nest on campus, and killed the babies except for one. I found dead babies with deep gashes on their sides at the base of the tree, and the survivor had a bloody nose and abrasions. We left the baby in place for 24 hours to allow the parents to retrieve it, but when that did not happen, it was decided that we should take it into captivity, rather than have a starving baby squirrel loose on campus. I kept the baby squirrel in a large multi-level rat cage and put it on a diet of "Mazuri" rodent biscuits, to allow it to recuperate and put on some weight. Fortunately, it did very well, and after a few weeks of feeding and care, it was released into my back yard, where there are other squirrels to interact with, and where I can continue to provide food for it until it can care for itself.
A few important details: At no time was the squirrel ever considered a "pet". Wild animals do not make acceptable pets, and this was always a rescue and release operation. The squirrel was never touched by human hands, and nobody was allowed contact with it. Nobody ever "handled" it. As for it "freaking out", that is just a student's off-the-cuff comment. I gave the squirrel a woven nest ball, which it turned out to love, and enjoyed playing with. A young squirrel does a lot of scampering and playing, but this is normal activity and nothing to be concerned with.
Overall, I am simply concerned that people will think that we went out to "catch" a squirrel to keep as a "pet" with absolutely no regard for the animal's well-being, when that is not an accurate description of the situation. We rescued an animal in distress, fed it and cared for it until it reached a healthy size, and released it back into the wild with access to other squirrels, food and water. I think that was the Christian thing to do in this case, but of course I am open to discussion on the merits of caring for living things in need.
Sincerely,
C.J. Addington
Roseville High School
Thanks for the additional information. While I certainly see your sentiment here, I am comfortable in my assessment that this was inappropriate.
If the goal was animal rehab AND if it is legal to do so in your jurisdiction AND if you are competent at rehab, then a school is not a place to do this. Doing this in a classroom introduces a range of stressors on the animals that any rehab person would not consider acceptable. It also potentially puts students at risk. It goes again many basic concepts of both care of wild animals and contact of the public with animals. I share your concern about wildlife and truly do applaud you desire to help these creatures when possible, this just wasn't the way to do it.
C.J. - I commend you for commenting to this post and setting things straight...Scott - chill out. Seriously. She had a valid reason for assisting. Would a rehabilitator have been a better solution? Most likely...but with his education and background in rehabilitation, he was able to help. Further, he educated children on how to help in the future with the best kind of education possible - HANDS ON. Especially in a time, when children can be so cruel and flippant with life. I am not saying that an animal is a tool - this was an opportunity. As for the rules of the school, that is for C.J. to worry about and I am sure that this was covered at some point. This squirrel was rescued, rehabbed, and released. Success in my opinion. The stressors of the classroom...I can agree with this - but I guarantee C.J. held this at the forefront of his activities as well.
Either way, just saying...the squirrel was given a second chance at life...and was propelled into a much more positive future because of C.J.