Kareen Lawson, of Burke, holding Hisser and Norman in her palm. Photo courtesy of Kareen Lawson
Switching two letters makes a world of difference between how cockroaches are typically described and how Pre-Kindergarten Teacher Kareen Lawson of Burke describes them. Whereas most anyone else would hit the insects with the label “pest,” not to mention with an old magazine, Lawson’s term for her two Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches, Hisser and Norman, is instead “pets.”
“I was looking for cockroaches because I did some research for interesting pets you could have in your classroom that wouldn’t require too much special care,” Lawson said. “I ran across cockroaches and I thought, ‘Wow, that’s great,’ so I started trying to locate some. I got lucky that a friend was looking to re-home the two that I have.”
Lawson said her motivation for taking in the two cockroaches as pets was her desire to introduce exotic new pets to her students.
“As a preschool teacher, I try to have pets in my classroom that the kids aren’t normally exposed to; I had a rat for a number of years, and now have the cockroaches,” Lawson said. “I had some trouble finding them, but I had a friend who actually had two, and her kids had grown tired of them. She offered them to me because she knew I was looking for some, and so I rescued Hisser and Norman.”
LAWSON said she primarily uses Hisser and Norman for classroom activities, teaching students how to care for the insects.
“I mainly get students to participate in caring for them in the classroom; they need to be fed and need to be kept moist with a spray bottle because they are from the rainforest,” Lawson said. “The kids can touch them, but I don’t usually have them pick the cockroaches up. They probably couldn’t squish them, but just on the off-chance someone panics; they’re big and look cool, and the kids don’t mind touching them when I’m holding them, but sometimes, if you feel bugs on your own skin, it freaks you out, and the last thing we need is loose cockroaches.”
Lawson said her husband is not a fan of having Hisser and Norman living at home over the summer. She also said that, oftentimes, students’ parents’ first reaction to seeing the cockroaches is to beg her not to have to take them home.
“I don’t mind creepy-crawlies; I raised one son who was totally into creepy-crawlies and was always trying to find something that would creep me out, so they don’t bother me,” Lawson said. “On the other hand, my husband does not like them. He tells me that most people, if they see cockroaches in their house, they call an exterminator, and here I am, bringing them, feeding them and taking care of them. He finds that a little appalling.”
ON THE OTHER HAND, Lawson said, although one or two of her students are initially hesitant to check out Hisser and Norman at school, most of them come to enjoy having the cockroaches around.
“The kids always seem pretty excited, especially because a lot of them have seen that movie ‘Madagascar,’ and you can tell them they’re from the same place; they’re pretty cool with it,” Lawson said. “Every now and then, you have a kid say ‘Ew, bug,’ but once they get used to them, they’re very proud to bring their parents in to see and meet them. Those that are uncomfortable at the beginning get used to Hisser and Norman.”
Lawson said Hisser and Norman lived up to her expectations for raising cockroaches and mentioned the possibility of experimenting with other exotic insects because of them.
“They’re interesting, they will hide under their tree bark, but they move around enough that the kids can get to see them, they’re interactive enough to keep their interest, and they’re really not hard to care for at all,” Lawson said. “I don’t know that I would actively search for new exotic bugs, but who knows, if I found something interesting enough like Hisser and Norman, maybe I might.”