My grandmother instilled a phobia in me when I was very little. So I steered clear of anything legless until college, when a sadistic zoology professor backed me into a corner with his boa constrictor in front of the entire lab class. I lept over a lab table and out the door to escape--not my finest moment.

Later I began teaching in a school that was a department of a children's science museum. My co-teacher told me that I owed it to myself to get over the fear, and our 18 kindergarteners agreed with her. Every monday she would retrieve a ball python, rosy boa, etc. from the museum and bring it to our morning meeting time. Starting at the door, every monday I had to take one step closer to the circle of herp-loving children. So that there would be no cheating, they marked my progress on the floor with purple masking tape. Every child LOVED coming to school on mondays!

Eventually I reached the circle, held a snake or two, and decided that I really liked them. I began volunteering with the herps in the museum, and before long was out in the community doing educational herp workshops for other teachers.

20 years later I'm no longer with the museum school, but I'm still doing herp sessions with teachers. My husband and I have 25 snakes and a dozen lizards in our herp room. When I do a workshop, I ask the teacher who wants a snake for a classroom pet to go home and consider the points I have in a hand-out (including getting permission from the principal). When the teacher has procured the correct enclosure, etc. for the snake's life, I will donate a hatchling/juvenile to the classroom. The only stipulation is that if the animal is no longer wanted, it must be returned to me. So far only one has been returned.

I was fortunate to have a colleague/friend who took the time to take away the fear and replace it with a lifelong passion. I like to think that some kids can skip the fear by having a herp-savvy teacher. Karma is like that.
rgds,
althea

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