Steam Engines and Educational Opportunities

[Cedge]

Recently, I was asked to visit a local middle school with a couple of steam engines to share with the students. Yesterday as the day and I dragged myself out of bed at 5:00 am to get ready and loaded up. I arrived a the school some 30 miles away at 7:00 am and we set up in the school library.

As the photos show, I chose the Jensen model 51, my Model D Cretors popcorn engine and the venerable Jensen model 100 workshop to make the trip. All were good choices and the kids loved them. They were all large enough to allow everyone to see them and grasp how the tools they'd studied were being used to create "work".

The original plan was to share the engines with 4 groups of 6th graders who had just finished a course of study concerning simple and compound tools. However, before the day was over, I'd presented the same basic discussion to a total of six groups, ranging from 45-50 kids each.

One of the most enjoyable groups almost wasn't included. The teacher who invited me shyly slipped up to me and asked If she could ask a large favor. She wanted to invite the special education students to come see the display and have a few minutes to spend with me. I have a real soft spot for those who live life while dealing with such challenges, so I not only agreed, but chose to let them have the same "hands on" experience that I'd been allowing the other kids. This idea seemed to worry the teachers a bit, but they finally agreed, but only "if I thought it would be okay".

As it turned out, this class, which is normally considered "of below average abilities", not only behaved marvelously, they showed honest excitement, a whole lot of curiosity and much more of a natural understanding of the mechanics of these engines than some of the more "advanced" students. Their rather insightful questions were anything but " below average". In short... they made the whole thing twice the fun.

If you are ever offered the chance to share your engines with students, please do not hesitate to do it. Yesterday was among the most rewarding days I've spent and I got to run the engines too. Now that, my friends, is a bonus if ever there was one.

Steve

 

[ChooChooMike]

Congrats & Kudos to you Steve for educating these kids

I like the angle of the last photo that shows the Non-Fiction on the back walls !! How true is that

Mike

 

[rickharris]

Kids with "special educational needs " SEN as we say over here - are often highly kinesethic oriented learners. i.e. they like / need to have hands on and often turn out to be highly skilled and patient workers.

 

[rake60]

Sounds like it must have been a great day Steve.

I admire your willingness to do those kinds of educational displays.

One question.
Who's that old balding guy in the middle of that 3ed picture doing the talking?
I'm sure it wasn't me. I was at work yesterday!

A second Kudos for your efforts with the kids.

Rick

 

[CrewCab]

Steve,
That's absolutely brilliant, well done 8)

I know it was an early start ......... but at the end of the day it seemed very well worth it.

As for the old bald guy, as "I resemble that remark" I have no further comment

Dave

 

[Bogstandard]

Great stuff Steve, playing to the crowd again.

But on a more serious note, if just one of your appreciative audience, whether it be able bodied, mentally or physically challenged, has a spark brought to life by your selfless act, and decides to go further by what they have seen, either into modelling or engineering then all your efforts are worthwhile. Even if that doesn't happen, at least the children have been shown there is more to life than what they think is the norm.

Well done.

John

 

[bretk]

Steve,

Very nice of you to help educate the younger populace on the steam engine, unfortunately kids today don't know where power comes from anymore. Just from a plug in the wall. :'(

Also VERY nice Cretors engine! I am in process of restoring one myself, although it will not be anywhere close to that nice.

Regards, Bret

 

[Philjoe5]

Nice going Steve. Let them know there's more to life than a "virtual" one,

Cheers,
Phil

 

[zeusrekning]

Steve, looks like these educational displays may become a regular occurance. It is good that there is someone around here doing things like this for the kids.
Tim

 

[Cedge]

I was quite pleased with the intense interest shown by these kids. There was only a very small number who were disengaged, but even they were looking on, rather than creating any problems. One group had a student with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) and was pointed out by his teacher as someone to watch closely for disruptions and inappropriate behavior. I thought she would crap her pants when I asked him to be my "assistant engineer". (to have him where I could watch him quite closely) It turned out to be the right thing to have done. He locked his attention in on the steam engine and it stayed there, as he took over the duties of watching water levels and the pressure gauge. Trust me... he took his position very seriously, even to the point of making sure no one got too close.

He was especially fun to watch because he was so focused that you could watch him process the flow of questions and answers and then you could see the light go on in his eyes, as something clicked and then he'd come up with some pretty challenging questions of his own. His teacher later told me that she'd had him in her class for two years and had never seen him make it through a whole class without some sort of outburst. Small success?... maybe... but it was a definitely day I believe he'll long remember.

I was also gratified at the number of girls who showed interest in the mechanical aspects of the engines. Each group had at least one who was into it. One group had 3 girls that the teachers had to almost drag away from the library for their next class.

The middle school is located in a rural area in the next county over from mine. They do not get the level of funding that the larger "city schools" get, so they are pretty darned creative at using available resources. I have already been asked if I'd be willing to repeat the event next year and I've agreed to do so. The sad part is that I've offered to do the same type of thing in my own more populous and better funded school district, several times, and have had exactly zero response to my offers.

I don't charge for doing this. I simply use it as an opportunity to promote the live steam hobby. I definitely don't try to sell anything unless specifically asked.

Tim...
Your group of cub scouts was just as much fun and getting their parents attention was a great thing. I'll be happy to do it again when you need me to.

John...
We've discussed this aspect before and we both agree. If only one kid out of 1000 makes a choice to look into engineering or the metals trades from my efforts, then I've scored large. I'll probably never know if it happens or not... but that one kid will know..... and that kind of immortality I can happily live with... er uh... die with... aw hell....LOL

Steve

 

[Bernd]

Steve,

Those pictures and your words leaves only one word to explain it all "Priceless" :bow: :bow:

Perhaps steam engines will be in their future. With the price of fuel going up we may be driving steam powered cars using coal dust as fuel. Think about.

Bernd

 

[bretk]

Bernd,

Back in the early 80's the Chessie looked at using steam engines again and ran trials with the 614. Boy wouldn't that be something to see ;D ;D Probably just a pipe dream with all the maintinence issues though. :-\

 

[Bernd]

Bernd,

Back in the early 80's the Chessie looked at using steam engines again and ran trials with the 614. Boy wouldn't that be something to see ;D ;D Probably just a pipe dream with all the maintinence issues though. :-\

Yup, I remember that. There was also a group that had designed a modern steam engine. There was a concept picture of it back in Model Railroader many years ago. The name was something like the National Coal Association or something like that. I'd have to dig it out the magazine. I think it's in the attic.

You never know. :-\ Can you imagine a steam engine run by a computer?

Bernd

 

[shred]

That's cool. Years ago I worked for Atari and was invited to a class to do a demo on computers and games. I brought game system disassembled into parts, and we assembled it piece by piece over a couple class periods, then fired it up and played with it (I wonder if something similar could be done with a 'big' model engine?). It was kinda scary thinking about it, but it turned out to be a lot of fun.

 

[lathe nut]

Cedge , I can understand the feeling that you had, years ago when I had a Lawmower repair shop, the school board came to me asking if I could put a program together to teach a small engine course to some student that they ABC's, the ones that did not fit in the planned system, so I put a work program together and told them what I wanted to teach it, they then said you should meet them first, they are terrible, met them and fell in love with them, buy the end of the course they had there self esteem restored and they were great mechanics, we are were winners, the school board came in the last day of class, I asked a little black girl to come to the front of the class, with a 3 1/2 Briggs and Stratton on the table, she put it together naming each parts and the function there of, putting it all together finger tight with in about 10 minutes, I hope and think that I did make a difference in there lives, they did in mine, good for you, Lathe Nut

 

[Cedge]

Lathe Nut and Shred
You both know the feeling when you see that light go on in a kid's head, when the whole world has convinced him he doesn't even have a bulb. As she was growing up, my wife and I taught my daughter to respect those who struggle, with the same treatment she would give her typical peers.

Her high school had a fairly large (approximately 20) Downs Syndrome kids. These kids have to fight daily just to maintain, quite often, small skills, but they are usually pretty happy campers with marvelous attitudes. One little girl in this class admired my daughter to the point of even wanting to dress like her. She would position herself so that Christy, my daughter, would have to pass by her during class changes, so that she could say Hi to her. At first this made Christy a little uncomfortable, but she always spoke back in acknowledgement.

As it happened, the girl, Joy, was seen crying in the hall and Christy got word of it. She made her way to where Joy was and asked what was the matter. Joy was reluctant to say, but finally admitted she was hungry and had no money for lunch. Christy cut class and took Joy to the cafeteria, bought her lunch and then joined her while she ate. Joy did this again the next day and for the next several days, until Christy learned Joy had simply forgotten her lunch money the first time and was perpetrating a con in order to get to spend time with her.

Christy was a cheerleader at the school and it wasn't long before a few wayward comments were made by other "elites" about the lunch company Christy was keeping. She took umbrage and made a point of walking past the Cheerleader table, with Joy in tow, to a table across the room. This went on for a couple of weeks, before the cheerleaders came over and asked her to rejoin them at their designated table. Christy agreed, but only if Joy could come as well.

Long story short.... Before long all the Downs girls were sitting at the special table and the cheerleaders soon became mentors to them all... even to the point of teaching them to cheer and having them join them to cheer at an at home football game.

Proud?... that doesn't even come close to what we felt when we learned of her actions. She never mentioned what she had done. The special needs teacher sought us out to share it. You sometimes never know if your words "take".... even with your own kids.

Today she is finishing up her first year teaching 5th graders. She had to admit to herself that as much as her heart wanted to teach special needs kids, she simply wasn't emotionally up to handling the deep attachments she knew she would make, long term.

Steve

 

[Circlip]

You should be real proud Steve, you've obviously brought her up to realise it takes real spheroids to have principles and integrity and to be an INDIVIDUAL, not a sheep. Best regards Ian