good luck!!

Good luck! I would talk to the principal too. Mention that some children may have allergies and what happens if the other parents object to the rabbit due to the child’s allergies and it’s a health concern…sometimes coming from that angle makes them think about it as well.

You could suggest a different sort of pet that’d be better for a classroom. A a mouse or something…. something that is still interesting but needs less space to be happy. Get a mouse a wheel it’s good, you know?

PS…. I like that you said “we” as if you also go to the school =)

I think birds is a bad idea.
If they are to be pets/handled or if they are one of the more intelligent birds, they need WAY more attention than a rabbit does.
Plus a noisy animal in a class is not so good either.

I would suggest insects. An ant farm perhaps. Or buying some caterpillars and the kids can watch them become butterflies. It is always nice to have something that is going to be released back into the wild.

Butterflies are a good idea. Why do the kids need a pet in the classroom, anyway? Maybe they should take a field trip to an animal shelter instead.

It’s not that they NEED a pet, but since the teacher already wants a rabbit, it is better to give good alternative suggestions
instead of just telling her all the reasons she should not have a rabbit.

i would suggest a rat, maybe? they have personality, but their needs are nowhere near as complex as a rabbit.

you are enthusiastic mom  i’m a teacher too, and specifically, a biology teacher.  We can tell that your daughter’s teacher wants students to leran something about life. so,  i would agree with butterfly instead of bun. students would find more knowledge and fun from the transforming process from larva to adult.  besides, it’s easier to handle with than a bunny. i guess you may pursuade Mrs. so and so with these.

since we are talking about butterfly, i ‘d like to suggest another funny insect, rhinoceros beetle. it’s very well welcomed and has long history as school pets in japan and became popular recently in china. just not sure if there are any in your country and if it’s legal.

i had both in 3 grade but i was terrified of the bun, it bit me

I wonder if sometimes its the teachers way to make the classsroom special, and it endears the students to them or something. R&D, I would approach her with an educational agenda. Just be honest, tell her why you’re against the idea and offer to give the kids a talk about responsible pet care. Also, suggest alternatives more suited to the classroom.   I would think as a teacher/educator, they would be open to hearing your view as an animal advocate.  Isn’t that the sort of person they’d invite into the classroom to speak to the kids?  The sort of lessons they’d like the kids at this age to learn?

If she’s really insistant about going ahead with this, suggest  fostering a rabbit on a short term basis and see whether there is a rescue that has a rabbit that would be “suited” to a classroom environment. The rescue may even be able to set some ground rules about it care and how the children should interact with it. If the teacher then realises down the track that it was all a bad idea, at least the rabbit can be returned to the shelter (hopefully with no damage done.) I don’t know….now that I suggest this alternative, I’m a bit wary of the risks – just thinking it might be more successful that getting a young petstore bunny and having to them having to give it up in time if it survives the ordeal.

Posted By katiehedger on 07/16/2009 07:27 PM
i would suggest a rat, maybe? they have personality, but their needs are nowhere near as complex as a rabbit.

Gah! Rats need to be kept in pairs to be happy, and just like rabbits, store bought cages, food, ect is NOT good for them. There is no good classroom pet unless it’s a fish tank or something that the kids can’t get their grubby little paws on. Instead, the class should have visitors from the local zoo, human society, wildlife rescue, ect! These sorts of things will have MUCH more impact on a child than a poorly kept animal in a cage from an underpaid, overworked teacher.

When I was in 4th grade, my teacher had a chinchilla in the class for a couple weeks and also brought her dog in occasionally. I think that was a
great experience for us and it works out much better than a full time class pet. That same teacher also allowed us to bring in our own pets for a week at a time. So I brought my hamster to school for a week and we all played with it at break times. Since it was MY pet I could regulate who handled it and what not so that was cool. I also talked about all the stuff I needed to do to take care of it and how to hold it properly. I think kids really like being taught by each other rather than having a speaker come in for an hour. Another kid brought their gerbil. I think that was a great way for us to experience each others pets. And one week at a time gives you more of a real experience of the animal that you just can’t get from being shown
one from a speaker.

But that was 4th grade and it was an exceptionally well behaved class, so that doesn’t really even apply but I just wanted to share it anyways.

Good points Crayon. It’s a pity if we can’t allow them to experience animals and learn about them. It just requires the right supervision. It can be a valuable experience and educate the children how to go about things consideratley and properly. I think some of the more negative stories we hear is when the research is not done beforehand and animals are introduced into the classroom on a whim. Some teachers may have a fond memory of classroom pets from their own childhood and want that for their students. Unfortunately, some are not looking at it from an adult perspective and considering the impact on both animal and student that it can have if not done correctly.

My kindergarten teacher had a classroom hamster. Each weekend, it went home with a different student. We never handled it in the classroom- only when it was our weekend. I remember vividly that I was young (DUH!) and my parents had never really had this type of animal. My mom was terrified of it and I’m certain I didn’t handle it properly. I finially managed to get the thing out of the cage and into its roller ball thing. Needless to say, as my teacher did not give any info to the family about the hamster, it got out. Chewed my dad’s boot (which led to being found) and my parents weren’t happy with a loose rodent in the house with me (probably 5 years old) and my sister that was still an infant. With time and age, we had several hamsters in and out of the family house (and mom got over her fear of them and enjoyed them!). They just aren’t appropriate for small children. Mention to the teacher how animals such as gerbils, BUNNIES, hamsters, guinea pigs, etc don’t do well with young children. They are fragile. THEY BITE (and scratch)! Maybe ask the teacher to research the behavior of bunnies. My 6 year old enjoys our bunny, but she knows that there are rules that are in place to keep the bunny safe. If she (or the 4 year old) don’t comply with the rules, they dont spend time with the bunny. My kids have a hard time handling the cats properly- bunnies are much more fragile!!!

Who will take bunny to vet if she/he gets sick? Clip nails?

I never ever had a classroom pet all through my school years.

I’m not sure why teachers think a classroom pet is a good idea even. What is really to learn from this? I guess I don’t really understand the whole concept since it wasn’t something I ever had in school. I don’t remember this even in high school.

I do remember going to the zoo however.

its suppose to teach you responsibility esp if its your turn to take him home for the weekend. I dont agree with it either it isn’t fair to the animal.

I’m certain there are other ways to learn responsibility – like cleaning your room, saving money, etc…as a child.

I don’t think as a child my parent’s ever expected us to take responsibility for our pets – heck we couldn’t even take care of ourselves as children much less a pet.

I agree whatever the reason, it’s not fair to the animal. And honestly it’s not fair to the parents of the children to have to participate in this. And really what’s to say that the home you send the animal to is safe for the animal.

Well… phooey. At least you can educate them on how best to take care of the bunny, especially with regard to grooming, nail clipping, exercise, etc. It’s too bad people often don’t research pets before buying them.

Sounds to me that the teacher wants to get a pet bunny, but maybe doesn’t want the full-time responsibility of having a bunny!

….And teachers are supposed to be smart! lol

I wouldn’t suggest any pet in the classroom, except maybe a *simple* fish tank that could be left with one of those weekend feeders. Kids are loud and boisterous (even in a classroom) and I think that’s more activity than a mouse, hamster or rat should be required to put up with. Plus many of these small creatures like to sleep during the day.

I am on a goldfish forum and there are MANY threads about the tragedies of class goldfish. I would not suggest a tank in the class either.
There is a lot more to keeping fish than feeding them.
Kids cannot be trusted to keep from dumping things in the tank either.. from 1st grade on up. It may be a childish accident for the young ones but
older kids do bad stuff to fish just for the fun of it.
Respect for fury cute animals is much more plentiful than respect for fish. It seems a lot of people hardly even consider them alive.

But unlike many of you, I do see the good of a classroom pet.
I just think it should be the teachers pet that is shared with the kids for a time.
None of that take home for the weekend crap.
Teachers should also take into account the students in their class each year. Not all classes can handle it.

When I was younger, in one of my classes we did the butterfly thing. It was nice cause they were only temporary and were released once the hatched. None of my other classes years prior/after had a class pet, but I always remebered the classes that had pets and everyone was so jealous of them but god only knows what was done with them on the weekends and what the kinds in thier class did to them We also did tadpoles in 2nd grade then once they were froggies they drew names and whoevers name got picked they got to keep a frog (I got picked…I just know my parents were thrilled!…not). Sadly he blew up like a baloon and died, poor BoBo. Over all not a good idea for class pets.

haha! I would but it just isn’t feasible for me. Ah….the fishies – I also thought even fish aren’t safe. It’s sad, almost like we’re making kids out to be evil little things but it’s just that they’re just so………everywhere! All at once! lol I love kids but their exuberance and fragile things usually ends up as a bad combo.

I would print out this HRS article and give it to the teacher.

http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/classroom.html

I have been trying to post an comment to this thread since last Thursday – but have not been able to – GRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!

I like the caterpillar idea!
I recently commented on another post that we should all take photos of the scratches we get from our bunnies to deter people from doing things like this!

Here is a link to an article that Nancy J. LaRoche (the head of Colorado HRS for 19 years and author of Rabbits: Gentle Hearts, Valiant Spirits) wrote about Rabbits in the classroom.
Ruffles & Daisy – I would encourage you to print this article out and give it to the teacher. I doubt she would go to the trouble of going to the link – but if you print it she might be more inclined to look at the article.

http://www.coloradohrs.com/care_classroom.asp

Okay guys…let’s synchronize our watches. Bun-napping in 3…2…1…
GOGOGO!!!!!

….
Seriously. I would come all the way from Alaska to bun-nap this poor baby. What a selfish teacher!

Damn.

Posted By Sage Cat on 07/21/2009 09:24 AM
Damn.

My thought exactly. 

So Sandy… you WANT a third bunny, right?  You know where this is going to go? 

Something catastrophic is going to happen and *Voila* a third bunny!

seems like the major issues would be stress from fear of riding in the car and the new environment. But I think both of those things
would ease greatly once it becomes routine.

Well my concern is that this teacher will continue this year after year after year. Does she plan on making her students take the rabbit home with them at the end of the year?

I also think she should take the rabbit home every weekend. She needs to take the responsibility period. It would be a good thing for her students if she shows a little responsibility for the rabbit.

Perhaps the teacher does plan to take the bun home every weekend and also keep it at the end of the school year.
And I know many people who have both a dog and a rabbit. It’s not that hard to keep those kinds of pets separate and many times they get along fine.
It’s not really fair to just assume she is going to be a jerk about it.
I’m just saying that I am holding back any strong opinions till Sandy actually gets to sit down and talk with her and all the facts come in.

Posted By Ruffles&Daisy on 07/23/2009 04:21 PM
  I lost this battle I think.

You’ve lost the battle until the little girl hits puberty and starts biting kids. Or sooner if she learns that it’s a way for her to not be handled by the kids who probably squeeze her a little when the pick her up (not intentionally, just unknowinly).

KytKattin, it sounds like the rabbit is already full grown. So I don’t think puberty is around the corner, but I don’t know either.. just saying.
And I don’t think it is even necessary for the kids to pick up the rabbit at all. It would be best if the teacher just let the kids pet the rabbit or let it hop on their laps on her own. I don’t even let adults who visit pick up my rabbit let alone a kid. Rabbits are too scratchy if not picked up just right.

I figured the teacher would take the bun home for weekends. Did you tell her that a litter box in the cage is an easier way to go?
Did you give her any articles to read or anything like that?