Students at Edwardsville Elementary School are learning about respect, character and compassion from area shelter dogs.
Representatives from Wayside Waifs, which has an animal shelter and campus in south Kansas City, Mo., and offers services in various locations in the Kansas City area, spent two weeks with Edwardsville Elementary students.
The third, fourth and fifth grade classrooms met with Wayside representatives five times.
During the course of the lessons, students learned about respect for others. Instructors focused on bullying, sharing stories of abused pets and the effects of abuse.
Kerry Copple, a third grade teacher at Edwardsville, organized the visits. She said it was important for her students to learn more about these sensitive topics.
“It was great for them to see a real world example, and hear about the real effects of bullying,” Copple said. “I think some students could even relate on a deeper level to what some of these animals went through before going to the shelter.”
Each lesson was accompanied by a visit from one of the shelter’s dogs. Copple said the visits also helped some students address fears they developed over time.
“Some of my students had bad experiences with dogs before, and by the end of the week they felt comfortable enough to feed the dogs a treat,” Copple said.
The lessons and materials used during the presentations were provided at no cost by Wayside Waifs.