Students examine:
-- the role of police (through a class visit by a police officer and follow-up role plays)
-- what would happen if there were no police (students draw a consequences chart)
-- how to contact police (homework: students prepare a news item where they practice describing their home address to a police officer on the phone, including their state, street address and nearest cross street).
-- why/when to contact police (discuss the difference between emergencies and non-urgent police matters; distinguish between the different phone numbers:
000 - Emergency
131 444 - General
1 800 333 000 - Crime Stoppers
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Class activities - Science and technology
Activity: Students study the signage in the streetscape and discuss the purpose.
Indicator: Students recognise official signs and what they are communicating
(as distinct from advertising).
Activity: Students design and make their own signs to warn of hazards or reinforce rules in the classroom.
Indicator: Student designs use clear and simple words and images.
Activity: Students use PC drawing programs and/or recycled materials plus glue, tape, scissors, etc
Indicator: Students successfully create signs that are recognised by their peers.
Indicator: Students recognise official signs and what they are communicating
(as distinct from advertising).
----------------------------------------------
Activity: Students design and make their own signs to warn of hazards or reinforce rules in the classroom.
Indicator: Student designs use clear and simple words and images.
----------------------------------------------
Activity: Students use PC drawing programs and/or recycled materials plus glue, tape, scissors, etc
Indicator: Students successfully create signs that are recognised by their peers.
Outcomes and indicators
The relevant outcomes from the Human Society and Its Environment K-6 Syllabus are:
Green text indicates quotes from the Syllabus.
Strand - Social Systems and Structures
Content Overview - Subject Matter
Students in Stage 1 will learn about:
Content Overview - Implications for Learning and Teaching
Students will have opportunities to:
Strand - Change and Continuity
Content Overview - Subject Matter
Students in Stage 1 will learn about:
* draw attention to change in technologies over time (eg ways of contacting police)
Link to HSIE samples of work:
Workers in the Community.
Students learn about:
Green text indicates quotes from the Syllabus.
Strand - Social Systems and Structures
Substrand - Roles, Rights and Responsibilities
Outcome SSS1.8
Identifies roles and responsibilities within families, schools and the local community, and determines ways in which they should interact with others.
Content Overview - Subject Matter
Students in Stage 1 will learn about:
- roles and responsibilities of people who work in services in the community, both paid and unpaid
Content Overview - Implications for Learning and Teaching
Students will have opportunities to:
- list the people who help them in the community adn describe what they do, the equipment they use and typical situations in which they perform their roles
- respect the process of rule making and rule enforcement
Strand - Change and Continuity
Substrand - Time and Change
Outcome CCS1.2
Identifies changes and continuities in the local community.
Content Overview - Subject Matter
Students in Stage 1 will learn about:
- technologies, both past and present (eg ways of accessing emergency services)
- changes, both past and present , caused by changing needs (eg types of emergency services and/or how they operate)
* draw attention to change in technologies over time (eg ways of contacting police)
Link to HSIE samples of work:
Workers in the Community.
Students learn about:
- the roles and responsibilities of people who work in services in the community
- interconnections between technologies, workers, users and the environment
- list the people who help them in the community, describing what they do, the equipment they use and typical situations in which they perform their roles
Students will be able:
Background Information
Police call box
The police call box was a service that was used by law enforcement in Europe. They were first used in 1928 in order to provide more effective service to the community. The Police box was a large blue box with a light on the top and contained a telephone which linked directly to the local police station. This enabled offices out in the community to report their whereabouts without having scheduled meeting times and the flashing light indicated to the officer on patrol that he was required to contact the police station.
The police box telephone was also accessible to the public in order to make a direct phone call to the police station in the case of an emergency. The police box also contained equipment for the police officers such as a stool, table and fire extinguishers.
The Police boxes were used between 1928 and 1960 to assist in communication with law enforcement however as technology developed the police boxes no longer became required when personal radios were introduced.
Police
The police service is there to protect the community in which we live. Police Stations are situated all around New South Wales and the country and there are various ways of contacting our Police Service. The NSW Police have a website which you are able to contact them through, various telephone numbers for different services which the police provide. However in relation to reporting a crime there are four ways in New South Wales in which you can do so. These include:
Attending your nearest police station
Police Assistance Number for non-urgent crimes number 131 444 where you can report and incident and have the police attend.
Crime Stoppers Number where you can report a crime
Standard emergency number which is 000 which can be called when there is a life threatening situation or critical emergency for prompt police assistance.
Through the use of modern technology contacting law enforcement has become more efficient and accessible through the use of public and mobile telephones.
The police call box was a service that was used by law enforcement in Europe. They were first used in 1928 in order to provide more effective service to the community. The Police box was a large blue box with a light on the top and contained a telephone which linked directly to the local police station. This enabled offices out in the community to report their whereabouts without having scheduled meeting times and the flashing light indicated to the officer on patrol that he was required to contact the police station.
The police box telephone was also accessible to the public in order to make a direct phone call to the police station in the case of an emergency. The police box also contained equipment for the police officers such as a stool, table and fire extinguishers.
The Police boxes were used between 1928 and 1960 to assist in communication with law enforcement however as technology developed the police boxes no longer became required when personal radios were introduced.
Police
The police service is there to protect the community in which we live. Police Stations are situated all around New South Wales and the country and there are various ways of contacting our Police Service. The NSW Police have a website which you are able to contact them through, various telephone numbers for different services which the police provide. However in relation to reporting a crime there are four ways in New South Wales in which you can do so. These include:
Attending your nearest police station
Police Assistance Number for non-urgent crimes number 131 444 where you can report and incident and have the police attend.
Crime Stoppers Number where you can report a crime
Standard emergency number which is 000 which can be called when there is a life threatening situation or critical emergency for prompt police assistance.
Through the use of modern technology contacting law enforcement has become more efficient and accessible through the use of public and mobile telephones.
New South Wales Government: NSW Police Force (2008, November). NSW Police Force. Retrived August 27, 2009, from http://www.nsw.gov.au
Metropolitan Police Service - History of the Metropolitan Police Service. Retrived 23 August 2009, from http://met.police.uk/history/policebox.htm
The artefact
Here is the almost-finished streetscape (without the police public call box so that you can see the old police station, stables, bicycle etc).
And here is the street scape with the lights on and the call box in situ.
And here is the street scape with the lights on and the call box in situ.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Cells, batteries and circuits
Further research was conducted in relation to cells, batteries and circuits. A summary of relevant information obtained from the 2nd and 3rd editions of Teaching Primary Science Constructively is included below. It should be noted that some of these references use the term battery when clearly describing a cell. Where this has occurred, I have substituted the term cell.
Hubber and Kirkwood have used the following diagram to outline the way a dry cell functions (Skamp, K (Ed.), 2004, pp 131-135).
Hubber and Kirkwood have used the following diagram to outline the way a dry cell functions (Skamp, K (Ed.), 2004, pp 131-135).
According to Hubber and Kirkwood:
- A dry cell has a metal casing which contains chemicals held in a paste.
- The metal casing has two separate parts known as terminals. One terminal is positive (+) and the other is negative (-).
- The positive terminal has a steel disc and a bump on it. It is connected to a carbon rod located in the middle of the battery.
- The negative terminal is a flat steel disc that connects to a zinc casing.
- A manganese dioxide and ammonium chloride paste separates the carbon rod from the zinc casing.
- A complex chemical reaction occurs inside the cell which causes a number of negatively charged electrons from the positive terminal to be deposited on the negative terminal. As a result, the positive terminal is left with a greater number of positively charged protons (ie, a positive charge). The negative terminal which has more negatively charged electrons is left with a negative charge.
- The chemical reaction inside an isolated cell reaches a state of equilibrium which leaves a small charge on each terminal. This occurs because "electrons have the same electric charge and so will repel each other. The chemical reaction can't keep moving electrons to places where an excess number of electrons already exist" (Skamp, K., 2004, p132).
The illustration below was obtained from www.odec.ca/.../2006/glaz6j2/battery_info.htm (accessed 04/09/2009). This is an "experimental" website containing basic battery information and activities. The illustration is more detailed than the diagram above and shows how the carbon rod does not connect to the negative terminal. It also indicates that terminals are also known as electrodes. Furthermore, it identifies a positive electrode as a cathode and a negative electrode as an anode. 
The illustration above also helps to explain how a circuit disturbs the equilibrium in a cell and allows the chemical reaction to continue. In the 3rd edition of Teaching Primary Science Constructively, Hubber and Kirkwood provide a good summary of how this occurs(Skamp, K (Ed.), 2008, pp 127 - 132):
- When a metal wire connects a cathode and anode, an (unbroken) pathway is formed.
- The pathway is called "an electric circuit, or more precisely, a closed circuit".
- If the pathway is broken, it is a “open circuit”.
- Electrons are part of all atoms that make up ALL substances, but generally they are not free to move away from the atoms they are attached to. In some substances, including metal, electrons are free to move (“free electrons”). Such substances are called “conductors”.
- Substances with electrons that are not free to move are called ‘insulators” (eg plastic).
- When a closed circuit is formed, an electric field is created which provides a pathway for the electrons to move from the negative terminal along the wire to the positive terminal. This movement of electrons disturbs the equilibrium and allows the chemical reaction to deposit more electrons on the negative terminal which in turn move along the pathway.
Hubber and Kirkwood provide a good summary of the following terms (Skamp, K (Ed), 2008, pp 130-131):
Voltage - "The voltage of the battery gives a measure of the strength of the electric field which pushes the free electrons around the closed circuit". As such, a 6-volt battery gives four times the push of a 1.5-volt battery on free electrons.
Electric current - the flow of electrons is called the electric current. The greater the voltage in a closed circuit, the greater the electric current.
Energy transformations and transfers in a torch- "The energy in the chemicals of the battery (chemical energy) is transformed into motion energy of the electrons. As they speed around the closed circuit they collide with the atoms in the filament in the globe thus transferring their motion energy to the atoms. This causes the atoms to vibrate. The vibrating atoms transform their motion energy into heat and light energy".
Electric current, resistance and power in the torch - "The size of the current is also affected by the ease with which the free electrons are able to move in the circuit. In the torch circuit, the filament does not provide an easy path for the free electrons as the wire of which it is made is much narrower than the other wires in the circuit".
Power - the term power "relates to the rate at which energy is transformed in the electric circuit. The unit of power is the Watt, where 1 watt represents 1 joule of energy being transformed per second". A 100W light bulb transforms 100 joules of electrical energy into light and heat energy every second the light globe is operating".
Hubber and Kirkwood provide a good summary of how energy, voltage, current, resistance and power are related (Skamp, K (Ed.), 2008, p131). This summary refers to a closed cell in a torch, but equally applies to other circuits. As mentioned they use the term battery for a cell. That said, this summary applies to both cells and batteries:
- The battery voltage determines the amount of energy given to each electron; the higher the voltage the greater the energy.
- The battery voltage and resistance in the circuit determine the size of the electric current; greater currents occur with larger battery voltages and/or less circuit resistances.
- The amount of energy transformed at the globe depends on the amount of resistance the globe has compared to the rest of the circuit. In a torch circuit, most of the free electrons' energy get transformed in the globe as it has most of the circuit resistance.
- The rate at which energy is transformed in the electric circuit is the power.
Hubber, P., & Kirkwood., V. (2008). Shining a light on electricity. In Skamp, K (Ed.), Teaching Primary Science Constructively (3rd Ed., pp125-154), South Melbourne, 2008.
Hubber, P., & Kirkwood., V. (2004). Shining a light on electricity. In Skamp, K (Ed.), Teaching Primary Science Constructively (2nd Ed., pp127-173), South Melbourne, 2004.
Cells and Batteries
In the course of this assignment we investigated cells and batteries.
The objects in the above image are commonly known as batteries. Indeed, their labels clearly state that they are batteries.
All the objects displayed in the foreground of the picture above are all commonly referred to as batteries. Technically, however, only one of them is a battery. 
It is the 9-volt battery. It contains six 1.5-volt cells. When cells are connected in the correct series they form a battery. A cell is an object that stores potential energy. Energy is generated in a cell by a chemical reaction and is referred to as 'chemical energy' (Skamp, K. (ed), 2008, p43).
A car battery is another type of battery. 
A car battery, consists of a series of lead acid cells (wet cells).
The correct term for the object above is a cell. In this case an alkaline cell (dry cell).
2 cells do not become a battery until they are connected in the correct way.
The 2 cells above are not assembled to form a battery because the negative sides are touching.
This assembly of cells forms a battery because the negative and positive ends of the two cells are touching. In the image above we have two 1.5V cells forming a 3V battery.
Above are three 1.5V cells assembled in the appropriate series of negative to positive forming a 4.5V battery.
Online meetings
Because our group is geographically widely spread, a lot of our communication had to be done via email. This made for very busy Inboxes!
The Search for an "aesthetically pleasing" sound
Our plans to use a sound generating electrical device in the circuit have been thwarted. We searched high and low for a suitable device. Various alarms and buzzers (including, components retrieved from the innards of plush toys) were considered. Unfortunately, none of them generated a telephone or siren type sound. In a last ditch effort, I attempted to build an electronic siren from an electronics kit called "Funway into Electronics, Volume 1". Project number six promised the elusive sound of "An electronic siren". It even had a drawing of a police car. Believing a solution was at hand, I spent several hours happily assembling it (to be honest, I became increasingly frustrated trying to identify the components required to complete it). In the end, however, it was complete (see picture below).
I then hooked it up to a 9V cell and was greeted by a barely audible sound I still have trouble finding words to describe. Let's just say it sounded nothing like a siren.
Without a suitable sound device it was agreed that the circuit would be modified to include a switch as the third component.
Voron, S. & Tester, R. (2002) Funway into Electronics, Volume 1. Chullora, NSW: Dick Smith Electronics Pty Ltd.
I then hooked it up to a 9V cell and was greeted by a barely audible sound I still have trouble finding words to describe. Let's just say it sounded nothing like a siren.
Without a suitable sound device it was agreed that the circuit would be modified to include a switch as the third component.
Voron, S. & Tester, R. (2002) Funway into Electronics, Volume 1. Chullora, NSW: Dick Smith Electronics Pty Ltd.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Personal Research
Please add what you have researched for our 'time and place' topic. (This is for the 'I' and 'We' evidence of research that we have to produce in the group presentation).
Rosie
I rang the curator of the Police and Justice Museum located in the Rocks in Sydney. Unfortunately there was not a lot of information on how the police were contacted before the advent of the telephone. Communication methods with the police relied heavily on location factors. A person living a fair distance from the police station would have had few options; you could set out on foot, ride a bike or a horse, or drive a car to the nearest police station. Those living in towns or cities may have had the luxury of patrolling police.
It was interesting to learn that Australia did have its own version of the English police call box and Rebecca emailed me photos of the historic boxes and an early newspaper clipping recounting the use of one by the public.
I also studied the HSIE syllabus and the HSIE Samples of Work book in order to find direct links to the syllabus' aims, subject matter and outcomes to our artefact. This was a valuable exercise as I now feel better equipped to deal with the syllabus in teaching HSIE. I also looked at the educational context of our artefact, ie, cognitive development, psychology in order to ascertain why the learning experience was appropriate for a stage 1/year 1 class.
I also researched primary science textbooks in order to build a working understanding of circuits, cells and batteries.
I participated in group meetings in the library where we discussed ideas, tried to burn down the library, and tried to get various devices to light up, rotate or make noises. As we all lived too far from each other to work together away from the university campus we decided to work co-operatively by taking on different roles individually in order to cover and complete all aspects of the assignment.
Voren
Voren
- I visited Marrickville Police to talk to their education officer about the talks they give in schools.
- I interviewed a teacher at my son's school about the police visit they had.
- I interviewed students from that class to see what they learned or remembered.
- I found web images of historical modes of police transport.
- I viewed and transcribed a BBC documentary on police public call boxes.
- I read Emergency Australia: Police by Margaret Metz.
- I visited websites that educate children about police.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Research - video
Following is a transcript of the BBC1 mini documentary on Police Public Call Boxes (YouTube. retrieved 3 September 2009). Images are screen-captures from the BBC film.
Today this blue box is best known as Dr Who's Time Machine but the real police box has a history of it's own.
The police "signal post" (as it was called) appeared on the streets of London in the 1880s and made use of the newly-invented telephone. For the first time, the policeman on the beat could keep in touch with his local station. Regional variations abounded. In Glasgow the early boxes even had a remote controlled gas lamp to summon the policeman on the beat. The ultimate design was at Trafalgar Square where the box was put inside a stone pillar topped by a lamp from Nelson's ship
And it wasn't long before the posts became fully-fledged boxes and objects of great civic pride. Inside, there was a first aid kit, a desk and a log book. Police boxes were also a place for the weary copper to have a rest and a cup of tea.
Some boxes had a telephone for public use. With a direct line to the police it was claimed "the boxes deterred the rougher and more violent class of prisoner as police officers could quickly obtain assistance".
The classic "Dr Who" police box was the new improved concrete model launched in 1929. These boxes materialised all over the country and to educate the public, demonstrations were given at the 1936 Radio Show: "Perhaps you've noticed those blue telephone boxes labelled 'police box' but some of you still think that they're only for us to use. They are not. They are for you to use, and we want you to use them. There is a little window, through which you can get to the telephone which is in direct communication with the nearest police station."
During the war, the police box saw heroic service. With sirens replacing flashing lamps they doubled up as air-raid warning posts. The hey-day came for the police box in the 1950s. London alone had almost 700 and by the early 60s they were one of the most common sights on the streets of Britain. So it wasn't surprising that a certain time lord chose it as the disguise for his stolen time machine.
...
But for the police, times were changing fast. With two-way radios and quick-response patrol cars, the old-style box was on the way out.
The final blow came in 1969 when the Home Secretary ordered the removal of London's boxes. Vandalism! Today the police box is the Tardis, stranded in time and space and modelled on something which, in the real world, has dematerialised forever.
For informatrion about Police Public Call Boxes in Australia, click here.
Today this blue box is best known as Dr Who's Time Machine but the real police box has a history of it's own.
The police "signal post" (as it was called) appeared on the streets of London in the 1880s and made use of the newly-invented telephone. For the first time, the policeman on the beat could keep in touch with his local station. Regional variations abounded. In Glasgow the early boxes even had a remote controlled gas lamp to summon the policeman on the beat. The ultimate design was at Trafalgar Square where the box was put inside a stone pillar topped by a lamp from Nelson's ship
And it wasn't long before the posts became fully-fledged boxes and objects of great civic pride. Inside, there was a first aid kit, a desk and a log book. Police boxes were also a place for the weary copper to have a rest and a cup of tea.
Some boxes had a telephone for public use. With a direct line to the police it was claimed "the boxes deterred the rougher and more violent class of prisoner as police officers could quickly obtain assistance".
The classic "Dr Who" police box was the new improved concrete model launched in 1929. These boxes materialised all over the country and to educate the public, demonstrations were given at the 1936 Radio Show: "Perhaps you've noticed those blue telephone boxes labelled 'police box' but some of you still think that they're only for us to use. They are not. They are for you to use, and we want you to use them. There is a little window, through which you can get to the telephone which is in direct communication with the nearest police station."
During the war, the police box saw heroic service. With sirens replacing flashing lamps they doubled up as air-raid warning posts. The hey-day came for the police box in the 1950s. London alone had almost 700 and by the early 60s they were one of the most common sights on the streets of Britain. So it wasn't surprising that a certain time lord chose it as the disguise for his stolen time machine.
...
But for the police, times were changing fast. With two-way radios and quick-response patrol cars, the old-style box was on the way out.
The final blow came in 1969 when the Home Secretary ordered the removal of London's boxes. Vandalism! Today the police box is the Tardis, stranded in time and space and modelled on something which, in the real world, has dematerialised forever.
For informatrion about Police Public Call Boxes in Australia, click here.
Research - books
References
Board of Studies, NSW. (2006). Human Society and Its Environment K-6 Syllabus. Sydney: Author
Board of Studies, NSW. (2006). Human Society and Its Environment K-6: units of work. Sydney: Author
Board of Studies, NSW. (2006). Revised Science and Technology Years K-6 Syllabus and Outcomes. Sydney: Author.
Brophy, J. & Alleman, J. (2007). Powerful social studies for elementary students (2nd ed). Belmont: CA: Thomson Wadsworth.
Filmer, F. and M. (1999) Emergency 000. Perth. Ready-Ed Publications.
Hubber, P., & Kirkwood., V. (2008). Shining a light on electricity. In Skamp, K (Ed.), Teaching Primary Science Constructively (3rd Ed., pp125-154), South Melbourne, 2008.
Hubber, P., & Kirkwood., V. (2004). Shining a light on electricity. In Skamp, K (Ed.), Teaching Primary Science Constructively (2nd Ed., pp127-173), South Melbourne, 2004.
Metz, M. (2004) Emergency Australia: Police. Alexandria: Watts.
Metropolitan Police Service - History of the Metropolitan Police Service. Retrieved 23 August 2009, from http://met.police.uk/history/policebox.htm
New South Wales Government: NSW Police Force (2008, November). NSW Police Force. Retrieved August 27, 2009, from http://www.nsw.gov.au
Webb, C. (2009) An Overview of Constructivism. Retrieved 15 August 2009, from http://vuws.uws.edu.au/webct/urw/lc5116001.tp0/cobaltMainFrame.dowebct
The NSW Science and Technology Syllabus. Board of Studies, NSW. (2006). Revised Science and Technology Years K-6 Syllabus and Outcomes
Voron, S. & Tester, R. (2002) Funway into Electronics, Volume 1. Chullora, NSW: Dick Smith Electronics Pty Ltd.
Woolfolk, A. and Margetts, K. (2007). Educational Psychology. Sydney: Pearson.
Board of Studies, NSW. (2006). Human Society and Its Environment K-6 Syllabus. Sydney: Author
Board of Studies, NSW. (2006). Revised Science and Technology Years K-6 Syllabus and Outcomes. Sydney: Author.
Brophy, J. & Alleman, J. (2007). Powerful social studies for elementary students (2nd ed). Belmont: CA: Thomson Wadsworth.
Filmer, F. and M. (1999) Emergency 000. Perth. Ready-Ed Publications.
Hubber, P., & Kirkwood., V. (2008). Shining a light on electricity. In Skamp, K (Ed.), Teaching Primary Science Constructively (3rd Ed., pp125-154), South Melbourne, 2008.
Hubber, P., & Kirkwood., V. (2004). Shining a light on electricity. In Skamp, K (Ed.), Teaching Primary Science Constructively (2nd Ed., pp127-173), South Melbourne, 2004.
Metz, M. (2004) Emergency Australia: Police. Alexandria: Watts.
Metropolitan Police Service - History of the Metropolitan Police Service. Retrieved 23 August 2009, from http://met.police.uk/history/policebox.htm
New South Wales Government: NSW Police Force (2008, November). NSW Police Force. Retrieved August 27, 2009, from http://www.nsw.gov.au
Webb, C. (2009) An Overview of Constructivism. Retrieved 15 August 2009, from http://vuws.uws.edu.au/webct/urw/lc5116001.tp0/cobaltMainFrame.dowebct
The NSW Science and Technology Syllabus. Board of Studies, NSW. (2006). Revised Science and Technology Years K-6 Syllabus and Outcomes
Voron, S. & Tester, R. (2002) Funway into Electronics, Volume 1. Chullora, NSW: Dick Smith Electronics Pty Ltd.
Woolfolk, A. and Margetts, K. (2007). Educational Psychology. Sydney: Pearson.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Curriculum - Science and Technology
Green text indicates quotes from the Syllabus and white text indicates examples specific to this topic.
CONTENT OUTCOMES
Information and Communication
IC S1.2 Create a range of information products and communicates using a variety of media.
PROCESS OUTCOMES
Using technology
UTS1.9 Selects and uses a range of equipment, computer-based technology, materials and other resources to undertake an investigation or design task.
Investigating
INVS1.7 Conducts guided investigations by observing, questioning, predicting, collecting and recording data, and suggesting possible explanations.
Design and make
DMS1.8 Develops and implements own design ideas in response to an investigation of needs and wants.
CONTENT OUTCOMES
Information and Communication
IC S1.2 Create a range of information products and communicates using a variety of media.
PROCESS OUTCOMES
Using technology
UTS1.9 Selects and uses a range of equipment, computer-based technology, materials and other resources to undertake an investigation or design task.
Investigating
INVS1.7 Conducts guided investigations by observing, questioning, predicting, collecting and recording data, and suggesting possible explanations.
Design and make
DMS1.8 Develops and implements own design ideas in response to an investigation of needs and wants.
Curriculum - electronics
At last! The TARDIS spins! Watch the video:
But before you get the idea that we know what we're doing... consider the idiocy of nearly setting fire to the University Library with 4 C cells!
It brings a whole new meaning to the words "getting your wires crossed"!
A very authentic learning experience that has burnt itself into our memories!
But before you get the idea that we know what we're doing... consider the idiocy of nearly setting fire to the University Library with 4 C cells!
It brings a whole new meaning to the words "getting your wires crossed"!
A very authentic learning experience that has burnt itself into our memories!
Research - interviews
Interview with Assitant Curator, Justice and Police Museum, Sydney.
NSW Police Public Call Boxes
The Police Call Box system was introduced into Australia by Commissioner Walter Childs in the 1930s. There were still some in use in the late 1970s.
Police on the beat (ie foot patrol) were required to ring in to their station and report (called ‘getting a mark’). This was noted on the reporting sheet at the police station by the Station Sergeant or Reserve Constable. It was used as a means of supervision and also
of relaying out-standing jobs to patrolling police.
The following article from 1947 mentions a member of the public making a call to police from a Police Public Call Box.
Historic use of telephones by police
NSW Police Public Call Boxes
The Police Call Box system was introduced into Australia by Commissioner Walter Childs in the 1930s. There were still some in use in the late 1970s.
Police on the beat (ie foot patrol) were required to ring in to their station and report (called ‘getting a mark’). This was noted on the reporting sheet at the police station by the Station Sergeant or Reserve Constable. It was used as a means of supervision and also
of relaying out-standing jobs to patrolling police.
The following article from 1947 mentions a member of the public making a call to police from a Police Public Call Box.
Historic use of telephones by police
The NSW Police Dept. Annual Report for 1890 contains the following paragraph:
“The use of the telephone for police purposes has been made more generally available in the city and suburbs during the year. Besides the twenty-five instruments at police stations, the telephones of the Fire Brigade Department are all available to the police, and, in addition, no less than 139 instruments in convenient situations, belonging to private citizens, have been kindly placed at my disposal for use when required. A list of the same has been printed and issued to each member of the force in the district.”
Police in schools.
I spoke to my son's teacher about how to organise a school visit by the police. They had received a visit just the week before. Each police station has an Education Officer and sometimes a Youth Liaison Officer who will visit schools and talk to classes about the role of police.
Mrs S said that the school doesn't specify what they want, the police have their own education program. For Stage 1 they use a biug book and talk about the different kinds of police.
I asked some students what they remembered from the police visit. One said "stop, drop and roll" but then he realised that was from the Fireman's visit. The types of police my son remembered were "swimming ones" and "disguised ones" (water police and undercover detectives). The children were particularly impressed that the police had real guns. Capsicum spray came into their conversations several times over subsequent weeks. This is the stuff that interests 7 year olds!
The class had to practice saying their home address for news. This tied in with what you would say if you had to phone "000" in an emergency. Another piece of homework was an activity sheet that looked at different styles of fingerprints and asked students to record the prints of 4 family/friends: a very inky business!
I visited Marrickville police to talk to the Education Officer, hoping to attend a school visit and/or view their education materials. I collected brochures and a folding police money box (used in the artefact). I also photographed patrol cars (with permission).
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