Posted by:
bleidner
at Fri Mar 28 08:58:02 2008 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by bleidner ]
This has been a most interesting discussion. As a snake owner from the time I was a young kid growing up on a South Texas farm, I can say that I have never heard any negative comments about what I raise. In the last 33 years of teaching, I have had some species of colubrid in my elementary classroom for about 90% of the time. It is a real treat for the students to get to watch the snake eat on Fridays. I have used that with especially difficult kids and they actually behave so they can get to watch the snakes eat. If they have been real good, they might even get to touch or hold the snake (with a great deal of supervision). It's amazing to see how some big sixth grade kids react to a rat snake when holding one for the first time in their lives.
My three sons have grown up around snakes and even today as adults, two of them own snakes. Their mother might say it is in excess, but as adults in their 20's there are much worse things they could be spending their money on. With the 8 snakes I have at home now, the neighbor kids are always coming by the house to look at the snakes.
As I have introduced snakes to children over the years I have always tried to teach them that snakes are not to be feared or vilified. They are to be respected and admired for the wonderful creatures they are.
Bill
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RE: Response and more - bleidner, Fri Mar 28 08:58:02 2008