Full Steam Ahead - Revisited!
very(It's morning at Thomas Edison Elementary School - near the end of the school year. Ms. Mason and Ms. Flowers are out for training. A substitute teacher is in the room as students enter and mill about in a very friendly and cooperative manner.)
Sub:
Good morning students. Gather round. We've got two full classes in here today. My name is Ms. Thompson and I'll be subbing for both Ms. Mason and Ms. Flowers while they are away at STEAM training. STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics.
students:
Oh, we KNOW!
Sub:
Oh, good. I can see you are a group of very bright students. You know, I have to tell you, I'm really impressed with how you came in. Your classes really get along well. Kind of like you're already a family!
(the students look at each other in silent dismay for 2 full seconds, then they burst out laughing.)
Artsy 1:
It wasn't always like that!
Stem 1:
You can say that again. We used to want to kill each other.
Artsy 2:
We used to couldn't STAND each other!
Stem 3:
And our teachers couldn't stand each other either! Ms. Mason HATED Ms. Flowers.
Artsy 3:
Yeah, and Ms. Flowers abhorred Ms. Mason!
Stem 2:
Ehem. Abhor: To regard with disgust and hatred.
All Students:
(together, sing songy)That's a STAR WORD! (students laugh)
Artsy 1:
You didn't hear about what happened here?
Sub:
No, is it a good story?
All Students:
(separately) The BEST! yeah it was awesome. It was great.
Sub:
Well, then it sounds like the perfect morning meeting. Let's get in our circle and you can tell me all about it.
(students create a semi circle with the substitute teacher center-stage. The screen drops.)
So, who's going to start this story?
Artsy 1:
I will. It started when Dr. Clark, the principal, came in and told us about this innovation competition. He was all like "Edison this" and "Edison that", and all the nerds -
Stem 1:
Excuse me?!
Artsy 1:
Oh, right, sorry -- the intellectuals ... they, of course, were all smiles.
Sub:
Good morning students. Gather round. We've got two full classes in here today. My name is Ms. Thompson and I'll be subbing for both Ms. Mason and Ms. Flowers while they are away at STEAM training. STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics.
students:
Oh, we KNOW!
Sub:
Oh, good. I can see you are a group of very bright students. You know, I have to tell you, I'm really impressed with how you came in. Your classes really get along well. Kind of like you're already a family!
(the students look at each other in silent dismay for 2 full seconds, then they burst out laughing.)
Artsy 1:
It wasn't always like that!
Stem 1:
You can say that again. We used to want to kill each other.
Artsy 2:
We used to couldn't STAND each other!
Stem 3:
And our teachers couldn't stand each other either! Ms. Mason HATED Ms. Flowers.
Artsy 3:
Yeah, and Ms. Flowers abhorred Ms. Mason!
Stem 2:
Ehem. Abhor: To regard with disgust and hatred.
All Students:
(together, sing songy)That's a STAR WORD! (students laugh)
Artsy 1:
You didn't hear about what happened here?
Sub:
No, is it a good story?
All Students:
(separately) The BEST! yeah it was awesome. It was great.
Sub:
Well, then it sounds like the perfect morning meeting. Let's get in our circle and you can tell me all about it.
(students create a semi circle with the substitute teacher center-stage. The screen drops.)
So, who's going to start this story?
Artsy 1:
I will. It started when Dr. Clark, the principal, came in and told us about this innovation competition. He was all like "Edison this" and "Edison that", and all the nerds -
Stem 1:
Excuse me?!
Artsy 1:
Oh, right, sorry -- the intellectuals ... they, of course, were all smiles.
Video Clip 1: Dr. Clark's Announcement
Dr. Clark:
Students! Get excited! You've all been entered into the Grand Trunk Railroad Innovators competition.
Students! Get excited! You've all been entered into the Grand Trunk Railroad Innovators competition.
Stem 9:
We didn't know that stuff about Thomas Edison. But we already knew we wanted to be like him!
Artsy 9:
Are you serious?! Speak for yourself, Erkle. I just wanted him to stop - like IMMEDIATELY.
Stem 8:
But he DIDN'T. He went on...
We didn't know that stuff about Thomas Edison. But we already knew we wanted to be like him!
Artsy 9:
Are you serious?! Speak for yourself, Erkle. I just wanted him to stop - like IMMEDIATELY.
Stem 8:
But he DIDN'T. He went on...
Artsy 8:
Now that's when he had MY attention
Artsy 9:
Yeah, that's when I was ready for a download of informay - c -- own.
Stem 7:
Knowledge is it's own reward, my clownish friend. Anyway, We all wanted to know what the prize was.
Stem 8:
Yeah, and Dr. Clark told us the prize was a lot of money, plus … A trip to Disneyworld!
All students:
Whooop / Yeah! (cheer)
Now that's when he had MY attention
Artsy 9:
Yeah, that's when I was ready for a download of informay - c -- own.
Stem 7:
Knowledge is it's own reward, my clownish friend. Anyway, We all wanted to know what the prize was.
Stem 8:
Yeah, and Dr. Clark told us the prize was a lot of money, plus … A trip to Disneyworld!
All students:
Whooop / Yeah! (cheer)
Artsy 1:
Oh yeah, they were geeked!
Artsy 2:
Ooooh, let me tell the next part! So, Ms. Mason's students -- that's the nerds
Stem 2:
Hey, watch it!
Artsy 2:
The science lovers, went to find supplies. That's when Ms. Flowers told us how she really felt.
Oh yeah, they were geeked!
Artsy 2:
Ooooh, let me tell the next part! So, Ms. Mason's students -- that's the nerds
Stem 2:
Hey, watch it!
Artsy 2:
The science lovers, went to find supplies. That's when Ms. Flowers told us how she really felt.
Video Clip 2: Ms. Flowers - Make It Beautiful
Artsy 3:
Yeah, I remember it like it was yesterday. We decided right then that we were gonna out-do the geek squad.
Stem 3:
Well we came back in the classroom right after the oddballs left to find supplies. We were already working on our strategy. Ms. Mason was all in!
Yeah, I remember it like it was yesterday. We decided right then that we were gonna out-do the geek squad.
Stem 3:
Well we came back in the classroom right after the oddballs left to find supplies. We were already working on our strategy. Ms. Mason was all in!
Video Clip 3: Ms. Mason - Fixing Up the World
Stem 3:
Yeah, we just knew we were going to win that competition.
Stem 4:
But when the weirdos came back in, that's when it got heated
Artsy 4:
It got heated because you kept calling us "weirdos".
Stem 2:
It got heated because you were hogging the supplies for your goofball projects that didn't even make sense.
Artsy 3:
Yours were worse than ours! What was that Tesla reject mess?
Sub:
OK. Let's keep it respectful now.
Artsy 4:
Yeah, well anyway, it was just like this, only WAY WORSE! Then the coach came in. And he was NOT Having it!
Yeah, we just knew we were going to win that competition.
Stem 4:
But when the weirdos came back in, that's when it got heated
Artsy 4:
It got heated because you kept calling us "weirdos".
Stem 2:
It got heated because you were hogging the supplies for your goofball projects that didn't even make sense.
Artsy 3:
Yours were worse than ours! What was that Tesla reject mess?
Sub:
OK. Let's keep it respectful now.
Artsy 4:
Yeah, well anyway, it was just like this, only WAY WORSE! Then the coach came in. And he was NOT Having it!
Video Clip 4: Coach - Forward
Coach:
You slackers haven't been listening to your parents. Well, now you'd better listen to me! If you're ever going to do anything good, you need DISCIPLINE! (YES SIR) When I was in the corps I had 5 challenges like this every day before breakfast! Did I dance around doing it? (NO SIR) Did I calculate how I could get out of it? (NO SIR) That's because I was too busy going FORWARD. DO YOU SLIMY WORMS HEAR ME?! (SIR, YES SIR!) Well then, get up, hustle, hustle, hustle. There's only one direction for you now. What is it people?
You slackers haven't been listening to your parents. Well, now you'd better listen to me! If you're ever going to do anything good, you need DISCIPLINE! (YES SIR) When I was in the corps I had 5 challenges like this every day before breakfast! Did I dance around doing it? (NO SIR) Did I calculate how I could get out of it? (NO SIR) That's because I was too busy going FORWARD. DO YOU SLIMY WORMS HEAR ME?! (SIR, YES SIR!) Well then, get up, hustle, hustle, hustle. There's only one direction for you now. What is it people?
Stem 4:
So coach set us straight and we got to work. And when the day of the big contest came, we went to the contest building and brought our projects out, proud.
Artsy 4:
Yeah, we were excited - even though we still wanted to kill each other.
So coach set us straight and we got to work. And when the day of the big contest came, we went to the contest building and brought our projects out, proud.
Artsy 4:
Yeah, we were excited - even though we still wanted to kill each other.
Video Clip 5: FSA ptII and Pictures of Projects
Stem 5:
Man, we were proud of those things!
Artsy 5:
Yeah we were. I had worked hard on that house
Stem 5:
But then HE showed up! -- all in black.
Sub:
Who showed up? Who is HE?
Artsy 5:
The contest judge.
All Students:
DARTH VADER NADER!
Man, we were proud of those things!
Artsy 5:
Yeah we were. I had worked hard on that house
Stem 5:
But then HE showed up! -- all in black.
Sub:
Who showed up? Who is HE?
Artsy 5:
The contest judge.
All Students:
DARTH VADER NADER!
Video Clip 6: Nader - Theme Music and Intro
Artsy 6:
That's when I showed him our windmill. We worked like crazy on that thing, Ms. Thompson.
Artsy 7:
And do you know what he called it?
Sub:
No. What did he say?
That's when I showed him our windmill. We worked like crazy on that thing, Ms. Thompson.
Artsy 7:
And do you know what he called it?
Sub:
No. What did he say?
Video Clip 7a: Garbage
Stem 6:
Yeah, then we showed him our magnetic car - Man, we had it working and everything. We just didn't have a top on it.
Stem 7:
But you know what he said?
Yeah, then we showed him our magnetic car - Man, we had it working and everything. We just didn't have a top on it.
Stem 7:
But you know what he said?
Video Clip 7b: Garbage
Artsy 8:
Yeah, then we brought OUR car.
Artsy 9:
Man, that thing was fresh
Artsy 8:
It was lit!
Artsy 9:
But these were Dr. Nader's exact words:
Yeah, then we brought OUR car.
Artsy 9:
Man, that thing was fresh
Artsy 8:
It was lit!
Artsy 9:
But these were Dr. Nader's exact words:
Video Clip 7c: Garbage
Artsy 1:
Then he took one look at our solar powered fun house and said:
Then he took one look at our solar powered fun house and said:
Video Clip 7d: Garbage
Sub:
Wow, that's harsh.
Stem 8:
Well we thought maybe we would win because everyone else had bombed. Our project was super awesome , and it worked!
Stem 9:
But he just gave us that icy-mean look through his black helmet and said:
Wow, that's harsh.
Stem 8:
Well we thought maybe we would win because everyone else had bombed. Our project was super awesome , and it worked!
Stem 9:
But he just gave us that icy-mean look through his black helmet and said:
Video Clip 7e: Garbage
Stem 1:
Then he blamed it all on Ms. Flowers and Ms. Mason
Artsy 2:
He said they were too busy fighting to help us make anything worthwhile. Then he turned to all of us and said:
Then he blamed it all on Ms. Flowers and Ms. Mason
Artsy 2:
He said they were too busy fighting to help us make anything worthwhile. Then he turned to all of us and said:
Video Clip 7f: It's ALL GARBAGE (with the stomp)
Artsy 3:
Then he disappeared in a cloud of smoke
Artsy 4:
Yeah, BLACK SMOKE!
Stem 2:
We were all super-bummed. Ms. Flowers was going to go fight for us, but Ms. Mason stopped her and said that Dr. Nader was right.
Stem 3:
Yeah, she said if we would have worked together, we could have made something great for our school rather than just stuff for ourselves.
Artsy 4:
Then they apologized to each other and hugged each other.
Artsy 3:
But the rest of us were still depressed.
Then he disappeared in a cloud of smoke
Artsy 4:
Yeah, BLACK SMOKE!
Stem 2:
We were all super-bummed. Ms. Flowers was going to go fight for us, but Ms. Mason stopped her and said that Dr. Nader was right.
Stem 3:
Yeah, she said if we would have worked together, we could have made something great for our school rather than just stuff for ourselves.
Artsy 4:
Then they apologized to each other and hugged each other.
Artsy 3:
But the rest of us were still depressed.
Clip 8: Mason/Flowers - That's When You Rise
Stem 4:
Well how can you stay depressed after that?
Artsy 5:
Yeah, we decided right then and there that we would come back stronger next year.
Stem 4:
But then here comes Benny with the bucket (pointing to Stem 5).
Sub:
The bucket? What's the bucket?
Stem 5:
The quote bucket! We have a bucket full of stuff that Thomas Edison said. It's my job to carry it, but we never paid much attention to it until that day. But listen to this stuff:
(he/she reaches into the bucket takes out three cards and hands one to each of the students on either side.)
"Many of life's failures are people who didn't realize how close they were to success when they gave up."
Reader #2:
Listen to this: "Just because something doesn't do what you planned it to do doesn't mean it's worthless."
Reader #3:
And he said this too: "To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk." We looked around at our junk -- our "garbage" projects and we started thinking...
All students:
And that's when Dr. Clark came in.
Well how can you stay depressed after that?
Artsy 5:
Yeah, we decided right then and there that we would come back stronger next year.
Stem 4:
But then here comes Benny with the bucket (pointing to Stem 5).
Sub:
The bucket? What's the bucket?
Stem 5:
The quote bucket! We have a bucket full of stuff that Thomas Edison said. It's my job to carry it, but we never paid much attention to it until that day. But listen to this stuff:
(he/she reaches into the bucket takes out three cards and hands one to each of the students on either side.)
"Many of life's failures are people who didn't realize how close they were to success when they gave up."
Reader #2:
Listen to this: "Just because something doesn't do what you planned it to do doesn't mean it's worthless."
Reader #3:
And he said this too: "To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk." We looked around at our junk -- our "garbage" projects and we started thinking...
All students:
And that's when Dr. Clark came in.
Video Clip 9: Dr. Clark - Make the Most
Dr. Clark:
I heard the bad news students - but I heard the good news too. You learned the most valuable lesson an innovator could learn. You learned that the greatest problem solving resource we have is Unity. It's the power of US.
I heard the bad news students - but I heard the good news too. You learned the most valuable lesson an innovator could learn. You learned that the greatest problem solving resource we have is Unity. It's the power of US.
Artsy 6:
While Dr. Clark was telling us about working together, we were merging our projects, turning them into something beautiful.
Stem 7:
Something super-smart!
Artsy 6:
We made
All students:
The home of the future
Artsy 7:
An awesome futuristic house
Stem 8:
Powered by wind and water
Artsy 8:
With a super cool electric car in the garage
Stem 9:
That runs on wind-charged batteries and floats on magnets
Artsy 9:
And goes FAST!
Sub:
Wow, that's an amazing story!
Artsy 1:
Yeah, but it's not over yet! See, quote bucket Benny had sneaked out while we were working.
Stem 1:
And right then he came running back through the door, pointing behind him, saying, "It's coming, it's coming!"
While Dr. Clark was telling us about working together, we were merging our projects, turning them into something beautiful.
Stem 7:
Something super-smart!
Artsy 6:
We made
All students:
The home of the future
Artsy 7:
An awesome futuristic house
Stem 8:
Powered by wind and water
Artsy 8:
With a super cool electric car in the garage
Stem 9:
That runs on wind-charged batteries and floats on magnets
Artsy 9:
And goes FAST!
Sub:
Wow, that's an amazing story!
Artsy 1:
Yeah, but it's not over yet! See, quote bucket Benny had sneaked out while we were working.
Stem 1:
And right then he came running back through the door, pointing behind him, saying, "It's coming, it's coming!"
Video Clip 10a: Vader music - Judge enters, stands, then looks at project
Artsy 2:
Dr. Nader looked at our project.
Stem 2:
and he looked again ... And then he said:
Dr. Nader looked at our project.
Stem 2:
and he looked again ... And then he said:
Video Clip 10b: Winners Everyone!
Stem 3:
That's how STEM became STEAM for us.
Artsy 1:
That's how we became a family!
Stem 1:
AND won a trip to Florida!
Sub:
You guys are gonna make me cry in the morning meeting. That was such a great story! Maybe you should write a play about it. I bet I could write a great title song for it. It might go something like this: -- If you pick up on it, just jump in.
That's how STEM became STEAM for us.
Artsy 1:
That's how we became a family!
Stem 1:
AND won a trip to Florida!
Sub:
You guys are gonna make me cry in the morning meeting. That was such a great story! Maybe you should write a play about it. I bet I could write a great title song for it. It might go something like this: -- If you pick up on it, just jump in.