Adult Guards For School Crossings (1950s)

[Music] and that Mrs Roberts should give you a pretty good idea of the purposes and functions of a school crossing guard tomorrow morning you'll get more instruction but it'll be at the corner where you'll work can you meet me at 8:00 in the morning at your corner then we'll watch the policeman you're replacing go through his Paces of course you won't have the authority or the added respon responsibilities of a regular police officer by the way Mrs Roberts here are three books that will help you understand your job take them and study them get completely familiar with their contents you'll find them very useful thank you Sergeant I only hope I can remember everything you've told me you've been very patient you're a good student Mrs Roberts you and others like you will render a very fine service to the community I'll see you in the morning goodbye good morning Mrs Roberts good morning sergeants how's this for good timing I'm glad to see you on time that'll be a good habit when you become a crossing guard well as I said yesterday this is the school crossing where we sure can use your help when you finish your training the officer you see over there will be freed for regular police duty isn't he a little early I shouldn't think the children would be arriving for another half hour well Mrs Robert's school crossing Duty starts before the children arrive there are a few preparations that must be made for example right now he's checking traffic conditions our car is parked so they block the walk or cause dangerous blind spots for children or drivers at times it may even be necessary to have a car moved it's part of the guard's job to spot any conditions that might cause Crossing difficulties an excavation for Street repairs for example might require setting up a temporary Crossing spot at another location nearby I see he's putting out some signs too yes that's another reason for getting your post early so that signs planned for and made available are placed these signs will be a great help to you in your job it's important to know in advance the general pattern of traffic that you're assigned location get an idea of the average speed of the cars and note if they come in a steady stream or in groups and what effect cars turning at the corner might have I suppose he's preparing to direct traffic I'm glad you raised that question for a crossing guard the answer is a definite no here as in most communities a school crossing guard does not direct traffic in the usual sense now let me explain the basic reason for use of school crossing guards is to give children the benefit of adult judgment in getting safely across a street but experience has also shown that the mere presence of a crossing guard is usually enough of a warning to motorists to be alert oh now I see some children are beginning to gather at the corner let's watch you'll notice that while waiting for an opportunity to cross he keeps the children grouped on the sidewalk safely away from traffic and he knows he must keep order he's made it a point to be friendly with the kids they all like it see how the officer is giving the older children responsibility the school teachers suggested this technique he has their respect too and they obey his directions here's a gap in traffic now watch by holding up his hand he makes sure he is seen by oncoming traffic notice the position he's taken he can see cars and drivers can see him and he's also in a position to hold back stragglers or late comers if necessary selecting a gap for a Crossing reduces surprise to drivers that might cause a collision just remember that your signal merely alerts drivers that children are about to use the crosswalk supervision by the guard extends the safety training the child receives at home and in the school now as you can also see it's often necessary to Halt children on the sidewalk to permit traffic to move traffic should not be allowed to move until it's safe to do so but neither should traffic be held for a few children who are lagging behind at this point of course the guard starts grouping a new Gathering of children in preparation for the next Crossing so far it doesn't seem too difficult it's mostly using good judgment and being aware of traffic conditions that's basically the idea of course you'll get more training before or you're really qualified your confidence will increase as you understand such things as reaction time of drivers there's more to this than I realize it really is quite a responsibility it sure is you help build safety habits in the children and motorist also you'll relieve an officer for other police assignments and be performing a community service and who can measure the value of a service that prevents accidents and saves lives particularly those of our [Music] children