About Safety is a children's educational television program which originated in 1972. It was produced by the Mississippi Authority for Educational Television. In the 3 to 6 minute shorts, marionettes, most notably Clyde Frog, taught children about safety and first aid. Mischievous Clyde has a distinctive, high-pitched voice and would get himself into various troubles. The show illustrated dangers, ranging from traffic, guns, and tornadoes. About Safety ran for 47 episodes and the shows were quite successful. MAETV syndicated them to public television stations throughout the United States.[1]
The character of Clyde Frog later appeared in another MAETV show, Clyde Frog Show, which taught children about self-esteem, feelings, and attitudes, and ran for ten episodes. An animated version of Clyde Frog has been featured in several episodes of South Park as a favorite toy of Eric Cartman.
Episodes of the show failed to include a copyright notice and were released before 1978, so are, therefore in the public domain in the United States.
Educational goals
The current Mississippi Public BroadcastingSchool Resource Guide summarizes the goals of About Safety: "Clyde Frog and his puppet friends learn school safety, fire safety and first aid. The open-ended lessons are designed to help elementary children develop concepts of safe living. The puppets dramatize situations that explain the need for safety rules and demonstrate safe and unsafe activities."
By grade level, the specific goals are: Kindergarten: Demonstrate safe behavior in daily activities.
First grade: Explain the importance of first aid and emergency assistance; explain ways of preventing accidents; explain the importance of safety on the school bus and playground.
Second grade: Explain the potential results of accidents. Third grade: Identify the safety procedures to follow in case of natural or man-made disasters.
Episodes
There are 47 segments total, each 3 to 6 minutes long. The segments were grouped roughly by subject into 16 15-minute episodes by MAETV in 1976.
Group 101
Clyde Learns School Bus Rules
Clyde Waits for the School Bus
Clyde Gets off the School Bus
Group 102
Clyde Walks to School
Clyde Walks from School
Clyde Finds His Way to School
Group 103
Clyde on the Safety Patrol
Clyde Explores the Way to School
Clyde at the Bus Stop
Group 104
Clyde on the Playground
Clyde Learns About Classroom Safety
Clyde Gets in Trouble at School
Group 105
Clyde on the Safety Council
Clyde Learns Responsibility
Clyde Walks the Halls
Group 106
Clyde Sets an Example
Clyde Learns About Traffic Signals
Clyde Learns About Reflective Tape
Group 107
Clyde Goes Trick-or-Treating
Clyde on Halloween
Clyde Reports His Accident
Group 108
Clyde at Home
Clyde Gets a Taste of Kitchen Safety
Clyde Discovers Bathroom Safety
Group 109
Clyde Learns About Fire Safety
Clyde Learns About Clothing Fires
Clyde Learns About Gun Safety
Group 110
Clyde Learns About Fireworks
Clyde and the Firecracker
Clyde Learns About First Aid
Group 111
Clyde Learns About Winter Safety
Clyde Learns About Safe Sledding
Clyde Learns About Baby-sitting
Group 112
Clyde Visits the Farm
Clyde Rides in a Car
Clyde Reads Traffic Signs
Group 113
Clyde Takes a Hike
Clyde on the Railroad Tracks
Clyde Goes Hitchhiking
Group 114
Clyde and the Tornado
Clyde Flies a Kite
Clyde Learns About Water Safety
Group 115
Clyde Takes a Swim
Clyde Learns About Germs
Clyde Examines the Medicine Cabinet
Group 116
Clyde Tests His Bicycle
Clyde Enjoys Bicycle Safety
Summaries
The Hawaii Department Of Education website lists summaries for 19 of the 47 episodes, as follows:
Clyde learns School Bus Rules, A bus accident happens when Clyde Frog and his puppet friends ignore safety rules.
Clyde Gets off the School Bus, Clyde Frog and his puppet friends participate in a school bus safety contest.
Clyde Walks to School, Clyde Frog and his puppet friend Andy walk to school unsafely.
Clyde on the Safety Patrol, Clyde Frog panics when faced with school patrol responsibilities.
Clyde Walks from School, Clyde Frog is the subject of a TV special on walking home safely.
Clyde learns About Reflective Tape, Clyde Frog stumbles over his bicycle in the dark.
Clyde learns About Fire Safety, Clyde Frog learns fire safety tips when his toy is ignited by a campfire.
Clyde learns About Classroom Safety, Clyde Frog reads a story about school accidents.
Clyde on the Playground, Clyde Frog ends up in the hospital after playing baseball unsafely.
Clyde Goes Trick-or-Treating, Clyde Frog wears a dark costume with a poorly fitting mask.
Clyde Enjoys Bicycle Safety, Clyde Frog learns important safety tips while competing in a marathon bike rally.
Clyde Rides in a Car, Clyde Frog breaks safety rules and gets into trouble during a car ride with his father.
Clyde Gets in Trouble at School, Clyde Frog learns that he must practice safety, not just know the rules.
Clyde learns About First Aid, Clyde Frog learns first aid for bleeding and sprained ankles while reading about one of his ancestors.
Clyde Takes a Hike, While hiking with his puppet friends, Clyde Frog learns to recognize poison ivy the hard way.
Clyde Flies a Kite, Clyde Frog and his friend Andy learns from a book character how to fly a kite safely.
Clyde learns About Germs, Clyde Frog and his friend Max look at germs through a microscope and learn how to care for cuts and bleeding.
Clyde at Home, After several minor accidents, Clyde Frog learns that safety also must be practiced at home.
Clyde learns About Gun Safety, Clyde Frog almost loses his life when his friend Andy plays with his father's real gun.
