Prime Time; Field Trip to the Denver Zoo

[music] [children singing] [Ed Sardella speaking] "Hello, I'm Ed Sardella, host of Prime Time, a weekly series about education in the Denver Public Schools. In this edition of Prime Time we'll accompany a group of students on a field trip to the Denver Zoo and then observe their classrooms, where the integration of science, environmental awareness, and reading results in enriched learning. A reading specialist gives us tips on how students can read better, faster, and more.

Also, a panel of educators will discuss the importance of having well-qualified teachers in the school system. Throughout the year, Denver Public school children go on field trips. One of the places frequently visited is the Denver Zoo. Here children learn about animals and then go back to the classroom where studing continues. In our segment we'll see how two fourth grade teachers at Rosedale School use a field trip to encourage reading and make learning more meaningful. And, with the children, you too will see and hear how Jill Knaak, a volunteer guide, teaches about animals, as Prime Time takes us on a field trip to the Denver Zoo." [music & singing] [Jill Knaak speaking] "Okay, an animal that lived before, but does not live any more.

Who can name an animal like that? Big ones, great big ones, starts with a D? Huge ones, bigger than your house, great big ones?" [child speaking] "Oh, giraffes." [Knaak] "Oh, no, they're still around." [child] "Dinosaurs?" [Knaak] "Dinosaurs! Dinosaurs, they're extinct, right? Okay, are there any animals that are alive today that could become extinct? Are all animals going to be here forever?" [children speaking] "No." [Knaak] "No. So if we have a zoo, a special place set up where animals can have their young, they can breed and have their young, there's not much chance that that animal will ever become extinct. Okay? And this is what zoos are interested in doing. It's not just to have a place for people to come and visit and show off their animals, it's also a place for breeding. Okay, let's start off and go see some cats. Does it sound like a good group to start with? Okay. Most cats hate water, but the tiger likes to swim. Maybe you've seen them in the summertime. Gates got a

swimming pool outside. Maybe you've seen it in the summertime go in. The next time he sticks his tongue out see if you can see what it looks like on top." [child] "Can you see his fangs?" Yeah, look at that teeth. Look at those teeth. Well, why would it be good to have those large teeth, those big front eye-teeth?" [child] "To kill." [Knaak] "To tear the meat. What else? How about before that?" [child] "To kill." [Knaak] "Right. To kill. Okay, let's go on to the giraffes. How many bones do you have in your neck? Can you count 'em? Reach back here. Start, neck... Not, now don't count your head bone here, your skull bone. Reach down below and see how many you get before you get to your shoulders. I'm hearing two and three. I think I can count more than that." [child] "five" [Knaak] "Or more. [child] "Five." [Knaak] "Or more than five." [child] "Seven." [Knaak] "Seven. Lucky number seven. Okay, look at the giraffe's neck. Oh isn't that a pretty tongue! But look at the giraffe's neck and how many bones do you think they've got in their neck?" [child] "One hundred." [Knaak] "A hundred." [child] "Ten?" [Knaak" "Ten."

[child] "Twenty?" [Knaak] "Twenty. [child] "Fourteen?" [Knaak] "Fourteen." [child] "Seven?" [Knaak] "Anybody else? [child] a million? [Knaak] Anybody thinks seven? Two people are thinking seven, and I'm going to tell you: seven. Seven. Okay, just 'cause they've got a long neck, there's still seven bones in there. Any questions about giraffes? What do they eat?" [children] "Leaves." [Knaak] "Leaves. Okay, where they live in Africa, these leaves grow where there are thorns. Do you know what thorns are?" [children] "Yeah." [Knaak] "They are big long thorns on a tree called acacia. If they have that real long tongue you can see how they could stick the tongue in between the thorns and wrap their tongue around the leaf and pull it off. This is what they do. If you would hand them a branch of leaves, they wouldn't try and munch it like this. They'd take their tongue, wrap it around the branch. You're watching me... And pull all those leaves off and then swallow it. Now, you can't just swallow those leaves right away. What do you have to do to them?" [children] "Chew." [Knaak] "Chew 'em. And that's why you see them

chewing and chewing and chewing. They chew like a cow. They keep working their food back and forth in their molar teeth back here, and if you watch real carefully, you may even see them swallow the food because pretty soon you'll see a bump just sort of disappear down that long neck. Anybody want to make a guess as to how long their tongue is if we could see the whole tongue?" [child] "About a foot?" [child] "A foot?" [Knaak] "Foot, that's a good guess. Anybody else? A little higher? So, bout, yeah about 18 inches, about a foot and a half. 18 inch tongue and it's such a pretty color too isn't it? Sort of purple-black." [child] "Look at that black and white one." [Knaak] "Now, what's unique about the giraffe? What makes him completely sep..." [child] 'Tallest." [Knaak] All right, the tallest what? [children] "The tallest mammal." [Knaak] "The tallest mammal that there is, right." [child a] "Um, Miss, you can tell, you could tell which ones are male and the female, the females have those brown spots and the male over there, there's a male right over there that has black spots." [Knaak] "Right. That's Bill,

that's Big Bad Bill. That's the father of those little ones, too. [singing words] "Something tells me it's all happening at the zoo... I do believe it, I do believe it's true. Hmmmm..." [Knaak] "They kind of walk along the river bottom, and they are just like a lawnmower. They might eat 100, 200 pounds of vegetation a day, 100, 200 pounds of vegetation a day. How long you think they can stay underwater like that?" [children indistinct responses] [Knaak] "About five minutes. Whoever made that guess, that's real good. They can take a big breath, stay underwater about five minutes, and just sort of slowly walk along. And with that big mouth, open up and, if you can see their teeth, they look just like a blade coming out and chop out that vegetation and chew it up and swallow it.

How do you know there's a difference between African elephants and Asian elephants? Someone said, where are the African elephants. How can you tell the difference?" [child] "Their ears." [Knaak] "Okay, their ears. What about their ears?" [child] "The African elephant's ears are big and full and ..." [Knaak] "Okay." Good difference. The African elephant ears are big. In fact, if you could see their ears, they look a lot like the shape of the map of Africa. Asian elephant ears are much smaller. And elephants can live a long time, maybe 40 years or even longer. The one thing that may happen to an elephant, is it may wear off its teeth. It has six sets of teeth in its lifetime. And as some wear out, other teeth move up to take their place. But eventually no more new teeth will come. And if the elephant is still alive, it may even starve to death because it doesn't have the teeth to grind up its food." [singing] [interviewer] "What is your favorite animal today?" [child b] "The elephant." [interviewer] "Yeah? Why did you like the elephant?"

[child b] "Because they put dirt on their backs." [child a] "That's just to keep them cool, but to keep the sun from, from hitting them. Burning their skin. That's why they throw dirt on their back." [interviewer] "Why don't you tell me what was your favorite animal today?" [child a] "My favorite was the lion." [interviewer] "And why?" [child a] "Because, no, yeah, the lion. Because how big they are. I like their big feet. [child c] "I like the cheetah." [interviewer] "And how come you like the cheetah?" [child c] "Because it's a fast runner." [interviewer] "What's your favorite animal that you saw today?" [child d] "The tiger." [interviewer] "And why do you like the tiger?" [child d] "'Cause I love cats." [interviewer] "Do you have any cats at your house?" [child d] "Uh ha." [interviewer] "What kind of cats do you have? Do you have a tiger at your house?" [child d] "No." [interviewer] "What kind?" [child d] "It's a black cat." [interviewer] "What's your black cat's name?" [child d] "Sugarfoot." [interviewer] "Do you have any cats at your house?" [child e] "No, I just got a dog." [interviewer] "Did you see anything that you like better than a dog? That you'd like to have at your house?" [child e] "An elephant."

[interviewer] "You'd like to have an elephant in your house? Do you think you have room for them?' [child e] "No." [interviewer] "How about your backyard?" [child e] "Yeah." [interviewer] "What would you feed an elephant?" [child e] "Peanuts and grass. And I'd feed 'em some hay. And then I'd let him exercise his trunk by like picking up logs." [Larry Larsen, Rosedale School 4th Grade Teacher speaking] "Okay. Now at the zoo, mainly what kind of animals did we see at the zoo? When we talk about these five types of animals with backbones or vertebrae, what did we mainly see at the zoo? Laura?" [child] "Mammals." [Larsen] "All right, mammals, certainly. Who remembers what cold blooded means? Nicky?" [Nicky] "It means that whatever the temperature is outside, that felt, it will be the same temperature." [Larsen] "Excellent. How many remember that? Are mammals cold blooded? What are mammals?" [children] "Warm blooded." [Larsen] "Jocelyn?" [Jocelyn] "Warm blooded." [Larsen] "Warm blooded. And what does that mean? "Warm blooded? Robert." [Robert] "Their temperature stays the

same." [Larsen] "Okay. Now you guys, as we've been studying, animals have got to be able to adapt to their environment and, a lot of those animals at the zoo, the guides discussed how they were adapting to their environment. What about the tiger? What does he have? Physical characteristics that help him get his food?" [child] "Long paws." [Larsen] "All right." [child] "So he can jump on the animal and pull him down." [Larsen] "Right, he has long...?" [child] "Nails." [Larsen] "And anything else?" [child] "Teeth." [Larsen] "All right. And teeth. What about the color of the tiger. Does that help him...?" [Marian Blauer, Rosedale teacher speaking] "Who saw an animal that you really thought was really neat? JR?" [JR] "I saw the tiger. The guide told us that the tiger was from Siberia and it was one of the biggest tigers there was. And it had different kinds of stripes and I found out in, I found in the tiger we were studying

and I found out that it's an old symbol of the Chinese royalty." [Blauer] "Really?"[JR] "And they live in the coldest parts of Siberia." [Blauer] "Oh. Some people were in a group near some animals that were roaring at the zoo. Who was in that group? Who, what animals were roaring, Mark?" [Mark] "The lion." [Blauer] "Okay. I'm going to ask, and I believe we have seven groups, and I'm going to ask you, right now, to if you are in a tiger group to be over in that side. And if you are in the big, the large cheetah group, you sit right there on the end and figure out who's gonna, what you're going to do. And the small cheetah, you're all by yourself. Okay. Let's see. Panda. Panda can sit right here on this. Pandas right here. Panthers over there.

Aardvark on this end. Monkeys." [Larsen] "Think of those animals we saw in the zoo and would you read today's assignment and answer the questions at the back of the book about how animals protect themselves and relate that to the animals you've seen at the zoo. Excellent job, you guys, wonderful." [Sardella] "Take your child places. Visits to the zoo, a museum, art gallery, airport, theater, or park are ways children can observe and explore new fields of interest. They'll want to read about what they've seen, adding to the facts they've discovered for themselves." [Joan Walker, reading specialist speaking] "One of the most important things that parents can do at home to help their children is to set a climate for learning. Children should have a specific quiet place to study, to read, to do any homework assignments. There should be a definite time set aside each day for completing these assignments and doing some reading.

Home should be full of books, magazines, newspapers, television, radio, clocks, thermometers and other such useful tools for children to use during their educational period." [James H. Daniels speaking] "Very good. How would you stimulate the reluctant reader? How would you suggest to parents ways that they can help their or encourage their children at home?" [Walker] "The reluctant reader is usually a child that has the skills for reading but for some reason or other is a rather hesitant to read. One of the most important things for parents to do is to find out what this child is interested in. Since there are books written on almost any subject, once the parent has determined the child's interest, he or she could find books, magazines, other media materials that will stimulate these interests. The parent will probably have to do most of the reading to start with, but slowly involve the child in the reading process. Perhaps they can read a chapter in a book each evening. As a child becomes more interested,

they can take turns reading. One evening the child reads the chapter and the next evening the parent reads the chapter. Pretty soon, hopefully, the child will be very much involved in the reading." [Daniels] "Very good. You give us, given us, some ideas in terms of books. What about magazines?" [Walker] "Magazines are an excellent idea for children and a subscription to a magazine will make a wonderful gift for a child. But first, take your child to your local library and let him review magazines, as there are so many and children's interests tend to vary. And only subscribe to a magazine on a yearly basis because children might change their minds. Several magazines that you might want to consider would include Jack and Jill and Highlights, and that's for children basically ages 4 to 12. Contains stories, puzzles, and articles and arts and crafts for children to do. Ranger Rick, another one of our magazines, was for children ages 6 to 12. This is a nature magazine that's published by the National Wildlife Federation.

Cricket is another magazine that many children enjoy and this includes not only stories, but book reviews as well as children's original works. Ebony Junior is a magazine designed for children from ages 8 to 12. This contains articles and news about black leaders and black children. There are many more and your local librarian would have many ideas for you." [Daniels] "Can you suggest some ways that parents can help their children select the appropriate book to read?" [Walker] "The children's independent reading level should not be the same as the instructional level that they're operating on in school. You need to talk to your child's teacher to determine what level they're reading on in school and then pick a book at a lower level so that they can read with ease and comfort. If you're unable to talk to the teacher, talk to your child and ask for the title of the basal reader they're currently reading. With that information a

librarian could easily guide you to select appropriate books." [Sardella] "Your library: Meet Me in the Stacks" is the theme of this week's Prime Time activity card. In addition to the main Denver Public Library in the Civic Center, there's a network of 21 branches or reading centers conveniently located throughout the city. The libraries carry out their traditional role of lending hard and soft cover books on all subjects to adults and children. And in recent years a wide range of educational services has been added. Pictures, games, toys, cassettes, records, and pamphlets, eight millimeter film and, at the Main Library, 16 millimeter film and projectors may be checked out. The auditorium can be used by community groups and librarians schedule discussion groups and storytelling hours and arrange displays to encourage library usage. The main library has the most extensive reference service. But four other centers will open in January. If you want to spell a word or find out populations of cities or any other information, ask the reference librarian. She'll find the answers. Library

service is free only to Denver residents. To get a library card, adults fill out a brief application form and show proof of Denver residency. Children can get their own juvenile card by having their parents provide the information on the application form and sign the card. Join Denver Prime Time reading by helping someone acquire and use a library card. From this week's activity card, here's a list of recommended books. It takes a special person to be a teacher. A teacher must enjoy being with young

people, to cope with their restlessness and immaturity, and to recognize each child as an individual with special needs. Through education and experience teachers create the environment where students can grow in knowledge and social development. The responsibility of the Denver Board of Education and the administration is to have classroom teachers who meet standards of excellence. A Colorado law provides for the suspension or dismissal of teachers for certain causes. Now the Colorado State Department of Education is proposing an amendment to the statute, which would define professional incompetency and unethical behavior as reasons for revocation of teaching credentials. Next, superintendent Dr. Joseph Brzeinski discusses this issue with two educators." [Brzeinski] "At the State Board of Education level, hearings are being held on proposed rules for revocation, suspension or annulment of teaching certificates. This would affect not only teachers but administrators and school support personnel.

Differences of opinion do exist on the impact of the rules. Our guests will help us to explore viewpoints on both sides of the issue. Mrs. Dorothy Gotlieb, Chairman of the State Board of Education. And Mr. Clarke Ballinger, the executive director of the Denver Classroom Teachers Association. Welcome. Mrs. Gotlieb, Why are these rules being proposed? [Gotlieb] "In about 1975 the state legislature passed an act which allowed the state board or mandated, pardon me, that the state board pass regulations in order for them to have the power to decertify a teacher when a cause was noted. Since that time there been many discussions. But we have a set of proposed rules and that's why." [Brzeinski] "Mr. Ballinger, there are some provisions of these rules that I understand are of concern to teachers. Briefly what is the major concern?"

[Ballinger] "Well, there are two or three what we consider major concerns. I suspect the, the most immediate concern that we have is the provision in the proposed guidelines whereby, when a charge is brought against a teacher, it is first taken to the local school board. Our concern is that there could be a 180 different interpretations of the rules and regulations. We feel that, that any charge or complaint ought to go to the State Board of Education and the, and the hearing officer. Another concern that we have is that these rules must be equally applied. There cannot be provisions in there that can apply to one group and not to another. Another concern that we have is that the rules and regulations must not permit parents, because they don't like their grade cards, to come in and complain, or teachers to complain against administrators, or administrators against, against teachers. These are some of our, our concerns and they have not been worked out."

[Brzeinski] "Mrs. Gotlieb, how would you respond to those comments?" [Gotlieb] "Well, first of all, I believe that decertification means taking away someone's livelihood. And that's a very, very serious thing. So the seriousness of each complaint has to be investigated before, even there isn't an investigation in, into the complaint. Also, I believe as Mr. Clarke Ballinger has said, that there should be equity, equity in the chart, the interpretation of the charges, and I would hope that that comes out during the promulgation of the rules. And I believe that the local level in most instances should have the first opportunity to investigate those, the complaints because that is not where the livelihood is taken away, that is merely an ex..., an investigation to find out whether that teacher should keep his job at that level or not." [Brzeinski] "You're referring to protecting teachers rights. What provisions are being made to assure that that happens?" [Gotlieb] "First of all, the hearing should bring out some reasons as to whether,

whether these rights are being upheld. And secondly, I think that during the hearing that these kinds of concerns will come out and will be dealt with by the state board." [Brzeinski] "Mr. Ballinger, do you agree that these rights can be protected?" [Ballinger] "Well I, I certainly think they can, and I'm not opposed to the concept of what we're trying to, what we're trying to do here. But it is, it is quite important that we're taking someone's certificate away. The due process must be there. The rights must be protected. And unless some of the concerns that I earlier mentioned are corrected, we feel that teachers rights cannot cannot be protected. And we see no reason why they can't be worked out." [Brzeinski] "Mrs. Gotlieb, from a state wide perspective, do you feel that this action, this proposal, that the board, the state board is, has before it, is necessary?" [Gotlieb] "I do. Because I believe that the state board has an accountability to the kids. Not only in this state, but in public education.

And were a teacher to be dismissed at a local level, even for very grave charges, the state board would have no way of taking away that person's certificate and that person could go to another state and continue to be a part of the teaching profession. Whereas the charges may be so serious that that should not be so." [Brzeinski] "We've got about a moment left. Would you want to sum up your concern? We certainly agree that educators must be accountable. And I think you've identified you are in agreement on that. But would you like to sum up your position on this? Let's start with you, Clarke." [Ballinger] "Well, I think simply stated, our position is that there's going to be a hearing on the 12th. The state board is going to meet. We feel that the state board should, should not meet and discuss these until all of the parties, the teacher groups, the administrator groups, and the State Board of Education can get together and jointly agree on the proposals that the state

board will will be dealing with." [Brzeinski] "Right. And Dorothy." [Gotlieb] "While I disagree a little bit with Mr. Ballinger, we have indeed done that and there has been great input from the teaching circles and administrative circles and into the promulgation of the rules themselves, and I'm hoping that the hearing will lead us to a very good conclusion to this." [Brzeinski] "Thank you both for giving us your prime time and your views. Thanks again." [Sardella] "Join us next week when one of our Prime Time segments will describe Channel Nine's Watch Right program, where television is used to motivate students to write creatively and to become discerning viewers. Visit your public library and check out some books. If you want your children to read, let them see you reading. Set the example by making reading a family affair. I'm Ed Sardella for Prime Time.