It’s
the same old thing every single day:
seven bells, seven teachers, seven classes. Homework, classwork, papers, projects; a
never-ending cycle that’s enough to send even the A students over the
edge. Schools desperately need something
to keep students and teachers interested and actively involved. Allowing them to bring their dogs to school
is the perfect solution to this problem. Dogs have proven benefits for attitude
and health and it’s about time schools realized that the family pup shouldn’t be
left at home all day. That cute little
pup could have major benefits for the learning environment.
It’s no secret that school is stressful for many
students. The pressure of getting good
grades, along with class work and homework, can make students feel anxious and
worried. Dogs can help ease that
stress. Much like the “Read to a Dog”
program in some elementary schools, allowing high school students to bring
their dogs to school can provide them with a caring, non-judgmental canine
friend. Students can sometimes talk to a
dog and say things they might never say to an adult or even to a friend. If teachers had dogs in their classrooms,
they could offer students the opportunity to review information with the dog,
maybe even study for a test. In many ways,
a dog in the classroom is like a four-legged counselor—always willing to listen
and always happy—and this connection to teenagers could significantly reduce
their stress in school.
In an informal opinion poll at New Richmond High School,
almost 90 percent of the people surveyed agreed that dogs are a huge stress
relief. “My dog doesn’t judge me and is
always happy to see me,” said sophomore Marcus Riley.
“The first thing I do when I get home is pet my dog,” said
sophomore Candice Kirtley. “She makes me
feel better even when I’ve had a horrible day.”
“My dog will listen to my problems and is always there for
me. We can go for a run or play in the
back yard and I forget about everything that’s bothering me,” said English
teacher Sue Griffin.
Obesity and lack of exercise is a huge problem for the
American population. Teenagers need to
develop good exercise habits so that they can stay healthy and strong. School is a lot of sitting down and while
students work their brains, their bodies are often stagnant. Having dogs in school would give students a
chance to get outside and get moving.
Obviously, dogs need to go out a few times during the day. While they’re taking their dogs outside for a
potty break, students would also be walking, maybe throwing a ball or toy and
maybe even running around with their dogs.
This exercise would not only make kids more healthy, it would, in many
cases, wake them up a bit and make them more attentive in class. Increased physical activity is no doubt good for
students and dogs could definitely help them become
more active.
In an article titled Make Health a Pet Project, by Cherryh
Butler and published in American Fitness,
the author cites several examples of the health benefits of pets, including
this comment by Robert Kushner, a professor at the Northwestern Feinberg School
of Medicine.
“A companion dog adds beneficial supportive factors that an exercise friend does not...parental pride, enjoyment, a consistent initiator. For some people, a pet may be just the right motivation they need to get engaged in physical activity.” (2010 Mar/Apr: 60-61).
“A companion dog adds beneficial supportive factors that an exercise friend does not...parental pride, enjoyment, a consistent initiator. For some people, a pet may be just the right motivation they need to get engaged in physical activity.” (2010 Mar/Apr: 60-61).
Some people might argue that having
dogs in school would create a health hazard because some dogs might not have
all of their shots and some students might be allergic. But there’s an easy way to make sure that any
dogs inside a school are healthy and that students are safe. Any student or teacher bringing a dog to
school would be required to provide vet records of shots. If those records aren’t provided, the dog
wouldn’t be allowed in the school building.
The school has records of students with allergies, and dogs wouldn’t be
allowed in classrooms with allergic students.
With the proper requirements and precautions in place, the argument that
dogs are a health hazard would be meaningless.
Keeping
students interested in school is not an easy task. For many kids, school is incredibly boring
and with the same schedule, same teachers and same classes every single day,
there doesn’t seem to be much, other than an assembly or two, to take away that
boredom. Making school a little more
exciting would have multiple positive effects, the most important one being
that it would improve student achievement.
Having dogs in the building would definitely make school more
exciting. Students would be able to
break up the boring school day by playing with a dog or maybe even doing school
work with the dog. Students who are
interested in school and who look forward to coming to school usually do better
in class. Having the dogs around not
only adds to the excitement in the building, it also provides some students
with a reason to come to school and to do better when they’re here.
