Rob Beckwith has been teaching for 42 years with 15 of those years spent at Elkins High School. The Zoology Zoo has become an intregal part of Rob's curricullum. Over the years the zoo has been home to hampsters, guinea pigs, ball pythons, chickens, sugar gliders, lambs, pot=bellied pigs, baby pigs, tarantulas and other arachnids, pirrhanas, rats, mice, parrots, ducks, churkeys, ferrets, camens, rabbits and many many more. Each Zoology student is required to maintain an animal of their choosing for 8-9 weeks in the classroom. They are responsible for the animal in all aspects (feeding, watering, bedding, etc. They observe 14 different behaviors during the length of the project.
Rob has received state and national recognition for his Zoo. He was selected as West Virginia Science teacher of the year and nominated as teacher of the year in 2010.
When asked about his class he said, "This class teaches not only basic zoological concepts, but, and most importantly, it teacher the students to be responsible for another living thing, other than themselves. The class is very popular but very demanding."