Class 13

Introduction

Safety is a job that never ends for the agricultural education teacher. Teachers have a special responsibility when it comes to safety for their students. Their responsibility is to anticipate problems and to prevent them from becoming safety incidents. In order to do this, teachers should develop and implement a systematic plan for student safety. There are many ways to meet that requirement.

One way is to conduct a structured safety analysis of each facility for which you have primary responsibility. If you elect to use the procedure outlined in this lesson, you will first define the facility to gain an overview of the setting. This overview should provide a broad overlook to see what general areas need to be analyzed. The next step is to analyze each general area in detail. Look for potential hazards: hazardous materials, dangerous materials, materials flow problems, routine problems, storage problems, anchoring of equipment, tool maintenance -- all these other things that we talked about earlier. Correct as many problems as you can immediately. For those problems you cannot fix immediately, plan solutions and ask for help as needed. Document all of these steps in writing and be sure your next level supervisors are aware of your safety needs. Continuously monitor your plan to make sure that your original assessment and analysis are still accurate.

In the classroom a teacher's special responsibility includes setting rules. Just as important as setting rules is enforcing them. Finally, you need to teach, test and review safety. Teach safety procedures and the safe operation of any type of equipment that might be hazrdous. Test the student's knowledge of the safety as well as their ability to use the equipment safely. Keep the tests on file, review and practice safety procedures and document the review.

Learning Objectives

I. Identify safety concerns in schools as a whole, agricultural education laboratories and classrooms, and SAE sites.

II. Conduct a safety analysis of an ag ed facility.

Instructional Activities

Take the Safety pre-test to see how much you know. 

I. Identify safety concerns in schools as a whole, agricultural education laboratories and classrooms, and SAE sites.

• Teach the Basic Principles to Prevent Back Injury
• Objects we often think are harmless are very hazardous: Consider A Sleeping Giant
• View reported accidents to the Bureau of Labor Statistics News, Workplace Injuries and Illnesses in 1998
• Read OSHA Workplace Violence Fact Sheet to anticipate safety problems.
• View the Powerpoint in the Class Visuals section
• The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has created a list of self checklists just for agricultural education.
  

II. Conduct a safety analysis of an ag ed facility.

• View the Powerpoint in the Class Visuals section

III. Prepare a plan to correct all safety problems identified

• View the Powerpoint in the Class Visuals section

Class Visuals

• View the Powerpoint on Safety and view the transcript.

Assignments

• Create a safety assessment for a laboratory. If you are not currently teaching, conduct an assessment of any type laboratory with the permission of the teacher or researcher who is responsible for the laboratory.