Taking Care of Your School Building (1979)

[music] >> Say, what are you kids doing here? School's over. All the other kids have gone home. Oh, it's okay, Mr. Dillon. Our teacher's here. She's just going down to the lounge for a little while. She gave us permission to fix up the room for the Halloween open house tonight. Oh, if you're sure it's all right with her. We're sure, Mr. Dillon. See you at the open house. Okay. Are all the lights on? Yeah, why? Nothing. It's just kind of dark in here at night, that's all. Are you scared? No. What was that? I don't know. There it is again. I don't like it. Sounds like it's coming from over there somewhere. Let's go, Susie. I really don't like this. I think that noise is coming from the speaker up here. Let's get out of here. Maybe someone's in the office trying to scare us over the loudspeaker. Or maybe it's just Mr. Dillon playing a joke. Well, it's not funny. Mr. Dillon, is that you? Oh, hi there, Susie. Bill? Sorry if I startled you. Mr. Dillon, that doesn't sound like you. No, I'm not Mr. Dillon. Who are you then? Well, you may not believe this, but I'm your school building. Uh, come on. Who are you really? No kidding. I'm your school building. School buildings can't talk. Come on, stop it now. You're scary us. I'm not scared. Huh, not much. How can I prove it? Shall I dim my lights? Or ring my bells? Or twirl my hands? Oh, hey, don't do that. That's spooky. Oh, sorry, Susie. I didn't mean to scare you. How'd you know our names? Oh, I know all you children. I've known you two since you first came here in kindergarten. How's come you were sniffing? You got a cold? No, I'm not sick, just a little sad. Why? Oh, because I've been abused. >> What does that mean? Oh, I've been mistreated, soiled, and scratched, and scarred, injured. >> Who did that to you? Why, you did, Susie. And you, too, Bill. And your classmates. Oh, no, not me. I never did anything to hurt you. Me, either. I wouldn't do anything to abuse you on purpose. Oh, I know you didn't do it on purpose, but Like what? What did we ever do to you? Well, for instance, look under that poster you're making. Ew, I got it on the desk. Sorry. I'll try and clean it up and put something under my paper from now on. You should be more careful. You think so, Bill? You just taped that poster on my chalkboard. So? Pull the tape off. That tickles. Now, look carefully at the chalkboard. Oh, yeah, I see. There's gooey stuff here from where the tape had been. That's a scar I may have for months or even years. Oh, hey, there's crayon marks here. I never noticed these before. Some thoughtless child did that to me without even thinking how it would make me feel. Or look. Gee, we're sorry. Please don't cry. That's a shame. You know, when we're making posters, we ought to make one to tell the other kids not to do things to hurt our school. That would be nice. Don't let ink from felt markers get on desktops. That's it. Don't let ink from felt markers get on desktops. Don't put tape on chalkboards or walls. Don't make crayon marks on walls or chalkboards. That's great. Hey, Susie, come here a sec. Look, somebody scratched and carved all over this desk. That really hurts. To me, it's just like cuts or bruises that won't ever heal. But I've got wounds all over me. Look at my door and my woodwork. Do you see those stab marks? These little pinholes? No, they may look little to you, but how would you like to have somebody stick thumbtacks in your arms or legs? I see what you mean. And it's so unnecessary. I've got perfectly good bulletin boards that can be used for pinning up things with tacks. I'm getting those down in a list. Don't carve or scratch on desks. Don't put thumbtacks in doors or woodwork. And somebody pulled my molding loose. And I even have holes in my plaster. Gosh, how did that happen? Somebody accidentally banged into my wall with a chair. That cracked the plaster. Then some kids just picked at the crack with pencils and their fingernails until it made a hole. Ew. I remember doing that. But I didn't mean to hurt you. Oh, of course you didn't. But I was damaged just the same. Bless you. Thank you. Excuse me. It's the chalk dust getting to me again. Chalk dust? Yes. Look where somebody powdered my face with chalk from an eraser. Gee, that was a mean thing to do. It's even worse when they pound the erasers on my corkboard and get the dust in all those little cracks. That can't be cleaned up. Excuse me. We never thought about that, Mr. School. Oh, you can call me by my first name. Elementary. Or LM for short. LM, we want to help you. What can we do? That poster that Bill's making is a big help. If you and your friends would just follow those rules, I'd really be happy. Is there anything else I can put on here, LM? Oh, lots of things. Just think about what happens during the day at school. If children would keep their hands off my walls or when they line up or walk down the hall, it would help keep my paint bright and clean. I'm very proud of my paint, you know. And it would help if kids would put their hands on the switch plates instead of the walls when they turn on lights. It would keep my walls looking nice and save your custodian a lot of hard work. When you lean on a wall, it's important to stand on both feet. If you rest one foot against my wall, it gets me all dirty and scrapes off my paint. >> [bell] >> Oh, my floors really take a beating. On wet days, kids should wipe their feet so they don't track in mud and dirt. Wet umbrellas should be put in a wastebasket to drip so they don't cause puddles on the floor. Wearing shoes or boots with steel cleats on them can cause terrible damage to me. And I hope that no one will ever deliberately make rubber marks on my floors with their heels. Of course, crayons should be picked up before they get squashed. And spills should be wiped up right away. You could also remind everyone that if they chew gum on the way to school, as soon as they get here, they should get rid of it by wrapping it up and putting it in a wastebasket. Some of them actually drop it on my floors or stick it under my desks. Yuck. How would you like to be covered with somebody's wet, sticky, old chewing gum? Oh, and sometimes my lockers get so full that I get indigestion. It's a real pain in my tummy when my lockers are stuffed with old lunches, wet umbrellas, and other junk like that. Some of my lockers have been hurt because kids have swung on the doors, jerked on the coat hooks, or taken out the screws from the hinges. That's rough treatment. I'd be much happier and healthier if you kids would just be more gentle with me. If you hit my panic bars too hard or jerk on the door knobs, it can break me or loosen my screws. And I shudder every time someone kicks a door open instead of opening it properly. My restrooms are awfully sensitive. My fixtures can crack if anyone climbs or swings on them. And my tiles break and scratch easily. And my drains get all stopped up if you kids drop paper towels in the basins instead of putting them in wastebaskets as you should. Even when you're playing outside, you sometimes hurt me without realizing it. Children should play on the playground, not in my trees and shrubs. They're easily damaged. It's very important to be careful where you throw things. A rock or a ball can break one of my windows. So, it's best not to ever throw anything toward your school building. Boy, have we got a list. Keep hands and feet off walls, wipe your feet at the door on wet days, don't wear metal cleats inside, don't make heel marks on the floor, pick up crayons and wipe up spills, wrap gum and throw it in the wastebasket, clean out lockers, be gentle with doors, don't climb on bathroom basins, play on the playground, not in the shrubs and trees, and don't stop up bathroom drains. There are a lot of other things I could tell you about, too, but you're smart kids. I'll bet you can think of them on your own. We'll sure try. Oh, just one more suggestion. If you find some damage, even a little bit of damage, like a loose screw in your desk, tell your teacher about it right away so it can be fixed before it gets worse. Okay, that's a good idea. Hi. Sorry I was gone so long. Did I hear you talking to someone? You'll never believe us when we tell you. Wow, look at the time. People are going to start showing up for the open house any minute now. I'll go see if the front door's open. Wait up, I'll go with you. Hi, Mr. Dillon. Oh, hi, kids. Say, Mr. Dillon, have you been in there in the office all this time? Now, uh what makes you ask that, Bill? Oh, so it was you talking over the PA system the whole time. Fooled you, didn't I? >> [laughter] >> That was a dirty trick. Oh, I don't think so. Everything I said was true. This is a good old school building and it's taken some pretty rough treatment from you kids at times. Well, you really like sugar lumps on me. I'm going to be a lot more careful around here from now on. Me, too. Well, I'm glad my performance paid off. I don't think any of us want to spend all week in a run-down, dirty, old building. I sure don't. Just stop and think how much it cost to fix up the things that get damaged around here. All the money we spend for paint and repairs could go for new games or playground equipment for you kids. I'm all for that. Well, I should have known that school [snorts] buildings can't talk. Oh, don't be too sure of that. >> [laughter]