Resources for Teachers and Classroom Presenters

Wayside Waifs

Wayside Waifs is an animal shelter in Kansas City, MO. but has a unique and very effective humane education program, reaching many thousands of children in grades 2-5 each year but soon to be expanded to K-2 grades as well. The program, begun in 2004, is known as No More Bullying, and is specifically designed to reduce human violence and animal cruelty by teaching children respect for others, including non-humans, while eliminating bullying in schools.

From their website:

While No More Bullying is not the first bullying prevention curriculum on the market, we believe it has the potential to be one of the most effective. Wayside Waifs wants to be part of the team that creates a positive learning environment for students that is bully and violence free. One chilling statistic is the majority of students who committed school shootings have a history that includes animal cruelty and animal violence. Having a companion animal in the classroom changes the dynamic, students are learning to convey the significance of treating all living beings with care. No More Bullying inspires the students to embrace empathy for all living beings and become valuable contributors within their community. In 2016, we were asked to come back to 85% of schools in 2017. With the recent implementation of the No More Bullying Pilot Program (Kindergarten-2nd grade) in 2016, we hope to reach 2,820 students in 2017. “This program was one of the best resources our school has ever implemented.” – Paul, 4th grade teacher.

Wayside Waifs implements 7 educational programs offered for elementary age students. Dog Safety, Activating Empathy, Once Upon a Time, and Kids in Action are just a few to name. The crux of our Humane Education programming is No More Bullying. (Link to order form.) The connection between the various forms of violence has been extensively studied and researched. Wayside wants to prevent animal abuse and abuse towards humans. To do this, Wayside created No More Bullying 13 years ago, reaching tens of thousands students with this violence prevention program. Wayside Waifs wants to be part of the team that creates a positive learning environment for students that is bully and violence free. One chilling statistic is the majority of students who committed school shootings have a history that includes animal cruelty and animal violence. Having a companion animal in the classroom changes the dynamic, students are learning to convey the significance of treating all living beings with care.

The connection between the various forms of violence has been extensively studied and researched. This research has found:

• Children who abuse animals often have experienced abuse or neglect.
• When children abuse animals it is likely a precursor to future violence.
• There is a direct link between school-age students who practice bullying and adult perpetrators of domestic violence.
• Most teen school shooters have a history of abusing animals.
• Many people incarcerated for violent offenses to people report abusing animals as part of their first experiences with violence.
• The majority of families experiencing domestic violence report their family pet was also abused by the perpetrator of violence.
• Virtually all serial killers report tormenting and abusing animals early in life.

People, abused by people, often abuse animals. People who abuse animals often also abuse people. And so the cycle goes.