Documentary News Letter (1944-1945)

CONTENTS FILMS IN SCHOOL 17 NOTES OF THE MONTH 18 in the minds of men by Sinclair Road 19 slow but not so sure by G. S. Bagley 20 THE SUPPLY AND DISTRIBUTION OF EDUCATIONAL films by Dorothy Grayson 2 1 films in Australia by Harry Watt 22 THE R.A.F. FILM UNIT 23 NEW NON-THEATRICAL FILMS 24 DOCUMENTARY IN DENMARK 25 film titling by Barnet Freedman 26 TELEPEDAGOGICS 27 BOOK REVIEWS 28 TWO FILMS FOR THE THEATRES 30 THE TECHNIQUE OF ANAESTHESIA 31 Published by Film Centre, 34 Soho Square, London w.l ONE SHILLING LMS IN SCHOOL Since the New Year nearly every educational association in the country has gone on record with its views on how, and by whom, teaching films ought to be produced and distributed. Representatives of the Association of Education Committees, the County Councils Association, the National Union of Teachers, the Joint Committee of the Four Secondary Associations and the Association of Teachers in Technical Institutions have subscribed to a Memorandum on the Production of Educational Films which has been submitted to the Minister of Education with a request that she shall convene a conference of all interested bodies to discuss its recommendations.1 (This document is described below as the "5-group memorandum".) Twenty-five other educational bodies attended a meeting held on February 23rd under the chairmanship of Dr. G. B. Jeffery, Director of the University of London Institute of Education, to consider a statement prepared by the Scientific Film Association, the Science Masters' Association, and the Association of Women Science Teachers. After listening to the views of the Visual Education Centre, Exeter, and the British Film Institute, the meeting subscribed to a memorandum headed, The Supply, Distribution and Appraisal of Educational Films and Related Material, which was also forwarded to the Minister of Education.2 (This document is described below as the "25-group memorandum".) Though these two documents differ in some respects, they are in agreement on basic principles. It is now clear that every educational association in the country supports the national sponsorship of educational films and recognises that their circulation must be taken out of the realm of commercial speculation. (A few educational bodies still seem to believe that, ideally, educational films ought to be made and issued like school text-books, but even the warmest supporter of the text-book theory admits that it can only be realised, if ever, in the distant future.) These views are also endorsed by the Arts Enquiry, whose chapter on educational films is reproduced by P.E.P. in a recent broadsheet, 3 and by nearly every documentary unit of standing in the country. Agreement goes deeper than mere subscription to principle. Both i the documents we have mentioned, as well as the Arts Enquiry, propose a central authority, appointed mainly or wholly by the educational world, to control film production and distribution policy. In each case, it is stressed that this authority must be independent of the Ministry of Education in status and outlook. It must reflect the views of the teaching profession and not of the Ministry. The 5-group memorandum calls for a National Committee for Educational Films which will be "largely representative of the local education authorities and the teachers". This committee, with "assessors from the Ministry", would plan education policy and arrange for films to be commissioned through the films division of the C.O.I. For each film, "one or more educational advisers" would be appointed. The 25-group memorandum calls for an Advisory Council for Visual Education, "the membership of which should be determined after consultation with the educational organisations and subject associations, and which shall include a substantial proportion of practising teachers, as well as other members appointed for their expert knowledge". This council "would correlate information and experience, initiate research, and advise the Ministry as to programmes of work to be undertaken". The Arts Enquiry calls for a Visual Education Council which shall draw up, in consultation with the films division of C.O.I., an annual programme of educational film production. This Council would also appoint teaching and subject experts to work with the producers. It would consist of "practising teachers, both in schools and universities, school inspectors, and educational administrators". Its members would be selected "for their knowledge and experience of the use of visual aids and for their standing in the teaching profession". They would not be appointed as representatives of organisations. Two of the three documents explicitly bar the British Film Institute from being the Committee or Council in question, or even from being associated with it except incidentally. The constitution of the proposed Visual Education Committee or Council is of first importance, for it will determine whether we are to have a lively, dynamic policy in visual matters or a pedestrian, bureaucratic one. If the former, the Committee must consist of members appointed for their personal qualities and not because they reflect the policy or politics of some parent organisation. The Committee must be able to stand on its own feet. It must make its decisions without thought of special interests whether these derive from the educational or the film world. (To avoid the danger that such a Committee might develop along lines which are not in the best interests of education, it might be wise to lay down that it shall make a report of its stewardship each year to a representative body of teachers— a kind of teachers' parliament.) The 25-group memorandum and the Arts Enquiry both underline the point that the new Committee must be expert, and not merely a collection of delegates, but the 5-group memorandum would make the new Committee "largely representative of the local education authorities and the teachers". Whether this means that the members of the Committee must be representative of these interests and report back to them, or whether it means merely that the members