Fifth grade, I learned this week, is "awesome." That was Day One.
Day Two was "the awesomest."
The secret: Hamsters. The 10-year-old's class has six so far.
There are also two pairs of gerbils, a frog, a couple of geckos, a snake - and a guinea pig is reportedly on the way. The classroom is three pets away from a 1:1 critter-student ratio - one of the many benefits of a having an animal-loving former biologist as your teacher.
She calls her students "the zookeepers." She prefers hands-on learning to textbooks. She doesn't think much of standardized tests.
Among all the startlingly bad ideas popping up in the public school system, (Hey, let's arm the teachers! Let's start standardized testing in kindergarten!) it is easy to overlook the fact that great teachers often rely on startlingly simple ideas.
You want kids to do well in school? Get them excited about being in school. Duh.
You want 18 fifth-graders to agree on hamster names? Good luck with that.
Photo: A fifth-grade zookeeper examines the newest classroom pet - Sparky, Jellybean, Pumpkin, Peanut, Twix, Chuckles, Ping, Pong, Marbles, Twinkles, Comet, Pigger, Marmalade, Spaz, Cupcake, BamBam, Smokey, Monkey, Bunny, Dr. Pepper, or possibly Crush.
You DO know where all those critters have to go over Christmas break, right?
Just sayin'.
Posted by: Robert K | August 27, 2008 at 03:03 PM
Oh %$#@!
SK
Posted by: Suburban Kamikaze | August 27, 2008 at 03:19 PM
Duh, and you were worried about the fox getting your RABBIT.
Posted by: Executive Suburbanite | August 27, 2008 at 05:15 PM
I wish that were still the secret, you know? Not Oprah's "Secret" but just what I need to perk up my day. I'm feeling bummed or tired, just go into my hamster room.
Posted by: Ok, Where Was I? | August 28, 2008 at 09:13 AM
Hamsters? Hide the ping pong table. you KNOW what I mean...
Posted by: nthnglsts | August 28, 2008 at 07:57 PM
"Ping" and "Pong" were among the names in contention. Some bad memories there...
SK
Posted by: Suburban Kamikaze | August 29, 2008 at 06:13 AM
LOVE the name "Crush" for any tiny little rodent. Excellent. This is awesome.
Posted by: MommyTime | August 29, 2008 at 08:26 PM
Blivet. Blivet is a respectable hamster name. Gotta know hamsters.
Posted by: Audubon Ron | August 30, 2008 at 03:04 AM
Blivet? You may know your hamsters Audubon, but MommyTime apparently knows her fifth-graders. They went with "Crush" - though I believe they were inspired by the soft drink and not the verb.
SK
Posted by: Suburban Kamikaze | August 30, 2008 at 07:52 AM
"Crush."
Hmm.
My darling wife, who has taught high school English for 22 years, informs me this is a literary device known as foreshadowing.
Very advanced for fifth grade, though.
Posted by: Robert K | August 30, 2008 at 03:06 PM
Good names so far!
Posted by: Hamster Cage | March 23, 2011 at 12:35 PM