The educational screen (c1922-c1956])

January, 1942 Page 21 than reading, etc. A significant type of experience for the consideration of our readers was the "ability in interpretation of pictures" (mentioned by 10%). Further analyzed, this ability was seen as: ability to use pictures as a source of information, to note details, to select pictures bearing on a specific subject, to tell about pictures in a few connected sentences, to tell a story in a series of related pictures; appreciation of the aesthetic values of pictures; appreciation of having experienced what is shown in certain pictures; habit of reading cap- tions to pictures. This study points out the importance of teaching children how to read and use the understanding gained from pictures as preparation for understanding geo- graphy. It is just as important in under- standing the daily newspapers, and in interpreting life situations all about us. Building America: America's Outposts. Vol. 7, No. 3. Dec. 1941. The most recent issue of this import- ant periodical is an excellent basis for beginning the intelligent study of geo- graphy pictures, as suggested by the article reviewed above. Although it went to press before the outbreak of war, this issue of Building America shows through excellent pictures, maps and text the importance of our Pacific and Atlantic possessions and what it is that the inhabitants of Hawaii, Philippines, Alaska and other islands have to defend. Sources of information and materials are given. Let Pictures Tell the Story —Gloria Mc- Intire, Counselor, Los Angeles City Schools— Occupations 20:124 Nov. 1941. A description of the way in which photographs from magazines, newspapers, or advertisements can be mounted and simple text added for imparting voca- tional information to retarded pupils. PHOTOPLAY APPRECIATION Movie Critics Are Made, Not Born — Floyd L. Smith, Principal, Woodruff School, Ypsilanti, Mich.— School Exe- cutive 61:34 Dec. 1941. This article describes a movie appre- ciation study made by all grades in an elementary school of 350 pupils. Each grade participated in the selection and evaluation of each feature film shown, although there was variation in each room depending upon the maturity and interests of the group. The "course" is financed by the Board of Education, amounting to about 30c per pupil. Here is how it was organized: A committee of teachers and representa- tives of each grade selects 15 feature films for the year. When the film ar- rives, the preview committee (which is changed from time to time) looks at the film and discusses ways and means of making the showing most enjoyable. They then prepare questions for discus- sion to be introduced to their respective classes. The showing of the film and the discussion period following take half a school day each week. The group is developing standards of discrimination which are noticeable in their movie-going habits outside of school. History Directs the Movies —Kurt Pin- thus, Institute of Social Research— American Scholar 10:483-97 Autumn, 1941. A resume of the trends in American and European motion picture produc- tion in the last 20 years. The author cites titles of films to show that producers have been influenced by world condi- tions—war, depression, and the like— in their choice of themes. However, the manner in which these topics were treated in movies has varied in sincerity and in effectiveness. The Motion Picture —Iris Barry, Ed- win Zeigfeld, Milton S. Fox—National Society for the Study of Education 40th Yearbook Chap. XIV. 1941. A discussion of the motion pictiire as a popular art. SCHOOL-MADE FILMS Movies Tell School Story —Charles A. Gramet and Joseph T. Shipley, New York City— Nation's Schools, Nov. 1941 p. 66. A very brief account of a very detailed production program in which all aspects of the education of a million children were illustrated through carefully-planned film scenarios. School-Produced Motion Pictures — Robert E. Jewett, Ohio State U.— Social Studies 32:321 Nov. 1941. An interesting account of a school film- ing project that was superior to the slapstick comedy efforts of some adoles- cents. The Hi-Y Club of North High School, Columbus, Ohio, decided to study and film the housing situation in their own city. They showed slum conditions and the relation of housing to child de- linquency, disease and tax burdens. The author lists several of the generalizations which the pupils made after the project was over. They are certainly worthy of the time, effort and money. NEW BOOKS A Course of Study in Radio Apprecia- tion —Alice P. Sterner, Barringer Higli School, Newark, N. J.—Educa- tional and Recreational Guides, Inc., 1501 Broadway, N. Y. 1941 36 pp. $1.00. This monograph appeared serially in the monthly issues of the "Group Dis- cussions Guide." It contains suggestions for an extended course in radio appre- ciation. The author has included 22 units but she does not believe it essen- tial to include them in the order given. She recommends instead that the course be adapted to the local situation. The topics concerning radio that high- school students may find challenging are: music programs, popular programs, sports, news, comedy, drama etc. Discussions dealing with advertising censorship, the radio industry and future developments constitute a large portion of the course. This course is well conceived and ably outlined and illustrated. It belongs in each school—upper elementary and sec- ondary. PERIODICALS Motion Pictures in the Secondary School —California Journal of Sec- ondary Education, Vol. 16, No. 7 Nov. 1941. Reginal Bell and Leo F. Cain, editors. (See also Jan. 1941 issue). The contributors to this issue were concerned, in one capacity or another, with the Santa Barbara program of the Motion Picture Project of the Ameri- can Council on Education. SOURCES Audio-Visual Aids for Adult Education James W. Brown, Virginia State Di- rector of Audio-Visual Aids— Adult Education Bulletin quarterly. Picture File Pointers: Source Material for the School Librarian—Norma Olin Ireland, El Monte, Cal.— Wilson Library Bulletin, Nov. 1941, p. 258. Prepared by the School Libraries Sec- tion of the American Library Association. This compilation lists sources of pictures and a bibliography for persons interested in mounting and filing flat pictures. Aids to Democracy: Radio, Movies, Press —a reprint of three articles by Edgar Dale, which appeared in the Neii's Letter during 1940-1941. Pub- lished by the Bureau of Educational Research, Ohio State University, Co- lumbus. 21 pp. 25 cents. In the Introduction, Dr. Dale states that "the radio and movies are unusually effective instruments of mass communi- cation . . . Such potential power for the spread of democratic ideas should be harnessed—but how?" The answer to this question is discussed in the pamphlet. The Hst of ''Sources of Inexpensive Teaching Aids," compiled by William G. Hart, is also included. Motion Pictures—Not for Theatres {Continued from page 17) food control. He retired from the De- partment of Health about 1939 to live on his pleasant farm at Glenmont, New York, not far from the city of his birth and long occupation. His abiding, con- genial interest in the good earth doubt- less accounts for his allied absorption in matters of property, evinced by the recent publication of his highly readable book The Path to Prosperity, which arose otherwise out of his burning en- thusiasm for Henry George. Valuable New York State work in the utilization, as opposed to the production, of educational pictures was accomplished by Dr. Alfred Abrams, who died at his Albany home April 2, 1938, aged seventy- one years. As far back as 1909, atter extended service as principal, superin- tendent of public schools, and State m- spector, he was appointed Director for Certification of the Division of Visual Education of the State Department of Education, a post which he held actively until his honorable retirement in 1934. Ward C. Bowen is the present Chief of the New York State Bureau of Radio and Visual Aids. (To be conf/nued)