Not By Chance (1957)

[Music] l [Music] [Applause] [Music] jack isn't it your turn to lead the flag salute yes [Music] of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation God indivisible with liy and justice for all good schools good teachers the best of teaching for our children Betsy maber has a warm personality a liking for a feeling for children but to become a good teacher she had to have something more much more in the course of the school day Betsy mabern has five classes 136 students how is she able to work with them answer questions listen alertly keep the whole class thinking cover the necessary subject matter deal with interruptions and give special thought to dozens of problems how did Betsy ma acquire an understanding of children and how they learn a knowledge of how to help different children in different ways day after day helping them grow good teachers don't just happen like other highly skilled professions good teaching demands professional preparation how did Betsy maber become a good teacher in America there are more than 12200 authorized universities and colleges for Teacher education institutions large and small private and public these are the colleges that graduate professional qualified teachers 100,000 of them every year these young people are sought out by principls superintendents and school boards a A Ware that they know the subjects they are to teach that their attitudes and education are professional knowing that they can [Music] teach how do these young people become good teachers accepting the responsibilities of their profession maintaining and raising the standards and quality of teaching wherever they teach Donna is one of many thousands of young men and women who want to teach will she make it will she become a good teacher personality mhm aptitudes academic record oh I see that you were Secretary of the future teachers Club well your advisers seem to think that you'll make a good teacher of course you realize that your placement here depends only in part on your past records I've heard about the exams well with your record you shouldn't find them too difficult the children need teachers Donna they deserve good ones preliminary examinations include English Math Science History and social studies all of these applicants have qualifications which might help them become good teachers examinations help classify and select the best then there are further psychological and aptitude tests Health both mental and physical is vital to alert teaching and any speech defect is spotted for study and correction voices any more than they see their own faces there is not even a looking glass for the voice of course there is something audible to us when we speak but that something is not our own voice as it is known to all our acquaintances all right well I'm sure that you'll agree that the teacher's voice should be warm and versatile and encouraging and your voice is and yet firm when it's necessary to be firm well it's a bit thin but I'm sure our speech course will help you achieve more depth all right it's a good voice English History mathematics psychology economics science languages are the main part of Donna's studies but what is the extra added quality that will make Donna a teacher it begins in the way these students approach their subjects in all her classes Donna sees that the students are teaching and learning from each other government and now we're going to take up the third type of government we'll look at the structure and a few of the advantages and disadvantages of this type this is known as the city manager plan in this the voters actually elect their Council and the council in turn chooses the city manager this city manager is responsible for all the this constant awareness of teaching skill her alertness to the manner of teaching as well as the subject matter is Donna's first step in learning to teach Donna's objective is to help others learn up to this point in our study of human circulation we have been following the pathway of the blood around the human body as it carries materials to and from the functioning organs of the body now a serious problem arises well now I'll try to illustrate the problem and uh let you see how it's solved now don't laugh at this outline somewhere there's a human being it looks like this believe it or not might be even one of you in every College there are outstanding professors teachers whose knowledge and enthusiasm for their subject their Lively alert personalities their creative inspirational teaching makes them Unforgettable well it's very simple there two little flexible flaps constituting a one-way valve here one way because they yield to allow blood to move posteriorly into the ventricle but when the blood is put under pressure here these clothes forcing the blood to leave through the normal Channel with undiminished pressure now your laboratory material let you see these one-way valves in operation something a matter I can't see it oh well it's see now your light's all right you've forgotten to close down your diaphragm with a highly transparent object now look now remember what we're looking for the heart is longitudinal with the courses Donna is taking give her a broad and thorough back backround in subject matter and special knowledge and competence in her chosen field of science but a teacher must know more no two individuals are exactly alike not even identical twins these individual differences help us to understand why children in a family with the same father and mother may react differently to guidance one child to one method a brother or sister to another method this such knowledge and understanding will help Donna understand and individual children their characteristic patterns of growth the basic dynamics of how they learn in a carefully selected and controlled situation in a real school guided but unobtrusive observation sessions give the students their first real view into the marvels of planned and purposeful teaching of the interaction between student and teacher uh now we're going to study what are some of the things that are present in a what is here's Jimmy 13 a squirmer growing so fast he doesn't quite know what to do with his arms and legs can you tell us Jimmy nitrogen oxygen and carbon dioxide once he would have been a bad boy for not sitting still but now we know better Jimmy is a growing boy and a teacher can help him learn as he grows here's Susan 14 aware of her young Womanhood busy liking her friend wanting them to like her Susan will you tell the class what you see smoke from the candle is fing up the glass black smoke is causing white fog on the glass now look at it oh the water vapor from the burning candle in the air the water vapor from the burning candle in the air once Susan would have been judged a silly flighty girl now we know better Susan is a growing girl and a knowing teacher can help her learn as she grows that's right thank you Susan now let's go on to the next experiment there is a pattern in Mr Allen's class he has planned it carefully but it seems so easy and Casual that no one notices he has just begun another demonstration when oh I'm afraid we won't be able to complete this one today poor planning on Mr Allen's part of course not even the student observers are involved they want to come back tomorrow and see what was about to happen when the bell cut him off Mr Allen planned it that way and as Donna's observations go into her notebook she begins to see a plan the day's work and progress it is as clear and definite for Donna now as it had been for Mr Allen all along other plans are prepared and critically discussed what are Donna's goals in this particular lesson what materials will she use what experiences can she provide for the students how will she evaluate the results in testing for the components of food this would be the lesson plan for the first day I feel that I've included in it all the material that could be comfortably covered in one day and in the following days we would test for the other components your plan is fine Donna but suppose the interest of the class beers away from your plan what is your job then well a good teacher can use almost any interest of the class if she's alert she generally can find a way to bring out the points which she's planned to make and of course new teachers learn and understand the use of the new tools of their profession here a crew of students are working on a closed C TV program okay let's have a complete run through through the audio visual Center various types of equipment are available to teachers among these are the felt board record player film and slide projector tape recorder Motion Picture projector teaching has come a long way since a Blackboard and a map for the teachers only tools there are many ways of keeping up with new developments there are summer sessions where you can work towards an advanced degree you can travel with professional groups during the summer then of course there are the professional organizations and their Publications that are very helpful in keeping up with what's going on do you have to belong to a teachers organization you don't have to but a professional person gives some time and support to his Professional Organization I think that the best teachers are active on a local state and National level and of course it takes a National Organization to be effective for the whole profession do you know the Professional Publications I read the article on professional ethics in the Nea Journal I've seen some special Publications for Math teachers History Science fed music I guess there's one for nearly every field Professional Publications are a great help in keeping you up to date and on your toes simple diagnostic measurements and their significance is a part of the special knowledge necessary to every teacher intelligence tests reading comprehension tests tests for special aptitudes are necessary tools not for grading a child but so the teacher can know better what the child needs and how to help going to church people are going to church how was that good could you get Church clicked off like that people going to Donna has the opportunity to study and observe special techniques such as in the speech clinic but Donna's aim is to teach science so she must go far into biology this means bacteriology biochemistry botany zoology she must dig further into mathematics and physics she must develop a minor chemistry anthropology human geography and ecology and with all this a knowledge of history of our American heritage [Music] all young teachers look forward to actually working with children Donna's first real chance comes with a science class field trip at a school camp where students see and touch the many things they study this is Timmy does anybody know what kind of animal he is it's raccoon he's like a CL skinned cat you can pet him if if you want to oh he's Timmy's a very young raccoon when he gets older he won't be as gentle and he might bite or scratch you can I hold him sure if you want to but hold him gently and don't make any quick movements that might scare him here let your teacher hold [Music] them Donna had to be brave about that raccoon if she'd seemed afraid how many of them might have become more timid and afraid of animals Donna knows a good teacher tries not to pass on her own fears and prejudices to children in every good college the library is a major center of learning Donna uses it with easy familiarity as one focal point of her college life and of course there are other phases equally important games rallies dances bull sessions in the dorms talk over coffee and cokes all these are a part an important part of every Young Person's college life [Music] I can't help but notice that as seniors you all seem pretty confident of yourselves well as a matter of fact you do understand more than you realize now a lot of the things which we've studied but the there's one big hurdle still ahead of you your internship of student teaching without that without successfully completing a period of real teaching no one can be certified as a professional teacher you'll be working under careful supervision as a matter of fact you'll meet your supervising teachers when you visit the schools next week they've been carefully selected they know and understand what we're trying to do here at the college they'll want to help you so don't be afraid to ask questions find out about conditions in the community go to a meeting of the Teachers Association and uh when you start to teach be sure that your progress reports are kept up to date where are you going friend I'm going to rosale Big new i'vei with only 200 kids well keep your eyes open your mouth shut and don't try anything new I hear Eddie's going to teach some speech courses Eddie how do you feel feel about this practice teaching scared me of course not I'm the girl that isn't afraid of anything remember the raccoon I'm scared [Music] stiff Donna has been assigned to a junior high school a fine new building with everything a teacher needs for her work such a building and Facilities prove that the people of the community care about their children having the necessary materials to do a good teaching job makes teachers want to justify all the planning and hopes and money that have gone into it good morning Mr Adams ah good morning Donna getting settled all right at the ards oh yes I like them very much Mrs Ard should be a big help in getting acquainted three children of her own she's very active in Community Affairs she asked me to go with her to the parent teacher meeting tonight good I'll be there too we want our parents to see what our student teachers look like and you'll see how much a good PTA can do for a [Music] school here you take this seating chart it will help you to get to know the students just observe for a day or two get the feel of things then we'll get down to Brass [Music] tax [Music] n Miss Addis will be teaching English this is Miss Donna Morgan who will be working with me in science she's made a fine record in college and we're lucky to have her with us on behalf Donna knows she has a big job ahead of her can I do it all those children so straightforward and honest with their questions counting on me to be fair and truthful and to know so many things can I earn their trust can I keep from favoring a bright one at the expense of others who are not so quick can I keep from taking out my own feelings on the one who is bound to be mischievous can I get them interested in science and keep them as interested as I am can I ever be a good [Music] [Music] teacher [Music] good morning you're here bright and early well uh I was just uh I know you're wondering if you'll ever be able to do it I can still remember my own student teaching days believe it or not here let's run over my plan for today it's a little sketchy I'm afraid but um I think you'll be able to understand it a plan for learning Mr Adams has given Donna something familiar Donna knows how to make one how to use it the college has put firm ground under her feet you can follow what's going on but won't you oh I won't need it well you can't teach without a plan you understand that but when you've been at it for a while you won't need a piece of paper you'll see we've talked about sound coming from something that vibrates vibrations creating sound so I strike this tuning fork you hear sound because the tuning fork is vibrating at the same time if I take a musical instrument and pluck one of its strings you hear sound incidentally almost the same sound you heard from The Tuning Fork because in this case the string is vibrating any vibrating Source a bell or string or a tuning fork sets up vibration Mr Adams is a good teacher he keeps the class alive and sparkling I'd like you to see another way that we can create sounds through vibrations this time vibrations in Columns of air here we have test tubes partly filled with an orange colored liquid you Jazz fans may think of blue notes in music see if I can create for you some orange colored notes at any rate I'm going to blow across these test tubes can anyone tell me which column of air is going to have the highest note John what do you think the one with the shortest column of air John says the one with the shortest column of air will give us the highest note let's see if he's right [Music] he was right the shortest column of air the highest note the longer column of air the lower note and that's exactly the way wind instruments work that musicians play how can they get different sounds when they only have one hole to blow into that's a good question can any of you musicians answer Valerie well with the clarinet you have different keys to press to change the notes mhm in the clarinet by depressing and opening the keys we change the column of air the sound vibrates in of course it's obvious isn't it in a slide trombone how we change the sound well in addition to that brass instruments can also change the notes by what the musician does with the tension of his lips at the mouthpiece without any vows Donna cannot help but wonder if she herself will ever be able to do as well it isn't long before Mr Adams gives her a chance to find out and Donna is conducting her first class on her own her own plan her own full responsibility you ever been to attract me if which one of the events has been 100 yard dash mhm well generally the starter has a gun uses a gun to begin the race now if you were timekeeper would you start your stopwatch when you heard the gun or when you saw The Flash from the gun Kathy when I saw the flash that's right but can you tell us why well the runners are near the gun but the timer is farther away so it will take him longer to hear it can you state that another way and make it a bit clearer well let let's try another example from something you've both observed in your environment take for instance the thunderstorm suppose we have a flash of lightning up here having a good knowledge of her subject a clear plan for the day's lesson and most important of all a sound understanding of how children learn would you see the flash of light Donna is going to succeed as a teacher busy giving happily of her strength and skill and understanding to new generations of children she will be a professional growing in her profession for a 100 years men of great vision have worked bringing to reality free public education for all all knew that upon sound public education depended our whole concept of democracy free men educated to govern ourselves for a hundred years and more all the knowledge patiently gained by teachers all their understanding of children and how they learn all the efforts to improve the quality of their own teaching have been gathered to create a constantly growing Legacy in our colleges for Teacher education from these colleges A continuing replenishing force of new teachers goes out each year to the schools of America for it is first as children that the opportunity for growth and learning is freely offered to every American but even as our children grow and learn and are influenced by great men of history they are being influenced even more deeply by other great Americans thousands of professional teachers who are ever enriching our heritage the Heritage which is America's [Music] I