Bugs often get a bad rap, but teacher Phil Dreste says insects, isopods, and spiders鈥攖he creepy-crawlies of horror movies鈥攁re actually a powerful teaching tool that can confer some of the same benefits as a class guinea pig or hamster does, such as learning responsibility and gentle handling.
Dreste, an arthropod and reptile hobbyist, regularly uses his collection to engage his 4th grade class at Kenwood Elementary School in Champaign, Ill. He keeps a full, terrarium holding plants, a blue day gecko, splotched 鈥渄airy cow鈥� isopods, and tiny springtails in his classroom, and rotates in tarantulas, blue death-feigning beetles, and an array of exotic roaches like 鈥渕agnificent emerald鈥� and 鈥渉eart flower鈥� species for his students.
鈥淚n general, kids are really interested in bugs until we teach them to be scared of them,鈥� Dreste said. 鈥淚鈥檝e found students, especially some with some serious emotional challenges, would calm down a lot when they can take a break and interact with the bugs. For a lot of kids, I think [the class pets] help them reset emotionally.鈥�
About 1 in 4 teachers keep a class pet, according to Leanne Nieforth, an assistant professor of human-animal interaction at the Purdue College of Veterinary Medicine. But insects often don鈥檛 first come to mind.
鈥淎 lot of times [teachers] gravitate towards the fuzzy, furry animals, without really thinking about how fascinating some of the reptiles and the insects can be, because there are misconceptions or about these types of animals,鈥� said Amy Hrin, the vice president of program development at American Humane Society. 鈥淓xposing kids to education and positive experiences with these types of species can really help dispel those misconceptions.鈥�
Arthropods include insects, like beetles or roaches; crustaceans, like hermit crabs or isopods (often known as pill bugs or roly-polies); as well as spiders and millipedes.
More than 40% of class pets are fish, according to Melinda Thomas, the executive director of the Pet Care Trust, which provides to use animals for instruction. Bearded dragons and guinea pigs round out the top three.
But arthropods have been gaining in popularity in recent years, Thomas said For example, while jumping spiders make up only 1% of class pets, teachers requesting them through the Trust鈥檚 Pets in the Classroom grants have doubled in the past year.
Patchouli Oerther said she started keeping a bioactive terrarium of dairy cow isopods鈥攕mall land crustaceans covered in splotches鈥攚hile teaching in North Philadelphia five years ago.
鈥淚 was teaching in a pretty poor part of Philly with a tiny little playground鈥攋ust not enough space for kids to really be outside鈥攕o I liked having a little nature inside,鈥� said Oerther, who is now working as a child care provider while caring for her infant.
Bugs have lower maintenance costs
A good class pet is active during the school day, comfortable with the average temperature and humidity in the building, and safe to handle, Hrin said. It鈥檚 easier to meet those criteria with insects than other pets, and it鈥檚 potentially also less expensive.
A basic terrarium of zebra isopods, ivory millipedes, or hissing cockroaches is a tank or tub with soil, decaying wood, and leaf-litter, regularly sprayed with distilled water. It can be maintained for about $50-$75 per year.
For comparison, hobbyists and animal welfare organizations estimate the annual cost of animal care is about $100-$400 per year for hamsters, $500-$800 for guinea pigs, $500-$1,000 for bearded dragons or snakes, or $250-$480 for a 20-gallon fish tank.
鈥淚 really do like having invertebrates,鈥� Oerther said. 鈥淚sopods are sturdy enough that you really have the flexibility. I can guarantee that my house is going to be about 65 degrees, but the classroom, it just doesn鈥檛 work the same way. And crustaceans are not going to be bothered by the noise of the classroom and a bunch of children in the same way that a reptile will be.鈥�
There are, of course, a few logistical wrinkles to insects. Teachers should be sure to make single-sex habitats, unless they want a breeding colony鈥攐r, for species like jumping spiders, cannibalism.
鈥淚t鈥檚 important for teachers to do their research and know what鈥檚 sustainable in their classroom,鈥� said Thomas, of the Pet Care Trust. For example, 鈥渏umping spiders tend to live one or two years, but female tarantulas can live for 20 years鈥� in captivity.
Involving students in caring for and interacting with class pets can help improve students鈥� social-emotional development. 鈥淲e know that developing nurturing routines [such as feeding a class pet] helps reduce stress and develop compassion,鈥� Hrin said.
While some parents shied away from taking bug colonies home on weekends, Dreste and Oerther said they are actually more easily moved than other class pets, and need less maintenance over a holiday. Both said they have had students 鈥渁dopt鈥� some of the class colonies by the end of the year.
Modeling how to handle critters
Teachers say the lessons can help even young children develop empathy and responsibility.
鈥淚 start modeling how to handle tiny creatures, and introducing the concept that even these tiny little things are animals and living things and deserve kindness and respect,鈥欌�� said Max, , an Oregon preschool teacher who uses isopods, mantids, fish, rats, and hissing cockroaches in their classroom and spoke via Reddit chat. 鈥淲e鈥檒l do things like build bug 鈥榟otels鈥� in our outdoor space out of sticks, hollow bamboo, bark, cardboard scraps. We鈥檒l check the hotel every day or other day and see who 鈥榗hecked in.鈥欌��
Nieforth, the Purdue researcher, thinks using animals in the classroom could benefit teachers, too. She and her colleagues are working on the first national study to explore how different kinds of animals used as class pets affect student engagement, attendance, and behavior, as well as teacher stress and burnout. 鈥淲e鈥檙e looking at how teachers鈥� relationship with the pet affects burnout and their sense of efficacy,鈥� Nieforth said.
For his part, Dreste, in Illinois, said keeping class pets has allowed him to integrate his passion for nature into his teaching and get students鈥攁nd even fellow teachers鈥攐ver squeamishness to appreciate the creatures. He collaborated with entomologists at the University of Illinois on an insect collection project and helped launch a nature club at his school. His co-teacher 鈥渟tarted out super scared of bugs ... but then she really appreciated the jumping spiders and praying mantis and now she鈥檚 started keeping mantids.鈥�
He uses his classroom pets to teach students about ecology and lifecycles, but also the importance of animals like detritovores鈥攚ho help break down decaying matter鈥攊n the environment.
鈥淎 lot of people are surprised to find out there are thousands of species of roaches and only a handful are pests,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f we want our kids to appreciate science and protect the natural world, then we should actually teach kids to appreciate nature that鈥檚 around them but they overlook.鈥�
鈥淵ou know, hamsters are cool, but people aren鈥檛 going to just observe a whole lot of hamsters out in the wild,鈥� Dreste said.
