Hogan welcomes Franklin to classroom

Jessica Hogan

How cute. Biology and zoology teacher Jessica Hogan’s class pet sits still for a photo. The class named him Franklin after Rosalind Franklin.

Destiny Montgomery, Editor in Chief
January 24, 2022

On Dec. 1, zoology and biology teacher, Jessica Hogan, welcomed a bearded dragon named Franklin into her classroom through grants from the Altoona Area School District Foundation and Petco.

“When I went to Petco to get their help, they also gave me a grant and a lot of coupons and stuff. So I got everything set up, and I decided to get a bearded dragon,” Hogan said. “I wanted to get a crested gecko, but the supply chain for crested geckos would take a really long time, and I didn’t want to wait anymore. I wanted to have it for my students as soon as possible, and they had bearded dragons there, so I got one. Petco and the foundation were really helpful in funding it.” 

Hogan also raises baby trout during the school year and releases them at the end of the year. She felt that adding another animal to the class would be more beneficial for her students. 

“This year I started teaching zoology which I’m very excited about. Zoology was the class that made me want to become a biology teacher when I took it my senior year here at Altoona High,” Hogan said. “I’ve always raised the trout, but I thought there should be some other animal in the classroom for kids to help observe, take care of and help to get them excited about zoology.” 

According to Hogan, caring for Franklin is an extensive process, and he is a little high maintenance. Hogan has to make sure to leave enough food over the weekends, make sure that the tank stays very hot and make sure the heat lamps are at the right temperature. 

“Over the weekends, I just make sure I leave extra water and extra food. The main food that he loves to eat is crickets. I also have a container that I keep crickets in now, but they die pretty quick and he eats them pretty fast, so I have to go get crickets twice a week and that’s kind of a pain,” Hogan said. “He also eats vegetables. Mrs. Rubine eats a lot of vegetables, so I just take extra vegetables from her, or I share my salad with him when I have a salad at lunch. He likes to eat the lettuce right out of my hand, so that’s fun.”

Many of Hogan’s students look forward to seeing Franklin when they come in the class.

“I think it’s good to have a class pet because it gives you something to look forward to and I think he changes the way kids feel when they come into the class. They put their stuff down and go over and look at the pet; I know that’s what I do when I get in her class,” freshman Caden Kennedy said. 

Other students think Franklin makes the whole class and learning experience better.

“It was super fun to have a class pet, and it was pretty cool too. We got to watch him eat which was actually pretty weird but also cool at the same time. I think he did change the environment of the class because the class was already a great experience, but after getting Franklin the bearded dragon I think it made it better,” sophomore Haylee Lewis said. 

Although many students love Franklin and may want to hold him, he isn’t quite to that point yet. 

“I read about hand training to make sure they are very nice. I do have to pick him up sometimes because he has to get a bath, but I’m very careful. Right now I am the only one holding him. eventually, once he gets bigger and more comfortable, the kids will be able to hold him,” Hogan said. 

There are some people in the school who have their own bearded dragons and give Hogan information about them. 

“Mrs. Vaughn in Mr. Bufalini’s office has one, and she has taught me a lot about them and so have the students. A lot of them have them and taught me a lot. They say eventually he will be walking around the room and just hanging out because he will get bigger,” Hogan said. 

According to Hogan, they won’t know the gender until it grows older, but they have just been calling it a he. She gave her class three name choices. She explains that they overwhelmingly chose Franklin. 

“I said they could name it Goodie after Jane Goodall. They could name it Darwin after Charles Darwin, or they could name it Franklin after Rosalin Franklin who was one of the women who helped discover the DNA molecule. If it turns out to be a girl, maybe we can call it Frankie,” Hogan said. 

Overall, Hogan believes that having a class pet brightens her room.

“I think the kids maybe think the room is more accepting or open or fun and not that it is all about fun, but it helps to kind of help them to connect to the classroom. Even if they don’t want to come to class because of me, they could come to class because of Franklin,” Hogan said.