The educational screen (c1922-c1956])

Department of the V. I. A. of A. 321 iState Department of Education at Albany and the American Museum of Natural jHistory. In addition many of the Ischools had acquired a considerable col- lection of slides from commercial sources. On the whole it could be said that a very fair percentage of our schools were using slide material in one way or another and lin several of these schools this type of jwork was very intelligently organized. With regard to the use of motion pic- tures, not quite so much could be said. Some of the schools were showing motion picture programs in their assembly per- iods. They simply took what they could get and there was absolutely no connec- tion between the pictures shown and the other instruction given to the pupils see- ing them. At the same time principals and others had been besieged by purvey- ors of alleged educational films to adopt and use their wares. It took very little time to discover that neither the educa- tors nor the producers had a very defi- nite idea of what they needed. Accordingly, without failing to recog- nize the importance of numerous other aspects of visual instruction, we felt jus- tified here in concentrating our attention for some time upon bringing order out of chaos with regard to the availability and use of the motion picture as a teaching tool. As there existed no internal machinery, no personnel for this work, it became necessary to form committees of princi- pals and teachers. It also very soon be- came apparent that these committees needed the advice and experience of lay- men who had some technical knowledge of the sources, limitations and possibili- ties of the film. When a number of these committees had been at work for some time, it became evident that we could achieve much more rapid and lasting progress if they were organized into an association. This plan made possible also the broadening of their operations by bringing many new recruits into the work being carried on. Such was the origin of the Visual Instruction Associa- tion of New York. It is through the prolonged and untiring endeavors of these committees that certain very defi- nite lines of action have taken shape with regard to the use of motion picture in- struction here in our New York City schools. Briefly, a number of courses have been organized in specific subjects of the cur- riculum in which weekly film presenta- tions are made the backbone of instruc- tion, being definitely linked up not only with the use of other visual material, but carefully correlated with all the textbook and oral instruction received by pupils in the same subject. This is not much to boast of so far as the actual extent of the work is concerned, but there is a fairly unanimous consensus of opinion, among those who have participated in and among hundreds who had observed this experi- ment, that a very definite and conscious step in the right direction has been taken. In March of this year, while the Divi- sion of Superintendence of the National Educational Association was in session at Chicago, there was brought together a small group of persons intensely inter- ested in visual instruction and two or three vigorous conferences were held. As a result this group voted unanimously to assume the responsibility of launching a national organization to be founded on lines similar to those adopted by the Visual Instruction Association of New York. It was decided that this should be undertaken at the time of the Boston convention of the main body of the National Educational Association. Ac- cordingly, the Visual Instruction Asso- ciation of America, was formal'y organ- ized at Boston, Mass., July 6, 1922. Per- manent officers were elected and a Con- stitution and By-laws were adopted. The following were the officers chosen: