Conclusion
In summary, teaching with animals does not require keeping animals confined. No longer need teachers feel obligated to accept the gerbils and hamsters parents don’t want at home. No longer must they feel guilty when the third rabbit and the dozenth baby turtle dies in the classroom.
By adopting respect for life as their goal, and the Golden Rule as their guide in teaching with animals, child caregivers can be liberated from their old role as animal caretakers. Teachers, children-and, certainly, the animals—all benefit from the change.
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For Further Reading
Carson, Rachel.A Sense of Wonder. New York: Harper & Row, 1956. (Helping children discover nature.)
Humane Society of the United States (2100 L Street, N.W., Washington D.C. 20037). Publications including:Humane Education (a how-to magazine for teachers).Meeting Animal Friends, by Charlotte Baker Montgomery (a handbook for teachers of young children).My Kindness Coloring Book, by Hope Sawyer Buyukmihci and Charlotte Baker Montgomery (pictures of animals, with simple text).Special Reports on zoo reform, rodeos, teaching children to be kind, controlling America’s pet population, etc.
Montgomery, Charlotte Baker. “A Visit to an Animal Shelter.”Children Today. January–February, 1977.
National Association for the Advancement of Humane Education,Sharing: You and the Animal World. (New curriculum materials which may be ordered from Youth Education, Inc., 10 East 40th Street, New York, N.Y. 10016.)
Schweitzer, Albert.The Teaching of Reverence for Life. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1965.
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Montgomery, C.B. Teaching with animals: Goals and guidelines. Early Childhood Educ J 5, 28–31 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02367566
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02367566