The Lincoln Southwest science department is home to many pets, cared for by the science teachers, Mr. Charley Bittle and Mr. Kevin Schrad. Some of the pets kept at Southwest include various fish, mammals, reptiles and insects.
Each animal requires specific care catered towards their species, and for the biology classes, this is a lesson Southwest science teachers aim to teach. With having a diverse amount of animals, students are able to learn all the different needs that different species have.
“The definition of biology is the study of life, so we should probably have some living things in there,” Bittle said. “We started keeping pets a while ago as a way for students to practice collecting qualitative and quantitative data.”
During breaks, Schrad and Bittle take care to ensure the animals are properly looked after. This is sometimes done by sending an animal home with a staff member, this allows children of the staff members to learn about the animal as well as providing the animal with a new environment to explore.
“Schrad and I try to coordinate being here every other week throughout the summer,” Bittle said. “I’ve also sent them home with staff members, if they have kids it’s a fun thing to do over the summer.”
Children of staff members aren’t the only ones who benefit from having animals in the classroom. Students also are able to connect with the different species Southwest has.
“I think keeping animals in the classroom is really important for the responsibility piece,” Bittle said. “It’s not just your typical textbook or taking notes, students really have a connection to the classroom.”
To help students connect, both Schrad and Bittle conduct a project called “Alive and Satisfied” in their classes, where students bring some sort of living organism into the class and care for it over the course of the quarter.
“It gets kids involved and excited for class,” Schrad said. “We’ve had students bring geckos, praying mantis, and venus flytraps. it gives them some sense of ownership to the class.”
Some of the species living at Southwest include two hedgehogs named Fig and Twig, Two Axolotl named Pinky and The Brain, Snakes named Marshmallow, Maisie, Benny and Diablo, A turtle named Mr. Waffles and a Tarantula named Rosie.
There is also an array of fish and hissing cockroaches that remain unnamed. The leopard geckos who live at Southwest also get new names from students every semester.
