Wild reptiles and education within Australian schools, is it adequate?

[Endeavour]

Living in the UK this is not a subject that is covered within our schools. With the number of venomous snakes you have in Australia it got me thinking. How fully is the subject of safety addressed within your educational system?, does this depend on geographical area?, and do you think its adequate?. It would be great to read your views and experiences.



Kindest regards


Endeavour

 

[Emilie]

Non existing. My daughters teacher told the class that pythons eat their prey whole then spits back up the bones and fur. Wonder where she got such information from and how the h... she could "teach" the class such rubbish

 

[Zanks]

We had "The Wild Action Team" at kindergarten today.
Animals included Kookaburra, sand monitor, wide back turtle, leaf tailed gecko, green tree frog (34 years old!!!!!!), BHP, olive python and a 4ft saltwater croc.
Chris did a wonderful job of conveying to the kids that these animals were all pets and that all animals in the wild will bite you. He over emphasized that snakes are never to be touched in the wild.
What a terrific presentation.

 

[Renenet]

When I went through school, I had a couple of hands-on reptile presentations over 13 years. Other than that, nothing. It needs to be much more comprehensive, in my opinion, so that there is a good chance of dispelling the myths and the fear before they become entrenched.

 

[thomasssss]

Non existing.

thats a bit harsh at some schools it may be the case but not all i went to a school that did a great reptile education thingy coming into summer each year although it was probably because it was a local guy who did it and from memory free of charge , the particular school had sugar cane fields running along 2 of the fence lines so their was a bit of an increased risk , the main point they pushed with us though was to leave them alone and get the teacher

 

[Ssssnakes]

Here in Victoria, I know that most kindergardens get some sort of "Wild Action" or "Roaming Reptiles" to educate the kids, but I've seen nothing in the primary/secondary years. So, when my son decided to have a birthday party, I got a couple of hay bales, an old Western Saddle, did up the garage like a barn and educated the kids myself. Got out all my blue tongues, shingle backs, bearded dragon, turtles, snakes etc. The kids were fascinated and asked so many questions. They did ask if I could do the same at their birthdays but unfortunately our licences down here prohibit us from removing licensed animals from our property unless they're being bought/sold or going to a vet. I've even had teachers approach me to bring the animals in, but again, licensing doesn't allow me to.

 

[GeckoJosh]

When I went to school we didn't have any dangerous animal education what so ever, and this was in the Blue Mountains where we were surrounded by National Parks filled with snakes.

 

[sharky]

I go to a private high school and my science teacher is also very passionate about herps and herpatology. He has actually designed a program that lets my friend and I go around to primary schools in SA to give reptile presentations. We have to take our own animals though but we make sure all the kids wash their hands and put on their best behaviour! It is good fun and I am always up for teaching others about Reptile Awareness!!!
We bring in a few pythons, some beardies, bluetongues, a few animals from my friends possum and kookaburra collection (She rescues them) and some green tree frogs! The kids enjoy it and so do we. It is a great hands on experience for the kids in reception to yr 7

I would encourage more people to do so because most teachers don't even brush past the subject let alone teach it at all!!!

 

[Renenet]

Sounds awesome, Sharky. I wish I could've done that when I was at school!

 

[saintanger]

wen i went to school only once in primary school we had a hands on reptile show at school, high school nothing at all. my niece and nephews have been taught nothing at their schools, they come to my house to learn about reptiles. i doubt they will introduce anything into schools to do with reptiles except for the odd reptile show or trip to the reptile park.

 

[Bluetongue1]

The vast majority of the Australian population is urban. About 85% live in towns or cities. 15% live in rural or semi-rural areas. This has an effect on the defining of content to be covered in the education system, so specific education about snakes does not get a guernsey. Quite simply, most people will never ever see a wild snake other than on TV.

The other fact to bear in mind is the relative importance of snakebite. At about 3 individuals per year it is on a par with wasp and bee stings. The latter has been brought down from 10 a year by use of epi-pens. We have around 20 horse riding death per year, 4 shark deaths (on average), 55 beach drownings and 75 creek and river drownings. Then you have a massive number of alcohol and other drugs, vehicle accidents, cardio-vascular disease etc. Those top issues are included in the syllabus but even drownings is marginal in terms of syllabus content and horse riding does not register.

The individual school gets to set a certain amount of the syllabus based on locally relevant issues. So it is up to the Principal or specific teachers as whether anything is organised with respect to reptiles or snakes. It also depends upon the availability of someone who can run an incursion on the subject.

So basically, there is no compulsion for any school to run a reptile education related activity or course. It is up to the individual school, its individual teacher, the relevance to their pupils and the availability of resources.

Blue

 

[CaptainRatbag]

Here in Victoria, I know that most kindergardens get some sort of "Wild Action" or "Roaming Reptiles" to educate the kids, but I've seen nothing in the primary/secondary years. So, when my son decided to have a birthday party, I got a couple of hay bales, an old Western Saddle, did up the garage like a barn and educated the kids myself. Got out all my blue tongues, shingle backs, bearded dragon, turtles, snakes etc. The kids were fascinated and asked so many questions. They did ask if I could do the same at their birthdays but unfortunately our licences down here prohibit us from removing licensed animals from our property unless they're being bought/sold or going to a vet. I've even had teachers approach me to bring the animals in, but again, licensing doesn't allow me to.

Ask your vet if he will donate a couple of hours to some kids..... get him to go to the kids event. Then you can have the vet look at your animals as you are showing them to the kids

- - - Updated - - -

We had "The Wild Action Team" at kindergarten today.

I hope they didnt roll up in a van with T.W.A.T. signwritten on it?:facepalm:

 

[grizz]

I think we dump a lot of crap on schools/teachers that parents really need be made accountable for... manners are a good example and I believe snake awareness is another!

 

[Endeavour]

I think we dump a lot of crap on schools/teachers that parents really need be made accountable for... manners are a good example and I believe snake awareness is another!

I think in some respects that's a fair point, the sad reality however in today's society is that if we left everything up to some parents their children would be about as well rounded as a hexagon.


Kindest regards


Endeavour

 

[Zanks]

I hope they didnt roll up in a van with T.W.A.T. signwritten on it?:facepalm:

Lol

 

[grizz]

I think in some respects that's a fair point, the sad reality however in today's society is that if we left everything up to some parents their children would be about as well rounded as a hexagon.


Kindest regards
Is that not natural selection?

Endeavour

Is that not natural selection?

 

[Echiopsis]

The vast majority of the Australian population is urban. About 85% live in towns or cities. 15% live in rural or semi-rural areas. This has an effect on the defining of content to be covered in the education system, so specific education about snakes does not get a guernsey. Quite simply, most people will never ever see a wild snake other than on TV.

I disagree with the above. Brown snakes (in the west at least) are commonly encountered in urban situations. I'd go as far as to say that there's more brown snakes in urban areas here than there are in untouched bushland due to the surplus of food and water we supply. I have no facts to back that up, only what I've seen over the years.

It's scary that in a place like Australia with no shortage of venomous animals that even the doctors are often stumped when a snake bite casualty presents themselves. On two separate occasions I know of nurses/ doctors have tried to remove pressure bandages to 'have a look' before even checking that the right antivenene is on hand. On another occasion a doctor attempted to administer antivenene as a 'cure all' without the casualty showing any affect to the venom.

Education is definitely lacking, for the kids and medical staff.

 

[sharky]

Agree, in Adelaide Hills everytime you go outside parents will say "Look out for brown snakes" and its true because they are EVERYWHERE! So are tiger snakes...
There needs to be more education in venemouo snakes in schools and what you should do if you stumble across one.

 

[CaptainRatbag]

There needs to be more education in venemouo snakes in schools and what you should do if you stumble across one.

So true.... and not shovel handling techniques

 

[sharky]

So true.... and not shovel handling techniques

Or the 'brick it' techniques