Bug friendly teacher appoints classroom “insect monitor”
Posted March 4th, 2008 by minortopics | via www.dailynews.comMelodie Conrad, a teacher at the Eagle Rock Elementary School & Magnet Center in Los Angeles, California, believes people should have a respect for all living things — all the way to down to any creepy, crawly critters that may invade her classroom. Conrad routinely appoints one of her students as an “insect monitor” whose job is to scoop up any wayward bugs and safely deposit them outside. She also maintains a “no squashing” policy in her class. Let’s hope none of her future student’s parents work for Orkin.
“I absolutely just feel like we live in a society where violence is prevalent, and I’ve seen that over the years I’ve been teaching. I just wanted to be careful that they’re exposed to just the opposite in this room,” said Conrad, a 21-year teaching veteran.
“I’m not trying to turn them into bug activists. But I hear these kids say how cool it is when they shot this person in a video game or how cool these bloody movies are, and I’m concerned. That made me think.”
To get her students to start thinking about the same issues, she asks them why some want to kill bugs. And it’s instilled a sense of respect for life among her students.
Rebecca Tokofsky, 9, said she used to call her dad to get rid of a “scary-looking spider.” Now, she is eager for her turn to become bug monitor.