PUTTING THE “T” IN “RESPECT” STORY BY BEN MILLER Imagine how it would feel to walk into class and have a furry friend readily available to pet and love on. The students in Mrs. Catherine Bruce’s Social Emotional Learning class (called Champion Training) at Enota Multiple Intelligences Academy can tell you exactly how it feels! Mrs. Bruce has some help from her certified emotional support dog, T, that makes learning fun and stress free. T, short for Timber, comes into class around once a week. Mrs. Bruce’s standards revolve around nine words that teach students to be the absolute best they can be. Some of these words include respect, responsibility, perseverance, cooperation, and honesty. Upon talking to Mrs. Bruce and her students, the class was focusing on the word “respect,” which teaches the kids to be kind to their teachers and friends, to the objects in the classroom, and to treat everyone and everything with love. Bruce mentioned that “T has been a great example of the word ‘respect’. The students understand that T can be petted, but they also understand she must be treated carefully and with love.” “I’ve always thought that bringing an emotional support animal to school with me would be a fun and beneficial way to help my students learn and grow with our character development lessons,” says Bruce. The kids in Mrs. Bruce’s class love being able to pet T as she walks around the classroom. It truly lights up the classroom and brings a sense of happiness to the school environment. Although she is a dog, T is a great teacher and a great friend for the kids at Enota.
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