Kids are so Smart

Henry Clay has breathed a little breath of fresh (puppy fresh) air into the halls of BMS.  We had the best day spending time in Jimmy's class asking kids what they noticed and wondered about Henry Clay. My goodness they noticed so many things, that to be honest I didn't think they would.  For example, he is calm, likes people, MAKES KIDS WANT TO COME TO SCHOOL! (what???) The kids said he seems well trained.  A couple of students said, "He has helped many people feel better already."  When we asked them how they knew that one little girl said, "well, he makes me feel better just when I see him in the hall, he makes me want to come to school" 

That was something I simply didn't expect.  I expected him to make a difference for a few kids from time to time, I really didn't expect him to have an impact just by students seeing him.  I know they don't all respond to having a dog here, but he is causing no harm to those who see him as just a dog.  The huge impact he is having on a few, and the positive impact he is having on many is more than I ever anticipated.

Kids are so smart.  Between all three grade level class visits students came up with great ideas for how to interact with Henry Clay and how to communicate the need to have puppy time if they are in great distress. Google forms, puppy passes, golden passes (because he's a golden doodle), have time with Henry Clay for Bruin Bash's, and the list goes on and on.  Some ideas were more interesting, for example, can we have a Therapy dog for every classroom? Can all of us bring our dog to school? Can we have cats? If you could only imagine what was running around in my mind.  The line from Ghostbusters with Bill Murray - "Cats and Dogs living together!!!! Mayhem" was repeating over and over in my head. 

I think we are going to stick with a one dog school plan.  We will certainly include some of the students ideas for Henry Clay Visits.  

Seeing the kids interact with Henry Clay and especially the ones he has helped completely turn around (there are a few) is worth the work- the benefit is definitely outweighing the cost.