Proposed Legislation

Humane Education

1. The first full week in February will be Humane Education Week.

2. It shall be required of all public schools in the Commonwealth participate in Humane Education Week.

Students in grades K-5(6) will focus on humane education for a minimum of 1.5 hours per day during that week. In grades 6(7)-8(9), students will devote at least 10 hours during that week to humane education. In the remaining grades, there will be 10 hours per year devoted to humane education.

NOTE: grades included will depend on the configuration of the schools in that district; some go K-8, some have a middle schools grades 5-8 or 6-9, etc.

3. The goal of the program is to help students understand about companion animals and responsible ownership of companion animals.
4. curriculum suggestions K-5/6:
   • what is a companion animal
   • what is the difference between dogs and cats
   • how did dogs and cats become companion animals
   • what responsibility do owners have for their companion animals
   • what kinds of dogs are there? cats?

activities:

• reading to the class age-appropriate books
• viewing age-appropriate movies
• field trip to shelter/pound
• art projects
• language arts
  • dictate story about an animal (real or imagined)
  • illustrate
  • act out/play

In addition, involve other areas of student learning including science, math, etc.

examples:

• K: do fingerpainting of dogs/cats
• 1st grade: learn songs about dogs/cats
• 2nd grade: see pictures of breeds of dogs; is there a breed that starts with every letter of the alphabet? if not, make up a name of a breed of dog that starts with the missing letter; draw a picture of it; dictate/write a story about that dog
• 3rd grade: language arts: what are the advantages of adopting a dog from a shelter? what are the advantages of adopting a young vs. an older dog?
• 4th grade: language arts: what is a good home for a dog? what does the family have to do to provide a good home?
• 5th grade: language arts: do/write a skit about a dog needing a home

5. curriculum suggestions grades 6-8

• review all concepts from K-5
• add concepts of responsible breeding
  • how often and how many offspring
  • what happens when a puppy or kitten is born
  • when can they leave their mother
  • where do they go when they leave their mother
  • what happens when a puppy or kitten starts to grow up, whether in the home of its mother, or in a new, adopted home
  • what kind of training is beneficial
  • what happens if the pet is not “good”?
  activities:
• grade-level appropriate books or movies
• field trips as available
• use internet to get various assigned projects; see what HSUS has and maybe assign looking at HSUS or other national groups
• 6th grade: do a math unit: how many dogs need homes? how many homes are there in your county? how many already have dogs? how many more needed and where?
• 7th grade: term paper unit: where do the dogs needing homes come from? what happened to those dogs last year? what laws are there to help the dogs?
• 8 th grade: geography/civics: what counties have the most dogs needing homes? where are those counties? why do they have more dogs needing homes?

6. curriculum suggestions grades 9-12

• include a review of animal law in the Code of Virginia
• include a trip to the local pound and any other custodial facilities
• include volunteering at adoption or clean-up
• include fund-raising for a sick animal, for the shelter in general, for a holiday during which the animal will be in a cage at a shelter
• include a day with (half a day? hear him speak?) an animal control officer or the sheriff
• include a look at the way other countries treat companion animals
• include companion animals in great art, in history, etc., demonstrating a humane message

Because each school is set up differently, something like this might need to be directed through the home-room concept, or perhaps through the English classes which are likely mandatory at each grade level.

Alternatively, if you use my earlier idea about having a math focus in the sophomore year, for example, then you set it up by curriculum/subject area.

freshman: vocational ed unit: build a dog house; add electricity; add water

photography: take pictures of the dogs at the shelters; use them for promoting the adoption of those dogs; see what businesses will display the photos

sophomore: visit the pound/shelter; interview workers; what help do they need? devise a program to meet those needs

junior: math unit: do the math if population left unchecked; include statistics for cats which are not protected by VA law

senior: fund raise for the dogs; determine what they need, what it costs, what needs to be done to make it work; be a voice for the dogs; propose changes in laws

7. At each grade level, there could be an opportunity for students to be creative, whether in language arts, conventional arts, with computers, and so forth, always focusing on a humane message. The recent Charlottesville program called “Shelter Animals Dream of Home” illustrates a concept for original artwork that is suggested as an example of what could be done.
8. How will you want to review this? Is there any way to measure that the program is successful? perhaps by getting the parents involved, and if so, how to build that in? perhaps by having students tell what they do differently now than they would have 3 years ago, for example?

12/19/04