When we think of animals at Morgan, we likely think first of our Husky mascot or K-9 Jagger. However, there are many more animals besides dogs within our school, including Orange Tetras and Chinese Algae Eaters, you just need to find yourself in room D07. If you walk through the hallways of Morgan, you’ll notice colorful tanks of fish in three different teachers’ classrooms, including Ms. Lisy, Ms. Martino, and Mr. Rowe. These fish play a major role in students’ education and enjoyment.
Keeping fish has long been something done at the Morgan school. Back in the old Morgan school, science teacher Ms. Lisy kept fish in her classroom, and she continues to do so today.
Fish serve as a great connection between science and the real world. This is especially true for Ms. Lisy, who teaches Marine Science every other year here, with a unit dedicated to organisms in the ocean.
“I think it’s a good way to get students engaged in science,” Ms. Lisy said.
The second semester of Marine Science consists of a long-term research project, where students must pick a topic related to the class that they wish to learn more about and routinely collect data to gather into a major project. “As part of the research project, sometimes they’ll do research projects with [the fish],” Ms. Lisy commented.
Within the past few years, a variety of projects have focused on the fish and their environments. Some students measure how different foods affect the aquatic animals, while others observe how the relationships amongst fish in the tank vary.
Even in chemistry, which is a subject more commonly associated with atoms and the microscopic, animals can aid learning just as much.
Mr. Rowe, a science teacher here at Morgan, teaches chemistry as one of his many classes. “In chemistry, we do a whole unit on water chemistry,” he mentioned. “It’s a great application, so [students] can look at the natural cycle of ammonia and nitrogens within the fish tank.”
Fish also have many benefits for students. Mr. Rowe says his main reason for keeping fish in his classroom is to relieve stress of his students. “[The students] like to take a look at what the fish are doing, and they’ll see the movement,” Mr. Rowe recalled, “you just kind of see stress levels go down.”
Furthermore, keeping fish in the classroom teaches students necessary skills such as responsibility.
In Ms. Martino’s class, her students play a major role in the wellbeing of the fish of varying kinds, including a Black Molly and Neon fish. She explained, “different students will take turns feeding the fish. They check on them every day and make sure everybody’s accounted for and let me know if something’s going on in the tank.”
All three teachers reported consistent student engagement with the fish. Mr. Rowe and Ms. Lisy both said that students will observe the fish between tasks or when free time is available in class.
Everyone counts at Morgan, including all of the fish. If you’ve never noticed them before, maybe take a minute next time before the bell rings to walk over to a tank and you might discover something new. After all, they are a major part of our school community.
“The students have named the fish, the kids are with [the fish],” Ms. Martino ends off with, “I think it’s fun for me and the kids to have something alive that we take care of in the classroom.”
