Animal visitors lighten the mood at school
Stressed-out students at Glasgow Middle School were able to take a break with Teddy, a cute miniature horse.
Glasgow is one of several schools inviting animal guests to help students reduce stress and calm down so they can focus on their studies, reports a feature story by the Fairfax County Public Schools’ communications office.
“Right away, the students become more engaged when they see Teddy,” Principal Victor Powell said. “Through this experience, I hope our students learn to trust, feel less anxious, and improve their social skills.”
Small groups of students are able to spend about 40 minutes with Teddy and his handler. They can pet him, learn about horses, and practice basic leading techniques. They also created posters about the activity to promote kindness and positivity.
Glasgow used federal ESSER III funds to bring Teddy to school to interact with the students. Teddy’s visits are organized through a partnership with the Northern Virginia Therapeutic Riding Program.
Woodson High School Principal Carlyn Floyd gave students a break from the daily grind by inviting four alpacas to school from a group called My Pet Alpaca.
“The alpacas are furry and cuddly,” Floyd said. “These animals have personality and make you laugh when you need it the most.”
Woodson Minds Matter, a student club, helped organize the visit. It was funded partly by ESSER and partly by the PTSO.
Students at Timber Lane Elementary School in Falls Church get a weekly visit from a labradoodle therapy dog named Oakley.
Small groups of students spend about 30 minutes with Oakley and her handler Brittany Mraz of Heeling House Inc., playing games, doing tricks, practicing reading, or just hanging out.
Flint Hill Elementary School in Vienna has a nature oasis in its courtyard where students can take a break visiting two goats, chickens, turtles, and a butterfly garden. The animals provide emotional support to any student who needs a break during the school day. Teachers also use the space for mindfulness exercises.
When I was a young friendship bracelet dealer in Buenos Aires, humiliating alpacas with dumb haircuts was a sport. We traded our bracelets for shirts with our favorite alpaca’s faces on it and would bet with jolly ranchers to see how dumb we could get the haircuts. Macumba witch doctors judged the weekly winners at secret locations communicated via whatsapp 8 hours before each event. It got out of hand which is why I am now an American. I hope educators are being careful with what they teach our children.
What….
Kudos to everyone involved in finding creative ways to bring nature and some calmness to the children attending Fairfax County Public Schools.
In a side note, and in honor of the late great Alex Trebek, I would like to choose the category “What silliness is ‘Jose Amigo’ sharing today?” for a $1,000 Alex!”
I love animals, and I think Therapeutic Horse Riding programs are great.
But I question why students in FCPS need this in order to focus on doing their schoolwork. Back in my day, we just did our schoolwork. And our performance was consistently to higher standards than FCPS today. Something has gone terribly wrong with FCPS.
In case you weren’t sure already.
Chris, school isn’t just for learning, silly goose. If we are going to be carbon neutral by 2040, we need bold, inclusive approaches. I’m just not certain that alpacas are the way to go, for the reasons I outline above. Moreover, if we want children to perform in today’s economy, they need to be more stressed, not calm. How do we expect them to deal with reality if we coddle them? When I have a bad day at work, someone doesn’t get a timely delicious chicken sandwich, and there are consequences. I can’t lean on an alpaca with a stupid haircut every time I get stressed. If I did, I wouldn’t be able to afford renting the nice room I’m in now. And I wouldn’t almost have enough money for 20″ blades on my GMC Jimmy.