‘Professor Paws’ Helps Hong Kong Sschool Kids
Venkatesan Vembu
Sunday, January 07, 2007 23:17 IST
HONG KONG: At assembly time on a Thursday morning at Li Sing Tai Hang School in Hong Kong, six-year-old Adnan is all a twitter with excitement.
Three new ‘professors’ — Claude, Shogan and Remy — are scheduled to visit his school that day to give him and his classmates some exercises in English conversation — and a few other lessons besides. What thrills Adnan particularly isn’t just the limitless joy of linguistic instruction; he’s also hoping that by session’s end, he’ll have overcome his inhibitions enough to feed the visiting professors a biscuit or two, walk them on a leash around the classroom — and perhaps even have them wagging their tails with joy!
The curious goings-on in some primary schools across Hong Kong are easily explained: Claude, Shogan and Remy are just three of many canine ‘professors’ participating in a pioneering programme run by Animals Asia, a Hong Kong-based animal welfare charity. Under the ‘Professor Paws Pet Cadet’ programme (as it’s called), teams of dogs visit classrooms in schools, typically in low-income neighbourhoods, and help improve the children’s English proficiency and literacy skills — while simultaneously instilling in them kindness and compassion for all animals.
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http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1073273Photo Credit: Pao Baaji / DNA
Adnan gets a handshake from Professor Claude after feeding him