Visual Education (Jan 1923-Dec 1924)

January, 19 2 5 How a County Department of Visual Instruction Operates H. S. Upjohn Director of Visual Education, Los Angeles County, California THE work of the Department of Visual Instruction opened in the office of the County Superintendent of Schools in Los Angeles County in March, 1916. This is probably the only instance of a county's organizing a department of this kind; such departments are generally conducted by state universities at state expense. One result of this circumstance is that the money available each year is limited and the work done by this department is such as can be accomplished by similar departments in large cities where a sum not exceeding $10,000 a year can be made available. At the present time the department consists of a Director, who is also an Assistant Superintendent of Schools and is thus able to give only a limited amount of time to the work of the department ; an Assistant Director, who handles the routine work of the office; a technical assistant who acts as photographer and does anything from carpenter work to messenger service, as occasion may require, and a stenographic clerk. Starting the Slide Collection One of the first efforts of the department was to secure free films from industrial concerns all over the country and to circulate these films among schools owning motion-picture projectors. This type of service, however, was soon found to be unsatisfactory and was abandoned. At the time there was practically no money available for the purchase of film and little money for any kind of constructive work. The Director therefore adopted the plan of organizing a photographic laboratory where slides could be made, and this has been perhaps the most useful single step thus far taken. Since free slide collections proved just as unsatisfactory for circulation as free films, the colleciion of a stock of negatives from which new and replacement slides could be made was begun early in the history of the department. This collection has grown steadily, until at the present time it includes more than 6,000 negatives, some of these of great value. The "Set" Plan for Slides The plan adopted for the circulation of slides was the "set" plan, with thirty-two slides to a set. Notes to accompany these sets were prepared, largely by the staff of the office, which also draws maps, diagrams, and even pictures when in organizing sets the desired materials cannot be obtained from other sources. We have also been successful in securing the co-operation of teachers and classes in preparing notes. For instance, the notes for our set on the Los Angeles Aqueduct, and many of the pictures as well, came tovus as the result of the work of Miss Elizabeth Rhoades, of the Boyle Heights Junior High School, Los Angeles. The notes were at first printed, but this method was found to be too expensive and they are now mimeographed and mailed separately by first-class mail. At the present time some two hundred sets are in circulation. An idea of the method followed may be gained from the following extract from our catalog : Set No. 642— The California Redwood Industry. Colored. Set No. 643 — Story of the Los Angeles Aqueduct. Photograph from collection of Baker Iron Works, Los Angeles. TO TEACH THE CONSTRUCTION OF A STEEL FRAME BUILDING This view is typical of the industrial studies in the negative collection of the Visual Education Division. Pictures of this kind, showing significant action, are especially favored in the development of the collection.