Educational film magazine; (19-)

A QUESTIONNAIRE ON FILM TEACHING Views of a School Superintendent Based Upon Two Years' Use of Motion Pictures By a. G. Balcom Assistant Superintendent of Tublie Schools, Newark, N. J. TO crystallize the subject and present it in the form of specific questions and answers for the benefit of educators who are using motion picture films as a means of instruction and those who are thinking of doing so, I have compiled the following series of ques- tions and answers which I hope will be found of some practical value to the thousands who are perhaps asking themselves these very questions: 1. To what extent will the film sup- plant present methods of teaching? My answers to these questions are based on two years' experience in try- ing to link up the film to the school program. No one can tell to what ex- tent the film will supplant present methods of teaching. That it will be- come an important factor as a means of instruction I do not question. The fundamental principles of human ac- tivity do not change but the means of bringing things to pass are constant- ly changing. In transportation the fundamental principle "To convey from one place to another" is the same now as a thousand years ago, but there has been a great evolution in the methods employed. The fundamental principles of teaching are the same to- day as they were in the days of Pes- talozzi, but there have been changes in subject matter and methods since that time. 2. Will the use of the film enable children to get an education with comparatively little effort? My direct answer to this would be an emphatic No! A wise use of the film may make the path more attractive and give a joyous zeal in surmounting the difficulties but the fact remains that the work involved must be done by the individual who is in the process of getting an education. We make our bodies and minds stronger by exercising them. The men and women who have attained success in their chosen fields have done so by hard work. The good teacher is the one who inspires the pupils to do their work, guid- ing them here and suggesting there. If the film is rightly used and the proper reaction be developed after its showing, it will lead to greater activity on the part of the pupils through a greater interest in the subject. 3. Are we likely to go to extremes in the use of the film in attempting to teach some things that can be more effectively and economically taught in other ways? ■ I fear that this very thing will occur. Only a few days ago I talked with a principal who is most enthusiastic re- garding the possibilities of the film as a means of instruc- tion. He thought the time would come when the film would be used extensively in teaching all subjects and illustrated how he thought it might help in teaching the mechanics of arithmetic. Those processes of education requiring A. G. Balcom repetition and drill can only be learned by doing them many times. Therefore I cannot see how the film would render very much aid along this line. I know of no teacher who has as yet exhausted all of the resources of visual aids, such as the map, chart, graph, exhibit, picture stereograph, and slide. There are numberless things that may be better taught through the use of one or a combination of the above mentioned aids than the film, in my judgment, and certainly more economically. 4. As a whole, have educators been ultra conservative toward the film? I think this is true. We have had too much the attitude of "The man from Missouri—you'll have to show me." While the teachers and preach- ers have been waiting "to be shown" the commercial interests of the coun- try have monopolized the film for en- tertainment purposes only. The in- dustry has grown by leaps and bounds until it has reached the position of third among the great industries of the country. The film has become the popular medium of entertainment. The non-theatrical demand for films, until recently, has been so meager that producers have not found it worth while to give much thought to it. When a sufficient number of educators throughout the country have a vision as to the possibilities of the film to supplement and vitalize classroom instruc- tion and influence boards of education to appropriate money for the rental and purchase of films the same as textbooks and other school equipment are supplied, then there will be another angle to the situation and producers will sit up and take notice. It is not beyond the realm of possi- bility for boards of education to take a hand in production. 5. In supplying films for educational use will there be a tendency to make them too pedantic? Very few films, so far, have been produced primarily for school use. There is a cry far and near for this type of film. Are we sure we know just what we want, and in supplying this need will there be a tendency to include in the titles and pictures all of the points involved in teach- ing the subject illustrated by the film, or do we want the type where the pictures and titles flow along in a perfectly human way? It is assumed that the film is only one of many sources of information to be used in taking up a subject and that it will supplement and vitalize the textbook. In my judg- ment, the use to which a film may be put depends more upon the vision of the teacher than the character of the film itself. For some time I have made a practice of re- viewing all films and assembling their titles in what I call a "digest" and sending this digest to the schools two 6