Fire In Their Learning (1954)

[Music] all [Music] la [Music] the path between home and school a way of Adventure a world of wonderful curious [Music] things things to catch and touch things to take to school and [Music] study children bring their interests and their questions to the classroom and to their teacher will she see it in them opportunities for significant and meaningful teaching how can individual differences be respected how can self-expression be encouraged how can the roots of each young personality be nourished with warmth and understanding how can she be sure all of this will be done there are so many skills to be mastered so few hours in which to teach them this is the story of a fourth grade teacher and her pupils it begins one day on the [Music] playground the class is playing a game of hook on tag when one of the children spots a small fire in the field the teacher sends two children to notify the [Music] principal it isn't much of a fire until the fire engines arrive but now the children are full of Interest how will I ever get them back to the classroom and to the work planned for today that's what this teacher is thinking and then Miss Patterson has another thought why rush them back this is learning too or it can be perhaps the firemen can stay on and answer some of their [Music] questions the firemen quickly put out the fire it takes them longer to extinguish these blazes of [Music] curiosity whoes nozzles pumps and gas masks are all explored and explained [Music] back in the classroom Talk of the fire the fireman and the fire engines continues now the teacher has a decision to make shall she shut off all the talk of the fire and try to switch the interest to the work originally planned no we can continue this discussion Miss Patterson decides this interest in fire can open the door to many other basic learnings there certainly seems to be a lot of interest in this fire I heard some very good comments as we were coming up from the field just now Sally wants to know how fires get started can anyone help her find the answer to that question well some fires are caused by kill like people forgetting to uh blow out matches and then people not using a Strays and throwing their um ashes out of the windows of cars mostly I've seen my father do it even colen I've noticed that fires are different colors they're mostly blue and yellow and other colors um why are fir is always those colors well why does sun wind uh blow out some fires and yet make some fires bigger that's a good question D the teacher does not try to answer these questions instead she suggests that the children try to find their own answers together teacher and class decide to begin a study of fire first the children's questions are listed on the Blackboard then a plan of study is suggested although fire will be most important in the minds of the children for some time to come their continuing daily learning about science arithmetic and living and working with others will not be neglected this chart of problems and work plans looks messy to the children who made it the teacher helps them recall the use of the circle and the line in good lettering the study plan calls for gathering information from various sources books easy and difficult are checked out of the school library or brought from home for a classroom collection as the days go by a bulletin board exhibit about fire and fire safety has begun with clippings from newspapers and magazines the teacher encourages individual reading and investigation as well as work by small groups the teacher too must find new ideas and study the subject she selects audio visual materials for the class and the children themselves prepare the room for showing a film in this film they learn about fire safety in the [Music] home in their study the children have been adding to their vocabulary now the teacher helps them as they check on their ability to spell these new fire words number one oxygen a fire must have oxygen in order to burn oxygen two dust dust Burns very readily dust reading spelling and now another basic skill the children write letters to their parents asking permission to visit the museum Miss Patterson encourages each child to do his best uned but she knows when help should be given museum is a tough new word cookie looks for friendly [Music] encouragement not all learning develops in the classroom nor is it achieved by words alone the campfire committee collects materials and puts on a demonstration for the rest of the class the committee decides to build three kinds of fires one for cooking one for warming and another just to keep off wild animals when you're in the [Music] forest putting out a fire is just as important as building it properly a Steve that water is for putting out the [Music] fire the teacher is alert to see that the attention of the group does not stray when she notes distraction and interest seems to lag she brings the demonstration to an [Music] end not forgetting of course to see that the grounds are left neat and [Music] tidy each pupil has his job to do as an individual or as one of a group David is collecting the letters which have been approved by parents giving their permission to visit the museum there's more planning for this field trip the children decide what to look for and how to make their trip a safe [Music] one from this rich source of information pupils and teacher learn how other peoples use fire they examine gleaming models which illuminate the days of a [Music] past the children look and sketch and they take their drawings back to the [Music] classroom there more work is done on them in preparation for a mural which will illustrate things the class has learned about [Music] fire but there are problems how to divide the space how to determine the proportions after searching for Solutions on their own they realize their need for skilled help so the art consultant comes to work with them [Music] 24 by8 is measurement is arithmetic another skill each child prepares small sheets in the same relative proportions as those of the large mural paper the children learn more about primary colors and experiment in mixing them to make new colors guide sketches are prepared fresh colors are [Music] mixed and with a guide sketches at hand for reference the whole class divided into groups goes to work on on the mural each group works on the section which it is chosen as its responsibility fire engines old and new attract some of the [Music] boys the science of fire has also been part of the study now a group practices a demonstration of the fire triangle this is the um uh fire triangle without these three uh things heat air and fuel you will not have a fire as Ronnie Teddy and I I'll show you this demonstration will be given later before other classes the children wanted to be especially good so they criticize and make suggestions does anybody have any suggestions to make to Graham and his group that would make their demonstration a little bit better David I think Graham could improve his experiment if uh uh he didn't uh say so many as that is a good idea it is right to know what you're going to say before you get up to say it does anyone else have any suggestions Jimmy well David said a lot of us yes he [Music] did in their study the children have learned much about fire how it can help how it can harm how it can be controlled they've kept a record of all this in individual fire booklets these are taken home parents see what the children have learned and how skills in the three Rs have been extended Ronnie's father has seen his booklet he's glad to help Ronnie apply at home some of the things he has learned at [Music] school the neighbors too are informed and they are willing to cooperate in the community cleanup campaign sparked by the class [Music] at home in the community and at school the children apply their new knowledge here they are designing badges for a newly organized school fire patrol in the days to come there may not be another brush fire but this teacher will find some other opportunity for focusing the interest of her group on a different area of study for in her teaching she has discovered how to relate learning to living and how day by day to guide her class along a path of [Music] Adventure