The Educational screen (c1922-c1956])

268 The Educational Screen Q.. llllltlMltlllllllllllllMIIIIIMII MIMIIIIMIIIIIIIIIIMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIItMltllllllllllllllllllllMllllltllltMIIIIHlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll lllllllllllllllllll a FOREIGN NOTES CONDUCTED BY OTTO M. FORKERT [■liiiiiiiiiiitiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiininiiiiiiiiniii I till III nil I III I II I III I II 1 1 II I III II Mil I IK I III I II I III I III I III riiiiiiiiiiiiii riiiiiiiiMiiiMiiiii ■•Eli The Position of the Educational Film in England THE official communications of the International Educational Film Chamber recently contained reports on the educational film in the different European countries. We quote from the report of Mr. Harold J. M. Murray, H. M. Inspector of Schools : The educational use of the cinematograph in Great Britain is still in an early experimental stage, and apart from a small but enthusiastic minority, the teaching profession appears to be very skeptical of the value c>f any contribution which the film can make to the schools. Thus, the London County Council, who have in 1913, 1917, 1921 and 1926 considered whether they should officially recognize the movement for the use of the cinematograph by affording facilities for children in London Public Elementary Schools to attend cinematographic performances, still refuse to sanction all proposals for the introduction of cinematograph apparatus into their schools by outsiders, and all proposals for children to be taken to cinematograph displays outside the school during school hours. On the other hand, the Council have allowed the school organization to be used so that children might be taken under the guidance of their teachers to witness certain films exhibited at a centrally-situated hall outside school hours, provided that no cost whatever falls on the Council. They have not objected to schools providing small portable projectors for their own use, and seven schools possess small projectors of their own. The Council, however, do not contribute in any way, other than the supply of electric current, to the cost of maintenance of this apparatus or the films that are used. The Battersea Scheme Children are taken after school hours to a performance at a centrally-situated hall, which takes two hours, and pay for their admission. The performance includes : a) two purely educational films — the latest and best British "instructional" films; b) clean, wholesome comedy ; c) a film (Drama, History) of the type that children would see at an ordinary Picture House, but censored. All the films are what are called 'universal" films, /'• e., films which have been passed as suitable for children under 16 years of age. The real motive behind this scheme is not educational but social — to make certain that children have the chance of seeing suitable films. The Liverpool Scheme Children are taken during school hours to a performance at a centrally-situated hall, which takes one hour, and do not pay for their admission. Attendance is counted as part of the attendance at school. The performance is limited to educational films w hich are selected by the Education Committee. The Altrincham Scheme Films are shown in the classrooms of individual schools as part of the ordinary school work. A considerable number of schools, chiefly Secondary Schools, possess projectors and hire films as they require them, and use them for ordinary purposes of instruction. There are two British firms which manufacture "instructional" films: British Instructional Films, Limited, and Gaumont's. These two companies supply quite the majority of the films which are used in Great Britain. Apart from these experiments a good deal of research has been carried out in recent years to determine the psychological and pedagogical value of the film as an instrument of instruction. Reference may be made to the Report prepared by the Cinema Commission of the National Council of Public Morals {The Cinema, its present position and future possibilities, London, Williams and Norgate, 1917, and The Cinema in Education, Allen and Unwin, 1925). This note relates specifically to the position in England and Wales only. The position in Scotland is very similar. In Ireland little has been attempted as yet in the way of experiment, but it is understood that an experiment on either the Battersea or the Liverpool plan is contemplated in Belfast. London Notes OSWELL BlAKESTON TWO NEW books on the films have just been brought out in London. "This Film Business" by R. Messel is difficult reading. It is very long and what might have been effective in an epigram becomes tiresome when it is told in {Concluded on page 276)