Our Teacher, Mary Dean (1948)

[Music] it is late afternoon and Mary Dean is busy as usual Mary teaches the first grade tomorrow she is taking the children on a field trip to the park Mrs Dean enjoys her attractive daughter and likes to tease her why are you in such a hurry is Jack coming you know he is Mother he's taking me out to dinner and here comes comes Jack now how do you do Mrs Dean hello Mary Mary has several bows but Jack is her favorite Jack wants her to marry him but she keeps putting it off he tells her he needs a teacher too well how about a walk to the beach before dinner oh she doesn't need powder she's pretty enough as she is she'll need a coat and she's wearing his favorite red suit Mary and Jack like to hike and swim and go to his Club dances the walk to the beach is one of their favorites Jack tells her he thinks she's like the water always changing why doesn't she decide to marry him now well that's the way things go with Jack and Mary but he refuses to give up hope next morning Mary starts early for school the usual advice from mother is her sweater warm enough for the trip to the park her father likes to work in his garden and is proud of his flowers Mary tells him his snapdragons are fine enough for the flower show Dad is pleased see you later goodbye Dad Mary lives near the school it's a clear summer day for the field trip Mary prepares the class for their nature study lesson in the par all spring the children have been learning how plants grow they have bought seeds which they have planted in the school room and watched grow have they brought their jars for the poliwags yes they're all there she reviews the lessons on frogs how the mother frogs lay their eggs underwater when the tiny poliwags hatch out they have big tails and swim around like fish first they grow their hind legs then their front legs and finally they become teeny tiny frogs the size of a dime and now children we won't leave until later it's time for your reading lesson attention children bring your chairs closer you remember we have been studying the people who help in a community how many of you have ever talked to a postman Nancy's father is a postman and several of the children know him they think the picture on the chart looks like Mr Johnson the letters are big and easy to read now who can find where it says the postman is a helper your turn Billy well that's almost right the whole sentence now they gather around the table with their books each child reads a sentence to himself Mary understands children and they all try to do their best the books are interesting and well Illustrated which makes the children anxious to read by themselves and now it's time to paint they are painting a picture that will tell a story each child paints what he wants to and later he can talk about it to the class Gary knows exactly what he wants to paint a wagon and horses and a delivery boy on top John likes to paint too he uses bright colors his sails are brown like on the French sailboats Marsha and Connie are painting houses the children are at home with Mary and feel free to express themselves in their work Miss Wilson the principal stops in to tell Mary that plans are completed for the trip to the park all the parents have given their consent Miss Wilson knows each child there's good cooperation here and few problems with the children because they enjoy their school the park authorities have given their permission for the children to catch po WS Connie can hardly wait to go to the park it's such fun to do things with Miss Dean John is excited too but let's finish our painting first and now it's time to leave the other children wish they were going it's a responsibility to take so many children across a city street but the children know they must be careful and stay together and talk softly one of the children's mothers comes along to help she stays at the end of the line so many happy faces Mary is quick to point out out things of interest in even the most simple things look children look this beautiful flower is an ice plant it grows well on a steep bank because it spreads fast and keeps the dirt from washing away the flowers only open wide when the sun is out look out for bees the flowers are beautiful but have little fragrance the children know that plants need good soil sunlight water and lots of care they have been well prepared at school for their field trip park is small but full of exciting things if you are 6 years old the children fill their jars and cans with water and start their hunt for the tadpoles are the Papa and Mama frogs making the noise the Tad Poes are smaller than the ones in the picture book they move so fast they're hard to catch pretty shiny goldfish how do they breathe underwater do they sleep underwater do their babies come from eggs like the frogs now let's see what you have found have your tadpoles started to grow their legs but not even a little bit yet well it'll be a long time before they grow to be big frogs nearly every child has a tadpole and Mary suggests that those who are lucky enough to have more than one share with another child this little fellow is a gay one Connie thinks you will name her tadpole frisky the children will remember this lesson a long time because they've taken part in it themselves they have had good preparation at school and this lesson is important to them each part of the teaching has been something they could understand why here's nany's father Mr Johnson the postman the children respect Mr Johnson because he works for his country and serves the people Mr Johnson invites them to come to the branch post office and he will show them how the mail is handled Mary asks him to come to the school and give them a talk about his work he writes down the address and the time he shares their fun they'd like to show him the Frog pictures in their book at [Music] cool why do the red fish all chase the pink one is the pink fish a goldfish too Mr Johnson has a message for Nancy from her mother now it's time to call the children together to talk about what they have seen scene Margaret asks several questions all in one breath one at a time children Mary is teaching them that growing things are interesting and that it's fun to learn they are encouraged to bring the things they find to school where they can study them together and find out more about them in their books in a park the children find so many different things they see plants that would be hard to grow in their own Gardens a bed of yellow South African daisies in full bloom Mary teaches the children how the bees gather the honey from the flowers and as they go from flower to flower spread the pollen which sticks to their legs pollen is a powder from the center of the flowers the plants need this to make them grow and multiply two of the supervisors stop by on their way to school for a committee meeting to plan a teacher conference Mr Hull is from the audiovisual education department and Dr Stone heads a committee for new playground equipment they ask Mary Dean to attend the meeting the children proudly show their poliwags can they keep the poliwags in the jars until they grow up to be frogs what should they feed them fish food or what well time to start back for the classroom now back at school each child wants to tell what he saw on the trip more time tomorrow because Here Comes Mr Johnson to talk to them about the post office he admires Miss Dean's chart and is pleased that the children think he looks like the picture he tells them what happens to a letter when it is put in a mailbox how the postmen sort the letters and send them on their way north east south and west Uncle Sam has a post office in every city and every town of any size in the United States sometimes the postmen deliver the mail by boat by horseback and even by airplane to far off places the like Mr Johnson very much Mary is pleased ncy beams with pride at her father's talk people trust their postmen and ask them to do many things sometimes funny things like rescuing a cat from the top of a tree Mr Johnson has given a talk that each child could understand Mary plans to follow up the lesson and take the class to the branch post office next week and now back to the reading lesson Mary and the children prepared the chart together in advance she encourages her children to take an active part in the lesson it is Peggy turn to read and she knows how to frame the words polywog and frogs Mary is sweet with her children and they respond to her kindness Here Comes Tom's mother Mary sent her a note at asking her to stop by for a conference Tom is having trouble with his reading and Mary thinks he needs glasses Mrs me is anxious to cooperate because she knows that Mary has the child's best interest at heart after the children go to lunch they go over his record Tom is an only child and it has been hard for him to settle down to the school routine in the first grade the teachers keep a close checkup on the health health of each child to be sure he is physically able to do his best work well all these things are part of a teacher's day lunchtime in the warm spring days it's nice to eat out of doors the teachers take turns supervising the playground during the Lunch Period the children have good appetites after their trip to the park every day the Milkman leaves milk for children whose parents order it the parent Teachers Association supplies milk for the needy children some bring their own thermos jars so many thermos jars to be opened is this one tight now it's all right Mr Hull and Dr Stone sto by on their inspection of the playground they ask the children about their polywog in this school district there's close cooperation between the supervisors and the teachers teachers Miss Wilson is noted for the smoothness with which her school operates a nice feeling among the teachers and cooperation with her community the supervisors are often out in the field and see the teachers at work Dr Stone continues his survey of the playground equipment tetherball is a good good game for a short time like recess watch this one after lunch the program committee meets to talk over plans for a two-day teacher training conference Mary is popular with her school colleagues because she can be depend Ed upon to do her part and to have good original ideas they discuss various speakers and subjects each one has a different idea but they will finally work it out it takes good planning to have a constructive worthwhile program a teacher has a variety of interests and takes part in many different activities vacation time one of the nicest things about being a teacher is the long vacations and what fun Mary and Jack have sunning on the beach swimming playing tennis and doing those things they don't have time to do during the school year today is just right for swimming come on in Mary don't be a such Happy Days days and so vacations go quickly by and then one day they are back at their favorite spot and Mary finally says yes Jack feels very happy he's sure he is just the girl for it time passes Jack and Mary have been married 6 years and are living in their own home they have two fine boys Peter and Nicki Mary is thankful for her experience in handling children little boys take a lot of patience and understanding at 5 Peter is a born collector this time it's caterpillars but their home is full of glass jars of bugs shells and butterflies Mary enters into all of their hobbies and in some some way she's always teaching and what fun when they're your own children their minds are quick to grasp each new idea she teaches them to appreciate simple things and all day long they bring her their problems little problems big problems Nikki is only three but he is already interested in things that live and grow in fact he has a grasshopper that he caught himself Peter is a wiggler but Mary soon captures his attention his mother knows the best stories of any mother in The Block if she had followed a different career she might not have known how to handle Peter what a reward he's brilliant but mischievous too and Jack enters into all their fun and is he proud of those boys come on jump me again Dad higher up we go there Mommy as a present for you and Nikki wants his turn too what fun more more well Mary and Jack have a lot to look forward to and if Peter and Nikki have teachers like Mary to carry on their education they can do big things in this world good luck Mary Jack Peter and Nikki [Music]