Animal Welfare classes in schools have been received with great enthusiasm by the students. We hadn’t expected the fifth and sixth grade children to show so much interest for animals’ lives, nor to talk with so much passion about cats, dogs, bears or farm animals.
In October, AMP started an initiation project in Animal Welfare for middle school children. Through a partnership with the City Hall of Brasov and the County School Inspectorate, and supported by the Love Underdogs Foundation UK, 17 secondary schools in Brasov will add an hour of Animal Welfare education to their curriculum. The AMP team has already met the fifth and sixth grade children of schools nos. 1, 2, 3 and 8. We noticed that the 11 and 12 year old children took a greater interest, being mature enough to understand the problems of domestic and wild animals in Romania. These classes are interactive, based on a lesson plan that focuses on understanding the conflicts between humans and bears, the stray dog problem, and interactions with pets and farm animals at our grandparents’ farms.
In a Powerpoint presentation, the human-animal interactions are explained to the pupils, using pictures, movies and graphics appropriate to their ages. Their level of interest exceeded our expectations, questions and answers were followed by several raised hands. At the end of each lesson, the children filled in a questionnaire, showing us the level of interaction they have had with animals, and their expectations from the class. “I want to rescue animals”, “I would like to know everything about animals” or “finally a class I enjoy”, are just a few of their reactions after just an hour in the company of the AMP team.
The interest shown by teachers was also unexpected – the number of schools participating in this program is growing every week and the Animal Welfare class has been requested in schools other than those originally scheduled.
This initiative has been established to introduce a pilot course into schools for one year.
