Educational film magazine; (January-December 1920)

Yoa cannot tlod^e them; so mimt mre yxm going to do it? Sav what you will aarainst them, oppose them that is TOUT wish, call them a fad, deride them as being p and trashv. make tun of them, TTt;»HorT^ them. 3res, evoi lit them, but Tou cannot alter the fact. The modoa pic- re industry has iarri-red the attacks of competition in the Ids of amusement It has weathered the storms of bosi- difficnlties and mechanical obstacles. Yoa cannot sue it away, .\notha course is far more becoming, mely. vou should accept the best there is in motion rtures and build ap«n that. Happily, prejudices though long standing are gradnally sappearing, and quite recently an uncommon intHCst has Teloped in that field of education commonly called risoal stniction. Preachers have observed that films, like books, e to be fudged by content, not by the BoeckainEal con- ruction- and that after all there may be a place in ike .arch for projection apparatus, just the same as there is plice for musical instruments. Teachers have found diat )t all films are vicious. vTilgar. obscene: in fact, some nre experienced instances where a reel of modoB pictiiie iK actually contained more teaching value than mairr iges of printed matter. At first thought it seems quite scranze that schools icald have been so slow to accept so valuable an instm- (en; for education as the scre«u We are not surprised ciie lethargy of the church because we rather expected e church to be ultra conservatrve. ChCHCHES WoRKtSG CoXSTKCCriTELT Quite singularly the churches have actually dooe moie instructive and effective w^ork with the screai dian have schools. When we remember that only a few hsadied ears ago men were exconuBimicated or killed for heresy dared to say the eardt and not the sun moved: when ur own forebears burned witches at the stake and did so 1 ie name of religion: whau within the memory of every dult present, there were and still are godly old saints dk> associate the violin with the devil and any other tfaaa laccompanied singing as sacreligious: when we observe tolerance evai at the present day, we would not be snr- riied if the church would actually be the last to accept uch an unconventional instrument as a motion picture oaine. The Methodist Church was responsible for the nos: spectacular motion picture scoop of last year at &>- u=bus. Ohio. The Catholic Church has formulated as ictive motion picture policy. Oth« Protestant bodies aie :o—ing to realize that good motion pictures, like good Moks. are able to iitwtiimti' to the glorification of God md tbe ^tiNnldii^ of Hts Kingdom here on earth. Bat tttea we see s^ook, which should be the founLiin of iroad libexal ririnfciiig, actBaDy rejecting the motion pic~ nre on ac t jamA oi fKxfm£ee, or otho- trivial reasons, we ire nBy>Ie to Baderstaiid die l ethaigj of the teaching {hto- In the aaaller nmTmiiiii r iri. wbece oppoctMities for w>w> n iafafd aHHEoaoC aie not to be iiad, Aae alwqps Exists ^ seed for winlesaHe leoeatioa amd pkasan. Rural people seed tfae braadeaiztg fnfWiin' of Ae Urn even more acotely dtan do the city people^ The fanKr needs mental exercise oc exhilaiatkn and pkysical rdais- tioe. Social oppoitadties aie few. The loceiiness of seclusioa and IsolatiaB dtiics many a boy and girl to sedk his or ho- fotHie TocAiaB is Ae city. What an opportrnkj b offered the ngaaiovs and dear-risioned rural teadber, especially in ceasoBdated se&ook! 1 HE Idle Schoolhocse a.nd Church: .\.n OppoKrtnarr The coming of prohibition has closed the saloon. Labor z:w works the fewest number of hours and has the sreatest amount of leisare. How will this leisure be spent? ^iihin walking distance of every home, in everv citv com- ~-.ir-itv. th«e are sch.:o[hoases idle at least 30 per .^mL of Lie daytime during nine months and closed for three E.^Qths during the summer. Near by are churches which represent an investment of millions in the aggregate, but used, possibly, not more than eight hours a week. Many or them are attractive structures, comiortablv seated, well illuminated and exceUoitly equipped with wonderful musical instmrnents which remain silent except for an hour or two weekly. What an opportunity is offered here tor wideawake msa and womoi for social welfare work! Churches, schoolhouses. libsaries and town halls repre- sent millions of dollars of public money. No business or private entHprise would think of closing up its doors even for a few days, and yet Sunday is the onlv time most churches open their doors. Saturday and Sunday the schools are closed. Town hall; may be the scene of an occasional caocos, indignation meeting or a justice court, when some yonngsto^ gets into trouble trying to save him- self from dying of amuL The church deplores the worldi- ness of the g«H.«ration: the school loses half the bovs and girls before they get through high school: vet neither church nsx school functions anywhere near its limits of possibility. The needs for socialization are apparoiL Manv churches, schools and town halls coold nse raotKHi pictures for the improToitent of local social cooditkins. .\ grade school in Des Moines. Iowa, makes motion pictures serve both for recreation and class work. The principal says: How 0>"E School PHCictPAi. Does It "Tile motioa pictures shown at Locos School axe ased quite often ~ i^'xnphT classes. A poster, upon witich k printed the sabjecte, etl in a pruminent position in the h-iH From f^T^ the pupils > veeiLS aiiead what the subjects of pictures ire to be. R^^- ecces to books, papers and magazines are assi^ed: and infocmatiaa iaiered at home, toiecher with that obtained from citr, state '^'f sc20ol libraries, fnniish the material for the discussion on the day rictnres are shown. Thus there is a de£nite preporatniii for die pic- r^ires. .\fter the eThirition time Es iiven for qnestions and answers. T":!"? English teacher uses the knowledge gained from pictures as Lie ::asis for written composition. Even in the first, second md tiiird trades die pictures furnish material for oral Lmauage work. la the foortk and fifth grades the pupils are tctt much interested m wQzkiiig out in sand and clay snt^ pictures as Mount Ranio; Like >"Timnpl.trn The Old Fort of St. .\uaustiiie. and the adobe iweflings of the >few Mexican Indians. Thus by the use of film md slides we haTe found visual aids of greate-t »alne in classroom isstmcticn. An interest is awakened whicb causes even the dullest pcpils to try to enter into the discussions. Then. .^fi'Ti there 'Mmea with this kind of instruction a trainina in observation, which is of value even to the youngest childien." Instances such as this illustrate what may be dose in iny other school where teachers have a keen initiative and can seise the proper method of presentatioa. If Ae fic- tures bad been ntra tbro^b tfe ptojectcH- w^oat ptevioas prepazatioa or fnrdier expIanatKA it is ^e to say Ar time ?pent would have been of considaably less value. A wonderhil opportunity is offered the saperintendent of eonsoBdtfed schools, particularly ^ose located in mral seetioBs or in small villages. Mingo. Ohio, and .\lta, Iowa, are examples of what progressive md wideawake men can Jo. Tbese caanB^uties are linked up intimately with tk schools. Near Sfitfonl, Iowa, there is a consolidated scbool located several miles oat in the country. Recently mod<m pictures were given a trial and patrons from the far cor- cers of the district join each week for social pleasure as well as moital improvemenL L'-cinaiii as page 36)