By Karen Aquino and Melanie Love
Fourteen psychology students took part in a project last week that required them to carry around eggs for two days and treat them as if they were their own children. Those who participated opted to do so in lieu of taking the first unit test.
 âThe project was intended to be a parenting simulation,â psychology teacher Luba Bek said.Â
Students had to wake up in the middle of the night to feed their eggs, burp them, and carry them around at all times, including at school as part of the exercise.
Eggs had to be carried in a safe basket approved by Bek.
Some students chose to carry their eggs around in baskets or small gift bags padded with cotton to ensure the eggâs safety; Chris Okano â08 carried his egg in a furry rabbit-shaped purse, while Sam Farmer â08 used a plastic bag with an air hole cut out so the egg could breathe.
In the event of other commitments such as sports practice or play rehearsal, students had to ask a parent or a friend also partaking in the project to baby-sit for a maximum of six hours over the two days.
â[The project] was very realistic,â Ziana Bagot â08 said. âEven though the eggs couldnât cry, we still had to do all the things a real parent has to do. It was a great learning experience,â Ziana Bagot â08 said.
Students also had to keep a log detailing the eggâs daily routine, recording feeding times, sleep patterns medication requirements if the egg received was âsick.â
The eggs were stamped with a customized stamp in order to prevent students from accidentally breaking their egg and replacing it with another.
Had they broken their egg, students could have still opted to take the unit test.
âThe eggsâ names were creative,â Bek said. âThere were some common names like Laila and Hugo, while others chose more original names,â Bek said.
Okano named his female egg Damirta after Dylan Treivush â08, whose middle name is Damir. Chris Tennenbaum â08 called his egg Nestor after a character in Homerâs âThe Iliad.â
âIt was really cool,â Maddy Sprung-Keyser â09 said. âIt was a good opportunity, and fun to take instead of a test,â