The Educational screen (c1922-c1956])

January, 193 5 Page 5 Mounted Pictures as an Aid to Teaching THE "Flat Picture." as it is unfortunately termed in Visual Education nomenclature, may not be as effective as some of the newer and more expensive "aids." but it still holds and may always hold an important place in our teaching procedure. This is. of course, partly due to the abundance and availability of pictures of all kinds; magazines, illustrations, photographs, post cards, prints of all kinds are easily gotten and are not dif- ficult to prepare for use in the classroom. Pictures ■not only supplement reading material, but occupy a distinct place of their own. They provide the raw material for imagery. What erroneous ideas are at times received from reading when our imag- ination has nothing with which to construct a men- tal image! The picture not only provides the raw- material but corrects wrong impressions and classi- fied conce]:)ts. It is well if the correct impression can be given before wrong mental images have been formed. Sources of Pictures In our larger cities which have adequate Visual Education Centers, teachers are fortunate in being able to draw upon them for necessary pictures as aids to teaching; however, even our well equipped centers cannot supply all the demands, so it is ad- visable that schools and teachers themselves have their own supply of pictures to draw upon. In smaller towns and rural sections where no Visual Aid Center is at hand, the collecting and caring for pictures becomes a necessity. The choice is of greatest importance. At first the collectors will take anything available, but soon they discard those pictures which do not come up to a given standard. The following criteria may be set up in choosing pictures: 1. Will the picture illustrate some specific ])hase of school work ? 2. Is the picture an adc(iuate representation or expression of what it is intended to convey? 3. Is the quality of the picture such that it is worth preserving (in respect to paper, print- ing, photography, etc.)? 4. Is it suited to the age and grade of the chil- dren for whom it is selected? The world is at present full of pictures. Good picture material can be had at low cost or at prac- tically no cost. Magazines can be secured from many homes; children can be encouraged to bring them. The followins: offer the best materials: Na- By ADELE M. OUTCALT Garfield School, San Diego, California tional Geographic, Asia, Travel Magazine, Japan, Xature Study Magazine, Rotogravure Section of New York Sunday Times, etc. Old book stores sell old numbers of magazines at low cost. Old books frequently have valuable illustrations that can be cut out; picture postals are sometimes of excellent quality; photographs and souvenirs of travel offer materials for a collection. The smaller pictures are most valuable if a Balopticon is available. Litera- ture from railroad and steamship companies and Chambers of Commerce often contains fine pictures for geography works; the large posters issued by these travel companies are frequently very beauti- ful and true in their conception and interpretation of a landscape or architectural representation. If mone}' is available, excellent prints, especially for art appreciation, can be obtained from the follow- ing sources: Brown-Robertson, Chicago. New York. Museum Prints (8 xlO), Seeman Prints (7x9), Color Miniatures (3^x4^2), His- toric Design (4x6). Art Extension Press, Westport, Conn. Artext Prints (8x10), Artext Juniors (Z'/zkS'A). Artextia Print (16x20). Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Mass. The University Prints, Newton, Mass. Color Prints (5^2x8). The Perry Pictures Co., Maiden, Mass. History (Black & White), Art. Andolian Society. Medici Prints. P. P. Capronia Brothers, Inc., Boston, Mass. Casts. Victoria and Albert Museum, London, England. Pictures and Picture Books. Vera Jones Bright, San Francisco, Calif. Large color prints of Old or Modern Masters. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Color Prints, Black and White Photographs. Photographic History Service, Hollywood, Calif. Series of pictures for teaching history and related social suhjects. Twelve units, each comprised of fifteen 8"xl0" photographs, or slides, reproduced from "stills" of historical motion pictures. Mounting and Filing The next step in the securing of a Picture Library is to care for the pictures properly. Unless they are adequately mounted, classified and filed, they are likely to have only an ephemeral existence; moreover a pro])er mount enhances the value of the picture and ])lacement in a well arranged file makes it available when needed. A uniform size of mount is advisable; however, the size of the mount will be determined by the nature of the file. If pictures are to be placed in folios on shelves, the mounts can be adjusted to the size of the shelves, or vice-versa—shelves can be built to accommodate the size of the folios. Let- ter files can be substituted for the folios and num- bered consecutively. The ideal method for filing pictures is vertical filing in a case of drawers of