Redding School District

Partnership Educators,

James stood on his factory floor in Sheffield, England, wondering what to do to stay in business.   It was just a few short years earlier when he perfected a heat-treating process that made the flat wire stronger which allowed for easier, continuous, unbroken, lengths of the wire.  The wire was for hoop skirts, and during the previous years, his wire was in high demand.  Nevertheless, fashions changed and so his wire sits unused.   This inventive steelmaker came up with a plan.  He took his flatten wire and put graduated marks on them to sell to engineers as a “Steel Band Measuring Chain.”  He even made them roll-up.  They were light in weight but the cost was $17 or about $300 in today’s market.  They did sell but the cost prevented them from realizing the widespread use.

As Alvin sat in the patent office, he shuffled his papers to get ready to defend his case.  He knew they would have to understand the differences he made in order to give him an original patent.  In his patent application, he did acknowledge that he fit the spiral or helical springs, to wind up the tape, in the usual way but he proposed a novel method to attach the spring clip that locks the tape in “any desired position.”  This allowed the tape to stay open and not retract until you release the clip.  After an exhaustive inquiry, the patent was granted to Alvin Fellows of New Haven, Connecticut, for a spring-click tape measure in 1868.  Even with this very convenient combination of a case, cover plate, click spring, level, and knob, the device didn’t take over for the more popular folding wooden ruler until the 1940s.

Though not the first, Fellows design is considered the forerunner to the tape measure used today.  Countless instructional videos demonstrate tape measure use and some unique uses that don’t necessarily seem obvious.  For example, Tom Silva of the PBS show “This Old House” divides a 37 and 5/8 inch board in half without doing the math by measuring a 40-inch diagonal.  This concept blew my mind.  I know you are wondering if it really works.  The answer is yes it does.  The National Institute of Standards and Technology certify tape measure accuracy.  Six-foot tapes need to be accurate within thirty-seconds of an inch. 

Innovation takes time and at the price of the innovation before it.  Ultimately, the change comes when the innovation improves outcomes for those the innovation is used for.  As educators, we sit on the history of those that came before us.  We build on what they knew and strive to innovate to make it better for the students we serve.  "Better" comes in a variety of forms from safety to higher achievement.  Be encouraged to continue to apply your craft as you learn from those before you and build onto their work.  In the end, it is better outcomes for our students that matter.  That is the “standard” that we are held to.  Our accuracy isn’t measured within a “thirty-seconds of an inch” but in lives lifted.

When it comes to using Alvin Fellow’s tape, can we honestly say that we “measure up” by planting our seeds as the Peter, Paul and Mary song illustrates?  

Peter, Paul, and Mary – Garden Song

Or if you prefer

John Denver Cover on the Muppet Show

Have a great weekend,

Rob

Superintendent