traffic safety
A group of fifth graders at an elementary school In Brooklyn concerned about the devastation caused by drunk driving created a Public Service Announcement (PSA) directed at teenagers.
* * *
Concerned about the many traffic accidents involving children in NYC, a second grade class in Brooklyn joined a local advocacy campaign to slow traffic in their neighborhood. During the research phase, the students learned that the City Council had declined neighborhood requests to be designated a Slow Zone. To help show the widespread demand in the community, the class organized a petition drive for local residents and business owners. They explained the need for a Slow Zone before asking each person to sign their "20 is Plenty" petition and collected more than 70 signatures. The students also created slower speed limit signs to post in their community and participated in a video campaign developed by a local non-profit.
* * *
Concerned about the negative impact on children's health as well as the environment, another second grade class in Brooklyn chose to help prevent car pollution in their neighborhood. The class surveyed adults in their school to find out how many used cars, and asked them to take a pledge to use public transportation or, even better, bike or walk at least once each week. During the research phase, the class discovered that idling cars release as much pollution as moving cars. The students found out that, although NYC has passed tough anti-idling laws (no more than one minute in front of a school for example), the police do not always enforce them. The students wrote letters to the captain of their local precinct asking them to do a better job enforcing the anti-idling regulations.
A letter written by a participating second grade student:
