Not sure why

[chickenfeet]

Various readings and incidents in the recent past have me thinking about changing attitudes to health and safety especially in schools. When I was young (possibly the neolithic, copper may have been discovered) nobody thought about such thing at all. We played happily dropping lighted spills into test tubes of molten hyperchlorates. We put bits of sodium into sinks full of water. And so on. My favourite though was a lower sixth experiment where the teacher was synthesising HCl by passing chlorine and hydrogen over a heated catalyst to a third gas syringe. This took place in front of a class gathered around without any safety gear or anything. The whole thing exploded sending shards of hot glass in all directions. Miraculously no-one was hurt but I got a significant piece of glass embedded in the knot of my tie.

This wasn't untypical of the general attitude. When I was at prep school (same school, junior division) they used to drive small groups of us out into the local countryside and leave us with a one inch OS map, a grid reference and instructions to find our own way home. I have excellent map reading skills.

Comments

[mamculuna.livejournal.com]

The big thrill when I was a little kid was going to the shoe store and Xraying your feet. We did it all the time. No lead apron, no counts of Xrays. And yet my kids seem normal (at least in terms of numbers of fingers and toes).

[kittenexploring.livejournal.com]

My mother was just talking last night about her science class during ww2 when all the good teachers were gone. They were pouring mercury down each other's backs for entertainment. The level of safety seems to have improved since then.

A friend in India (somewhere in the south but the location escapes me) had university classes which weren't far off that only a few years ago. After doing chemistry at Sydney University with lab coats, glasses, gloves, safety information, tests on safety information, etc she wrote to her chemistry teachers of her Indian classes about improving safety standards.

Aiming for 100% safety is unlikely to be without significant drawbacks - and the safety is unlikely to actually be 100%. That's the current trend. It seems obvious that a level of risk needs to be accepted. Unfortunately I have no magic mirror to determine what level is acceptable in every case. I would be willing to hazard a guess at safety glasses or distance for a class observing a potentially explosive experiment, though.

[chickenfeet2003.livejournal.com]

I'd certainly vote for safety glasses

[stephiekeke.livejournal.com]

I recently watched the DVD of "Old School" Sesame Street, the first episodes from 1970-1972. They came with a disclaimer that totally confused me. Basically it said that the episodes were for adult entertainment only and were not suitable for today's toddlers. I thought, "SESAME STREET?!!? I watched these episodes when they were new. Huh." Then I watched the shows. Kids running around through a junk yard, rusty nails everywhere, old, open paint cans, old refrigerators with the doors still on. Kids climbing up piles of old lumber. Et cetera. I learned to ride a bike without a helmet or elbow pads, but will get a ticket if I allow my son to do the same.

[chickenfeet2003.livejournal.com]

Elbow pads? That's a new one to me.

[stephiekeke.livejournal.com]

Yes, and actually, I forgot to mention the knee pads, too. I do beleive the helmet's the most important bit, legally, but still...

[gillo]

I remember with great fondness spending boring science lessons chasing beads of mercury around the bench top with my pencil. (which I probably then sucked when I needed to make it good and black...)

My husband was apparently involved in an accident which led directly to Manchester Grammar instituting the wearing of safety goggles for sixth formers, though when the stuff blew up in his face his normal specs saved his eyes.

H&S goes a bit too far the other way now, but there was a need for greater precautions.