Friday, October 14, 2011

The Minds of 1st Graders

A couple weeks back I went to Stratton Elementry School to visit with a small group of 1st graders and speak about veterinary medicine. My wife is a middle school teacher, so I am familiar with the school system, but was amazed at how bright and interactive the kids were.

Their teacher had asked them to come up with two questions to ask me. Fortunately, the teacher had deciphered the questions before I came (the kids handwriting wasn't the greatest) and after a brief introduction we got to the questions. Many of them pertained to how you become a veterinarian, but there were a variety of other thought-provoking questions.

The best was when we opened the floor up to the kids to ask other questions that they had not written down. Of course I got many stories about the children's pets and how many of them had animals that were sick and brought to the veterinarian. Since most 1st graders don't have filters, sometimes I heard more than I probably should have, but it was an enjoyable experience.

I think the highlight of the visit for the kids was seeing the cat skeleton and listening to their hearts with the stethoscope. Overall, I think it was a success and I hope to be asked back at some point to speak again.

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