2015 Teacher Inquiry

This is my proposed topic:

Can the presence of a dog in the classroom benefit students’ attitudes and therefore learning?

I have a small, non-allergenic, gentle natured dog named Clicquot. For the past four years (his whole life), he has made make occasional visits to the classroom. The deal is that he would only ever be able to attend as long as they didn't allow him to interrupt their learning. During these visits, I have noticed numerous benefits for the students.  

Here are some points which I have observed which illustrate the value of having a dog in the classroom:

1. The general classroom mood / tone is happier and lighter
2. In 20I2 had a very quiet girl with low self esteem (Annaleise). She LOVED dogs and would spark up whenever we talked about them. Whenever I brought Clicquot I would place her in charge of his needs. She was absolutely delighted and it really boosted her self-esteem and status.
3. In 2013 I was doing a Running Record on Phillip Z, a damaged boy who struggled with most academic requirements including reading. We reached the word, 'children' and he just couldn't figure it out. He said, "I quit!" and walked away. There was no point charging off after him. The next day I brought Clicquot to school. I put him on Phillip's lap and we attacked the Running Record again. He did the entire thing while patting Clicquot, with no trouble.
4. In 2013 and 2014, I had a Maori boy in my class who was intelligent, restless and lacking empathy (Max). One day I asked him why he just dropped his rubbish when he finished with it - did he have no respect for Papa Nathan who had to pick it up after lunch? "No," he replied, "I don't respect anyone... Only Clicquot." After discussion with his parents, they finally bought him a puppy. Clicquot was my way to connect with Max.
5. In 2014 I had a discussion with Kamil's mum, who is from Pakistan. She told me she is very scared of dogs because she had been attacked by wild dogs which ran in aggressive packs in Karachi, but she was keen for her son not to be. She encouraged me to bring Clicquot to school regularly. Kamil loves Clicquot.
6. In 2015 as in other years, Clicquot has been a member of our classroom. Not only does he find the students on the edge like Phillip, Annaleise, Max and Dylan, he makes all the children feel important. He fits in with my philosophy of adding layers of interest to the daily happenings in QZealand - in the same way Quiddage entwines itself around and through what we do. So each day when we check home learning completion - Clicquot's name is on the class list and he earns or loses snidges too. I use him to illustrate such concepts as perseverance. He is a topic students can write about on the QZealand Times...