While keeping pets in a classroom setting may seem like a mere trend, there has been an overwhelming body of research showing that having class pets, particularly cats, can positively influence the overall learning and social experience for students in various ways. From encouraging empathy to inspiring responsibility, the ways cats can influence the classroom environment should be reason enough for schools around the world to embrace them. This article will explore exactly how cats can shape learning environments for the better, thus explaining why more educators should embrace the trend of having classroom cats rather than resisting it.
Cats Foster Responsibility and Care in Students
The main benefit of having cats in the classroom is the fact that children get an opportunity to learn responsibility and feel empathetic towards other beings. Firstly, taking care of a living entity requires feeding and grooming, which results in the student having a sense of duty and responsibility. Furthermore, some students may hire ThePensters for custom essay writing so that they can dedicate more time to looking after their cats. By taking part in cat care, the children get to build empathy which is very important for them in forming good relationships.
Cants Encourage Relaxation and Stress Reduction
The cats’ gentle presence helps create a calm and conducive learning environment. Students can be overwhelmed by new situations and high-stakes tests. Touching a cat will decrease stress-related hormones such as cortisol and increase oxytocin, often called the ‘love hormone.’ Its release fosters feelings of trust and bonding. This sense of comfort and companionship relieves stress and anxiety and, in turn, increases feelings of well-being and academic performance.
Cats Stimulate Curiosity and Inquiry in Students
Cats are innately curious and their presence in the classroom will engage student curiosity and inquiry. By observing cat behaviors—predatory hunting, socializing, grooming, and communication—questions will naturally arise and follow inquiries upstream across the curriculum. Teachers can capitalize on this curiosity to spur or support classroom lesson plans based upon observing living beings in the world—to stimulate an authentic interest in science and facilitate discovery learning.
Cats Facilitate Social and Emotional Development
Whether it’s something as simple as cuddling up and reading, or as complex as a study session, kids can build with cats the kind of emotional literacy that encourages them to connect with the people in their lives. A cat in the classroom can be the socio-emotional life jacket children need. Most children can be socially shy or introverted in new situations, and having a cat around creates a safe, nonjudgmental space of companionship.
When shyer students interact with cats, they tend to be more comfortable and confident. Just being in the same room as a cat can lower blood pressure and anxiety levels. Plus, when students care for a cat together, they’re forced to work together and collaborate by alternating check-ins, feeding, and playtime. These social interactions can help develop interpersonal skills such as communication, empathy, and cooperation, all of which are vital to academic success and future pursuits.
Cats Promote Health and Wellness
Besides the academic perks, the cats in the classroom also provide health benefits. It turns out that playing with a cat lowers blood pressure, reduces your risk for heart disease, and strengthens your immune system. Integrating physical activity, like playing with cats, into the school day is another way that schools can combat the battle for children’s sedentary lifestyles and ensure good health. By putting the welfare of both students and cats at the forefront, schools can ensure a healthy, holistic environment to thrive and embrace learning.
Cats Enhance Classroom Dynamics
In communities like classrooms, the presence of a cat within the social group can normalize the care of others—cats are a shared responsibility—building community and camaraderie as students work together and communicate to give a cat what it needs. Furthermore, cats serve as conversational fodder that can cross social barriers or function as a queer card, something different and interesting one can talk about that everyone can access to socialize and feel included. Through this process of building supportive relationships and developing a shared sense of belonging with others, cats contribute to the maintenance of a safe and healthy learning environment.
Cats Can Clearly Revolutionize Today’s Education
When teachers recognize how cats can enrich their curricula, classrooms, and communities, they can harness a diverse educational resource with boundless positive impacts on student development. After all, students need to be seen, heard, acknowledged, and connected to caregivers in ways that are meaningful for them. Cats also can make dorm life better. With student needs always evolving, recruiting cats as co-teachers can be a source of joy and opportunity for classroom development. Feline friends come with a host of advantages for learners of any age. Cats are a pet choice with powerful potential.
