There have been a lot of "what if" scenarios painted here. What if there was a fire? Well- that could happen at your home as well. Do all of you sit at home watching your guinea pigs 24/7? If you do - lucky you! But I do have to work...the babies coming to work with me seems like a win-win! What if a student is allergic to the hay? I'll switch to orchard hay. I've researched that too. What if they are allergic to the fur? No guinea pigs that year and that will be OK - they will stay at my house. The students needs will come first.
Since I still haven't found any empirical evidence that contradicts my plan - just opinions and worries - I think I will go forward. I also think I will keep a blog during the year so if any of you are interested in seeing the piggies progress, you can monitor that first hand. I promise to be truthful about the experiences and paint a realistic picture of the pros and cons of the situation. Maybe this will help other teachers who want to do a pet project. Also - I am blessed to have not one, but TWO, huge carpeted classrooms. So - my piggies will get the room they deserve and not be allocated to a tiny corner of the room.
I also want to add that yes, I got the Pets in the Classroom grant. I received 2 pages of coupons from PetCo that included a free Kaytee Guinea Pig setup (I am going to use the cage for transport to and from school), and free treats, 50% food and bedding coupons. It also had a 50% off one guinea pig coupon but I didn't use that. I would say it was about a $175 value. It was very easy to apply for this grant and while I would like to say it is all around fantastic - I think there are a lot factors in place that could lead teachers to setting up improper cages for the guinea pigs at school if they only get their info from the grant website and Petco. And I am sure thousands of teachers take advantage of this. So - from an animal welfare point of view, this is something to consider. How can we educate teachers about what is a BETTER situation for guinea pigs (though maybe not the "best")?
Guinea Pigs and Autistic Children (NPR Story)
https://www.npr.org/sections/health.../how-guinea-pigs-could-help-autistic-children
Great Washington Post article about pets being used in the classroom:
https://www.washingtonian.com/articles/work-education/teachers-pets-animals-in-the-classroom/
An article that shows both points of view (recommends guinea pigs)
https://www.naturalawakeningsmag.co...eptember-2014/The-Great-Classroom-Pet-Debate/
From a study done at Cornelius University:
"Our results indicate that the presence of a small TA can positivelyinfluence the quantity and quality of the social behavior of autistic children and that thecharacteristics of social contacts were dependent on the individual."
Abstract
broken link removed)
LA Times Article:
https://articles.latimes.com/2013/f...-guinea-pigs-autistic-kids-classroom-20130227
Vet Street Article
https://www.vetstreet.com/our-pet-e...igs-and-other-pets-can-help-autistic-children
Case study on Penny, an 11 year old pet sitter with special learning needs & ADHD, caring for a guinea pig:
https://books.google.com/books?id=l...#v=onepage&q=guinea pig ADHD Students&f=false
5 Best Classroom Pets (PetsMD)
https://www.petmd.com/exotic/slideshows/care/best-classroom-pets
Santa Barbara Independent Opinion Column by an Animal Rights / Outreach Activist (recommending guinea pigs)
https://www.independent.com/news/2010/sep/17/classroom-pets/
Scholarly Article about the effects of guinea pigs in the primary school classroom:
(broken link removed)
A Teacher's Experience:
(broken link removed)
Another teacher's experience, from Pro Teacher Forums:
I teach fifth. I have a guinea pig named Patches who is just plain awesome. He is gentle and quiet. He sits on the kids' desks during silent reading. They love him. However, he is messy. The kids clean the cage once a week. I make them come in before school because it is a fifteen minute project. When they hold him or have him at their desk they set him on an old towel. He will poop. All they have to do is shake the towel into the garbage.
I had a gecko before this. He was okay. The kids thought he was cool. But as with all reptiles, we had be extra careful about hand washing. The teacher next door to me had hermit crabs. I don't think they made the school year.
Class pets are a wonderful bonding experiences for a class. However, they can be time consuming and distracting. I love ours and can't imagine class without him.