The child development classroom was abuzz with activity.\u00a0 There were murmurs of pleasure and giggles of excitement. The egg babies had arrived!\u00a0 Some students even went so far as to say, \u201cCongratulations\u201d to fellow classmates.\u00a0 Or, they might ask, \u201cIs it a boy or a girl.\u201d\u00a0 The students had one class period to decorate and name their egg baby.\u00a0 When they finished, each one would be as unique as a real baby.\u00a0 They were to care for their egg baby for 24 hours and report the experience to the class the next day.<\/p>\n
It was the seventies.\u00a0 An innovative homemaking teacher came up with the idea of having her students experience the responsibility of caring for a baby by having them care for a raw egg for 24 hours.\u00a0 She shared her idea and it caught on with classes across the state.\u00a0 (The eggs were actually hard cooked.)<\/p>\n
I thought the idea would be fun for students for one year or possibility two.\u00a0 Students had other ideas.\u00a0 They looked forward to the egg babies for several years.\u00a0 About midway through the prenatal lessons, they would begin asking when the egg babies would arrive.<\/p>\n
There were rules for caring for the egg babies just as there are guidelines for caring for human babies.\u00a0 Egg babies were not to be left in a car or a locker.\u00a0 They could not do anything to the egg baby that would be harmful to a real baby.\u00a0 They could get a sitter for P.E. or extracurricular activities.\u00a0 A baby could not be left alone for that length of time.\u00a0 I had to put a limit on the amount paid for babysitting when someone had a friend offer to keep the egg baby for the entire day for $5.00.\u00a0 (That would buy more in the seventies than now.)\u00a0 I believe it was mutually agreed that 5 or 10 cents an hour was fair.\u00a0 If a sitter could not be found, the baby could be returned to the classroom for daycare during those activities.\u00a0 Babies were not to disrupt other classes.\u00a0 There were suggestions for what to include in their reporting of the experience.<\/p>\n
Georgetown High School was octagon shaped.\u00a0 There was a front entrance and on the opposite side was a hall leading a rear entrance.\u00a0 The front entrance was nearer the student parking lot. My classroom was next to the hall leading to the rear entrance.\u00a0 It was a long way around to the front. \u00a0Students could leave campus during their lunch period.\u00a0 This meant there was a mad dash to the front in order to get out of the parking lot quickly for lunch.<\/p>\n
One year the egg babies were decorated, rules understood, and students were ready for the lunch bell.\u00a0 The usual rush began.\u00a0 One boy quickly put his books in his locker, and also his egg baby, and dashed for the front door.\u00a0 He got all the way to the front entrance, hesitated, and rushed back to get his egg baby.\u00a0 Alas!\u00a0 It was gone.\u00a0 In its place was a ransom note.\u00a0 Of course, the note was unsigned, but it did have instructions for retrieving the egg baby after lunch.\u00a0 This was unbelievable.\u00a0 He had no choice but to follow the directions.\u00a0 He did not want to do poorly on this experiment.<\/p>\n
Later in the day, I was laughingly told by another teacher that the eggnapper admitted the crime to her.<\/p>\n
The reports were always interesting.\u00a0 Some eggs even came back with band aides and detailed explanations of accidents.\u00a0 But there was never one more interesting than the kidnapped egg.\u00a0 I was asked by someone, \u201cYou mean, he got all the way to the front door and felt so guilty that he came back for that stupid egg?\u201d\u00a0 I didn\u2019t think the egg babies were stupid to my students (or I hoped not to most of them). My goal was for the pretend babies to give the students some inkling of what was involved in the care of a baby.<\/p>\n
I had no idea whether the boy felt guilt for closing his egg baby in his locker.\u00a0 Only he knew that.\u00a0 He was honest about what he did, but I don\u2019t remember if he expressed why he went back. \u00a0I don\u2019t know if he ever had children. \u00a0I feel that if he did, he was a good, responsible, and caring father.<\/p>\n
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The child development classroom was abuzz with activity. There were murmurs of pleasure and giggles of excitement. The egg babies had arrived! Some students even went so far as to say, “Congratulations” to fellow classmates. Or, they might ask, “Is it a boy or a girl.” The students had one class period to decorate and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[115,114,117,116],"class_list":["post-498","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-1972-to-1987","tag-geogetown-tx-high-school-class","tag-lessons-in-child-development","tag-students-baby-sit-an-egg-as-though-it-is-a-real-baby","tag-teaching-responsibility"],"yoast_head":"\n