A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing.
This well-known saying, often attributed to 17th-century English poet Alexander Pope in his 1709 work ‘An Essay On Criticism’, is often used to describe people who think that just because they know something about a subject, no matter how little, that they are an expert.
Unfortunately for them, what often happens is that they find out they really don’t know much about the subject and if they are lucky all that will happen is that they will be called to task and be a bit embarrassed.
If they are unlucky, however, the consequences can be disastrous and can result in the loss of money, a job, bodily injury or even death.
Sometimes it only takes a little bit of knowledge to avoid those same disastrous circumstances.
In this issue you will read about Keith and Jeanette Smith on behalf of the Multicultural Heritage Centre School program, Fortis Alberta and how the Alberta Farm Centre (in a future issue), visit school children to talk about the importance of electrical and farm safety.
One of the reasons why these types of presentations are effective is because they keep the message simple.
For example, in the Alberta Farm Safety Centre, which I have had the pleasure of attending on more than one occasion, the presenters tell Kindergarten through Grade 6 students that farms are dangerous places and children shouldn’t go near farm equipment, dugouts and slews, or other potentially dangerous areas of a farm unless properly supervised by a responsible adult.
Straight forward and simple and I know for myself, as a youngster growing up on an orchard, in B.C., this was the type of message my friends and I needed to hear.
Yes, my parents did instruct me on how to be safe on the orchard, but sometimes the message sinks in more if someone other than a relative delivers it.
Hands up if you remember rolling your eyes when your mother or father were trying to tell you how dangerous something could be.
“Yes Dad, I understand the tractor isn’t a go-cart and I must drive it slowly when taking a bin of apples to the packing house.”
How many times that actually happened is hard to say, but in hindsight I realize how lucky I was not to have been hurt or worse.
So thanks to these organizations that help deliver these types of safety messages to our children because even if only a small fraction of the information sinks in – sometimes a little knowledge can make all the difference.
