Class Pet

[Micaiahholton]

Hello everyone! So I was just thinking about this question as I was out today. I am going to school to be an elementary teacher for kindergarten to 2nd grade. I am very educated in birds as it is my current job but I always have questions.
My question today is class pet? Now I know birds are not typical class pets but I also know it's possible to have them. I would always have supervision with the children and bird but I would also want them to interact.
What kind of bird do I Get? This is a hard thing for me because I have never really had to do the whole beginners bird thing because I was thrown into the world of macaws and lorikeets very quickly. So what could be some beginner birds or slightly advanced birds that I could easily train for this job? Any input would be lovely!!! Thank you all!

 

[GaleriaGila]

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...

Pros
Great intro for kids, to animals, and to birds
Might be a very eciting thing for the bird
Cons
Kids are so wreckless and clueless, even mean at times
If a kid is injured you could be disciplined or sued
You'd need to take the bird hme on weekends

Again...
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...

Good fof you for reaching out and researching.

 

[psychocircus91]

I think it would raise too many issues with the limited school hours, noises, and actual one on one interaction he would able to get. I could see a pair of finches in a nice flight cage working, though.

 

[SilverSage]

Please don't consider any sort of parrot for this. Maybe finches in a large cage that are fun to look at but not a parrot, not even a budgie. That is NOT a good environment for them, and they are just as much a parrot as a macaw.


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[SailBoat]

I believe with 'beginner' Parrot, you mean 'young' Parrot, correct?

I provide, every other month, visits to an elderly care facility. The short visit, about one hour, is of interest to them and very control, no contact between Parrot and individuals.

The level of viewer energy is greatly different and far more uncontrollable. It is very important to remember that young hands with young fingers can be bitten hard enough to cause pain and serious legal issues.

I have provided school visits and they have been very successful, but always limited to very short periods of time and no contact! Six grade has been the youngest grade level that I have worked with over the years.

 

[reeb]

If you do want to keep a bird in a grade 2 classroom, I also recommend avoiding parrots, as others have suggested. If you were to get a bird, I think “viewing” birds are the best option - however, this means that the children cannot interact with it. For example, you could keep finches and canaries in a large cage (so that the birds can fly away if the kids bother them in any way). Also, I recommend keeping more than one bird as birds are very social creatures.

But, as I said, this means no touching interaction, which may cause you a bit of stress if the birds or the children get distressed or upset.

Hope this helps!


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[clark_conure]

To be honest when I first started reading this thread I was like oh cool! A GCC would be good around kids but then .....yeah all the posts above make a lot of sense. GCCs are good with kids but not 30 kids or so. I think your heart is in the right place but the logistics, risk to the bird and students, and the possibility of class disruption from a parrot screaming to be let out so he can be held might be more than you bargained for.

Maybe just bring your quaker in once a month on a friday?

 

[Kiwibird]

When I was in Kindergarten or first grade my mom brought in her DYH for some kind of special "show and tell" where parents could bring in the family pet for like an hour at the end of the day for their kid to show off. It was chaos, bird was loud (just her normal vocalizations, which seemed amplified x10 in a classroom environment) and the kids were excessively excited to see the big, bright bird, as none of them had parrots. Of course, my mom let no child but me close to her so no kid got bit. I remember how exciting that was for an hour, but in hindsight as an adult, it was a good thing she wasn't a permanent classroom fixture or no work would have ever been accomplished! I'm sure the "novelty" would wear off after a time to an extent if a bird was in a classroom every day, but I really don't think birds would be a good classroom pet. Too noisy, messy and distracting. Not to mention if it bit a kid? I'm sure as a teacher you know some parents have no common sense and feel their feral child doesn't need to abide by any rules nor should they have any consequences for breaking them, putting you in the position of being sued and the bird put down.

I think small reptiles, amphibians or fish would be better. Maybe even a small rodent, like a gerbil or rat An animal the children could observe when appropriate but would kind of otherwise blend into the classroom background when the students needed to focus. Something QUIET that won't disrupt lessons or tests and doesn't inflict skin breaking bites!

 

[Aquila]

Guinea pigs are also good pets, friendly and large enough to generally be easy to handle by kids. They're very social and can be very sweet and cuddly. Unfortunately because birds are so easily stressed, they're not really ideal for a classroom environment. They're also messy, even the finches!

 

[LordTriggs]

just to add as well don't forget the brew of powerful cleaning chemicals that are used daily in a school. you may request they use certain ones but the cleaners won't bother so I'd be surprised if the bird lived long enough to cause a lawsuit

IMO pets shouldn't be in a classroom there's just a lot of things that can go wrong and they don't exactly do much in terms of teaching, if anything they impair it. Also you need to think of allergies too

 

[Notdumasilook]

Not to mention. But some kids can be cruel and not even realize it... as well as walking Petri dishes.