On Your Own (1961)

[Music] so [Music] the astronaut is on his own like no one else in the world when he's all by himself miles above the earth it's his responsibility to do the things he's been trained to do without hesitation or question bob is on his own too as an older boy his parents expect him to share responsibility so today it's his responsibility to see his little brother get to school safely when you grow up you have more freedom but you also have more responsibility [Music] like the astronaut bob has gone through a long period of training too over the years he's been taught the correct way to go to school he knows the right place to cross the street he also knows to wait for the new green light and to look in all directions before crossing on streets with no sidewalks bob has told his brother to always walk facing traffic so that he can see the oncoming cars bob's brother walks in front of him so bob can keep an eye on him traffic engineers have gone to great expense to design safety devices for the pedestrian but to be safe the pedestrian must be willing to use them the decision not to take a shortcut is often difficult bob knows the astronaut never takes shortcuts the astronaut always uses the safety devices built into his space vehicle so like the astronaut bob knows that when you're responsible for your life as well as the life of another it is adult and smart to use the safety devices afforded you [Music] another safety device is the pedestrian tunnel regardless of whether you walk to school or ride a bicycle the tunnel and overpass have been built for your safety and it is important to use them at crosswalks near school still another safety device that is sometimes available is the crossing guard this might be a policeman a civilian guard or an older student but regardless who it may be it is your duty to use this service and the guards responsibility to see that you have a safe passage across the street setting a good example for younger children and carrying out your responsibility in an adult manner always gives you a good feeling when school is out it's even more important to be on your own first it's straight home to change your clothes and leave your things before you meet the gang it's a temptation for you and mike when you're in a hurry to break the safety rules it's a nuisance to be delayed until the weight signal changes to walk when the old green light is still burning and it's even harder not to race across the intersection and the crosswalk without looking to the right and left it seems silly to look to the right and left again when you come abreast of the first car but when another car passes you like a bullet you realize that if you hadn't looked you might never have another chance to look again during the training of an astronaut he learns many things not just the rules of safety that must be obeyed but he also learns to exercise good judgment the astronaut learns to evaluate a situation and decide whether it is safe or not this ability of applying good judgment as a sign of growing up good judgment is a matter of maturity to children like bob's little brother throwing rocks seems the natural thing to do but bob and jim know from experience that even throwing missiles are designed to do special jobs small missiles are designed to carry light payload short distances larger missiles are designed to go great distances and carry heavy payloads [Music] our streets have become specialized too city streets like small missiles are designed to carry light traffic short distances they are therefore safe for pedestrians and slow traffic there are special highways built for fast high speed traffic and are therefore dangerous for the pedestrian or bicycle the boys know they have the freedom of choice but they also know they have the responsibility of good judgment so like the astronaut they exercise that good judgment and keep to the residential streets astronauts practice long hours so that during a flight they do the right things automatically without having to consciously think about them this is called conditioned response [Music] by obeying safety rules you too can condition yourself so that you will develop good habits once these habits are well established you will do them automatically safety rules apply to playgrounds as well as streets the boys have learned this and keep to the edge of the playground rather than crossing in addition misunderstandings often arise arguments ensue and tempers are lost sometimes it seems the only way is to fight for what you think is right but you soon discover a fight never solved a thing so you talk it out and the misunderstanding is set right [Music] then you shake hands and begin the play again [Music] so your day should be like an astronaut's successful mission completed where decisions are required [Music] you