Educational screen & audio-visual guide (c1956-1971])

'ty Amo de Bernardis ktnstant Superintendent, Public Schools if Portland, Oregon nvolving not only the teacher but he student as well. An important part of a student's ducation is the development of kills in the selection of material. a( h day he is confronted with iiany lorms of persuasion — the )ress, radio, TV, and the large |uantity of advertising that comes n the mail to his home. All are lying to convince him and his arents to buy something or to liink in a certain way. By involviii^ the student in the evaluation )l materials, the teacher is helping lim to develop his ability to evalute effectively the various means viiich try to capture his mind or lis dollars. What, then, are some of the liieria which should be consid•red in the use of this sponsored nd free material? 1. Who authorized the material? n far too many instances, it s difficult to identify the person, )r persons, who prepared the booket or film. If the author and sponor is known, then a check can be nade of his reputation and the ource of his material. 2. Does the material try to sell omelhing? The classroom cannot )ecome a market-place. Afaterials vhich are devoted to selling a )rejudiced point of view or a name)roduct, have no place in a classoom except where a class is using hem as horrible examples. .\nd ■veil that is considered to be outide the teacher's jurisdiction. 3. Does the material tie in with he sponsor's area of interest? Often sj)onsor will be interested in ome area of education which is far 'emoved from his specially. For exmple, a food-products company nay be concerned about the teachng of history and put out mateial which will try to convey some >articu]ar point of view in the caching of history or economics vhich fits the social or political iiilosophy of the owner. Generally speaking, this type of material has a very definite bias. Even if we, too, have a similar bias, we have no right to impose it on students. There are carefully chosen textbooks available which present current issues in ways that are un(jrejudiced. Let the food company develop material in the area of food and food products, and schools can use it very profitably— if the treatment of the brand name is handled with discretion. It is in areas which textbooks and textfilms do not handle adequately that these companies can best supf)ly teaching aids for the classroom, and assuredly they should limit themselves to areas in which they can be accepted as bonafide authorities. 4. Docs the material indicate that educators have been consulted in its preparation? Education, like any business, is a technical and involved process. The educator has insights into the teaching process which can assist companies in the production of material for schools. Many sales and advertising experts do not. Sponsored materials should indicate who helped in the preparation of their content, and who detided upon the educational objectives to be met. 5. Does the material use a rifle or a shotgut} approach? Generally speaking materials which are produced for a specific curriculum area, have a rifle approach. They try to hit a definite target. Keeping the interest and maturity level of students in mind, they aim to help the teacher siumount a particular learning problem. This is much better than the shotgun method, which tries to make materials fit too many levels. It is difficult to produce a single film on steel which will be useful to fifth grade students, a Chamber of Commerce group, a foundry class, and a high school chemistry class. A few materials tan be produced which will fit a number of age or ' interest groups but it is better if they are produced for a specific purpose. The above criteria are important considerations for the teacher before using sponsored materials in the classroom. That is no small task. A great deal of effort and money could be saved if more sponsors of materials being prepared for school use would observe some of the precautions now being taken by the most well-informed, forward-looking, and service-minded sponsors of educational materials. Some of these precautions are: 1. Make a study of the school curriculum with the help of educators to determine the area where the materials could be most helpful. 2. Consult educators on the types of aids and the content which would suit the purposes of the school as well as the sponsor. 3. Send out rough drafts of the material for pre-test and evaluation before final production. 4. Make a follow-up study after the materials have been in use for a period of time to see if they are being used and how successfully. 5. Adapt the vocabulary and presentation to the maturity and interest level of prospective users. 6. Limit content to the facts desired by teachers. Avoid "grinding an axe" or promoting the sponsors' point of view. Hold advertising content to a minimum. 7. Identify authors and sources of information. 8. If teaching suggestions are to be included, get teacher help in preparing them. 9. Send the materials only to educators who request them. Avoid general distribution through the usual mailing list procedure. The day is past when educators seriously will consider throwing out all sponsored materials. This has been made impractical because leading sponsors have taken the initiative to develop materials to meet needs expressed by teachers themselves. It would be foolish to cast out materials which will enable youngsters to achieve more effectively the objectives of the school. The challenge for teachers is to choose wisely. Joint efforts of educators and sponsors are helping to i^rovide criteria for making these choices. .At the same time these efforts are furnishing guide lines so that more and more sponsors may soon be able to replace the unacceptable with the acceptable and valuable. srrppn fr AV C.n'iAe FoKr, IQ-^Q