My bearded dragon, Gobi, has been the BEST thing in my science classroom this past year. I teach 7th graders and they are obsessed with him and have treated him with so much love and shown so much responsibility toward him. With nearly 200 students in my classroom throughout the day, Gobi sees a lot of new friends. I have had students tell me that my class is their favorite and the only one they want to be in because of Gobi and the fun we have. I’ve had students with very low self-esteem who started off the year scared of Gobi, overcome their fears and now at the end of the year their self-esteem has increased, their confidence has grown, and Gobi is one of their best and in some cases their only friend in school. I have some students who will come and get Gobi after school to take him to show their other teachers. At the semester change, many students were trying to change their schedules to get in my class because of my animals. Students will do their work, take their tests, work on projects, etc. all with Gobi by their side (literally- sometimes he even sits on their Chromebooks helping them do their work). I had a student that made Gobi a tie, another students that knitted him as soft bed, and several students who have purchased pets at home because of the positive experience with Gobi. Our classroom pet, Gobi has been an amazing addition!!