the oppertunity to "educate"
I have an existing relationship with a particular elementary school here in town. When i was a Highschooler they let me bring goats in to the school to teach the kids how to milk a goat (I was in 4-h at the time) Id get about 15 minuets with each class...Id tell them what the animals was...what she eat, how I cared for her, etc (depending on the grade level) and then demonstare milking and (depending on the grade level) let the kids milk the goat and/or pet the momma and her kids....The teachers loved it when i did that- so did the kids (and the goats were pleased with all the treats and attention)
I recently stopped in to visit some of the old teachers and they were all fascinated to learn I had hens...they want me to bring the hens around for the students to meet....
Now, the very reason I started the Ayuda Chicken Project and Rescue was to educate the public about hens--and about the abuse of factory farmed chickens...
But these kids are 5-12 years old and i cant go and tell them the chickens are being tortured and slaughtered to put food on their plates. In fact-- i think advocating a vegetarian diet at all might be a bad idea...I KNOW kids have to eat what their parents prepare and i don't want to cause unhappy waves. I also dont want to traumatize anyone...
I have written and illustarted a book about a little chicken that i think would be fun for the really little kids (its about how similar chickens are to people) but that wont work for the older kids...
One thing I DO NOT want to do is simply bring in my feathered babies and let them meet them, see how happy they are and educate kids about chicken husbandry...allowing them to think that the chicken they eat from the grocery store comes from places like happy little farms where the hens are happy and pretty like my hens...who get to eat special treats adn have love and affection...
What do you guys think I should do? Ideas?
I'm all for telling them the truth. You don't want to cause pain, and that's admirable, but silence about these issues, as you know, causes pain and suffering over and above anything you are capable of causing these kids to experience. The worst that can happen is that you're asked not to come back. I'm not at all sure that I myself would have the strength to do it; you'd be inviting lots of "unhappy waves" for sure. But imo, if you did do it, you'd be a hero.
I think that's a hard call. Whatever you decide though I think you should run it over with the principal first.
You have to be age appropriate and respectful for the lives their families live. You can still do that and teach them. Go in with the idea that you are planting seeds. That you are educating them by allowing them to see and connect with the animals, to understand them, and to appreciate them. It is a wonderful foundation for elementary children. They are not in a place to do anything about animal abuse and that burden should not be put on children of that age. You could cause serious emotional problems for children who have no control over such things. But you can lay a foundation of love, care, and respect for animals that can grow and mature through time into acting on it. Then you can be clear to high school teachers that you would like to teach about proper chicken care and industrialized abuse to their ag or biology classes.That's a much more appropriate age to discuss such things openly.
What you can do with the younger children is tell them how you take care of your chickens, how much you love them, etc. Start out discussing chickens, what they are like, how they live and grow, etc. Then talk about what you personally do to take care of them. At their age, they aren't thinking food, they are thinking pets. Instill a sense of responsibility by letting them know how hard you work and how rewarding you find it to be. You can mention that there are some people who don't treat their chickens nicely (without specific examples or referencing the food industry). You can ask how we are supposed to treat animals. You can talk about how sad it would make you to know about an animal being hurt. You can ask if they know what they should do if they ever see an animal being hurt or if they run into wild animals who appear hurt. You should not bring up your own vegetarianism unless directly asked. "Do you eat them?" "No, I don't eat them. I enjoy caring for them." "Do you sell them for people to eat?" "No, I enjoy these guys too much. I don't want them to be eaten!" "Do you eat chickens?" "No, I've chosen not to eat meat." "Have you altered your diet since you started taking care of them?" "As a matter of fact, I choose not to eat any meat because of how much I love these little guys!" "What do you eat then?" "All kinds of cool stuff like broccoli and strawberries and beans and grains. Do you know what chickens eat? WORMS! Yea way! Uh huh! Have you ever eaten a worm? Yea, me neither. <shiver>" Fun, informational, educational... elementary age children should be shown the wonder and glory of our world. They will have plenty of exposure to the evils of the world in their lives and now is not the time or the venue.
You can teach in a loving and age appropriate manner that respects the children, their developmental stage, the lack of control they have over their lives and diets, avoids emotionally-charged words, and instills the love and respect you have for these guys all at the same time. If you don't feel you'll be able to do that, then I encourage you to look into venues outside of the institutional school setting. I think you have such a love and happiness from them that you won't have a problem with it, though.
I agree Caitlyn that I need to do this in an upbeat manner. I know that I wanted to be a vegetarian from the time I made the connection between chicken on my plate and chicken in my backyard (we never eat our own chickens though...)I have always loved animals and it pained me that my parents did not ALLOW me to be a vegetarian. If I had known about the conditions the animals were raised in before I was able to control my own diet-- I think I would have litterally had an emotional breakdown-- I was a sensiteve child....
BUT I do agree that I'm gonna plant some seeds in their hears.. I liked the suggestion of discussing how we are supposed to treat animals...that is an idea that they know now...and if I can get them to make the connection NOW between how an animal should be treated is how a chicken should be treated...then in a few years when they are old enough to hear about factory farming from somewhere...they will know in their hearts that "thats not how we are supposed to treat chickens"
Cephi--- I break out the scary PETA pictures and cage demos when i do public education stuff advocating a vegetarian diet AWAY from public schools. Then its mostly adults or adults who allow their children to come and look at the displays (I do take certain measures to make some things less accessible to children's eyes even in this case though. I think most people just don't know about factory farming...
I want the kids to have a positive experience and i want o be invited back...
I think Caitlyn stated it very well.
And Zealia, I think you're so great!! Good for you making a difference with children and others!! :)
I swear I dreamed about this topic last night!
It's a hard position to be in because you don't want to be the crazy lady coming in telling them to stop eating their favorite foods, but you don't want to pass up a valuable opportunity to inform.
If it were me, I'd try to draw strong parallels between these chickens being your friends the same way some of the kids have cats and dogs that they consider their friends...and how all animals (cats, dogs, chickens, cows) deserve the same kindness from us.
People tend to understand me a little better when I say I don't see a difference between a dog and a cow
I was having this discussion with JeanaCorina the other night re: her mom's comment that 'animals were put here for us to eat'. ::) I suggested she place the family dog on a dinner plate and prepare to carve a leg declaring it god's will. ;)
laughing out loud!!!!
Im sure however you go about it Zealia itll be a very good thing for the kids involved.
Hey Zealia! I think it's great that the teachers want you to bring your hens to classes! YOu know--you could always meet with the teachers ahead of time and ask them how to procede--if they know you're a vegan and that your chickens are apart of a sancutary that you head--they have to have some idea that you would talk about the reasons behind those facts. I'm sure you could work out a way to say what you want to in an age approiate way!
Good luck!
http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w315/CKJersey/chicken.jpg
I read this thread right after you posted it, Zealia, and I wanted to give advice like Caitlyn's, but I couldn't put it into words... Caitlyn did a fantastic job of explaining a fun, effective, sensitive way to introduce this topic to children without "crossing the line," so-to-speak. And I agree with adamcrisis--whatever you do, I'm sure it will be wonderful! :) You'll be able to feed off the reactions of the students & you'll do a great job! Please come back afterward & let us know how it goes! :)