Mr. Reuter's Animals

As you walk into room 5.154, you automatically see that it’s different from the average high school classroom. The walls are covered with posters, there are random knick-knacks spread out everywhere, and scattered throughout there are terrariums that house different animals. To most of the school, this mini zoo is unknown.

The animals are actually apart of Mr. Reuters Field Science class, open for juniors and seniors. They are a native biomes project that the students have to keep up all year round for a summative grade. Since they are native biomes, the animals have to be from, or native to, our area. Right now, there are assorted fish tanks, an amphibians terrarium, a couple of painted turtles, a snake, some rats, and a rabbit named Missy. Mr. Reuter states, “Usually I get the animals from Wings & Things in Clinton, PetSmart, PetCo, or Aquatic Environments. Lately, since we are now doing native biomes I have been supplied by Clinton County Conservation or students catch them in the ‘wild.”’

This Field Science project got started years ago in one of Mr. Reuter’s classes. “It just happened back in 2003. I had a few aquariums in my classroom that I tended to and then I started teaching Environmental Science. I thought that the best way that students could understand biomes and animal behavior was to have them develop and tend their own ecosystems in the classroom. It gave them "outdoors experience" while being in a classroom. From the beginning, I have had nothing but support for the project, whether it was Andrew, Northeast, or Central DeWitt High School. After 15 years of doing this project, the toughest part is getting grant funding to keep it going.”

To kick off this project at the beginning of the school year, the students first have to pick which creature they want to work with. Then, the group has to come up with everything that the animals need, from tanks, food, and other assorted needs. Those costs will be given to Mr. Reuter so he can go out and buy the start-up necessities.

After school gets let out in the summer, the animals are well taken care of. “In the past, I would take a lot of the animals home or sell them back to the pet store (profit put back into the classroom account) for the summer since they were not native. Now that we do native animals, they can be released into the ‘wild.’ Also, some go back to Clinton County Conservation.” states Reuter.

This project is also a huge teaching moment for the class. “The obvious thing it teaches them is the nature of biomes, biome sensitivity, and animal behavior. Beyond that it teaches students responsibility (the lives of these animals depends on the students), cooperation (working with other group members requires constant communication), budgeting (developing the initial start-up costs and monthly expenses), adjustment (when something goes wrong how do students fix it), and almost a parenting mentality (a connection usually develops between the students and their animals.) The project is also a form of animal therapy. Some students see their animal(s) as the best part of the school day and a release amidst the constant stress that school sometimes can produce.”

Next time you stop into Mr. Reuter’s classroom, stop in and stay awhile. You might be surprised by what you’ll learn.

- Yana Sperry