You’re No Fool, Nosiree!

Walt Disney’s educational I’m No Fool series (made from 1955 to 1957) are the first projected films I can remember. In second grade, Mrs. Galloway, who was probably at or exceeding retirement age, gathered us around the out-of-tune upright piano and taught us to belt out rousing renditions of My Country ‘tis of Thee and America the Beautiful.

When she tired of that (or perhaps wanted a nap behind her desk) she’d haul out the battered Korean War-era 16mm projector and spool up one of these gems:

The theme song (“Oh, I’m no fool, nosiree…”) still leaps to mind from time to time.

I wonder if schools show these anymore. Or do they merely encourage the children (like a Roadrunner cartoon) to stick their fingers into light sockets, ride their bikes off cliffs, etc.?

It also occurs to me that the series is pretty death-heavy ("But fools find out / when it's too late / that they don't live so long."). How much does a second-grader really think about what the termination of existence means? On the other hand, that's what makes this series so awesome!

The series ran thusly:

• I'm No Fool With A Bicycle (10/06/55)
• I'm No Fool With Fire (12/01/55)
• I'm No Fool As A Pedestrian (10/08/56)
• I'm No Fool with Water (11/15/56)
• I'm No Fool Having Fun (12/15/56)
• I'm No Fool in a Car (1957)
• I'm No Fool in an Emergency (1957)
• I'm No Fool in Unsafe Places (1957)
• I'm No Fool in Unsafe Places II (1957)
• I'm No Fool on Wheels (1957)
• I'm No Fool with Safety at School (1957)
• I'm No Fool with Electricity (1957)

P.S. -- Mrs. Galloway, if you're reading this, I'm sorry for being such a little asshole in class. They didn't have good ADHD meds back then.