The educational screen (c1922-c1956])

Page 98 The Educational Screen The films are constantly being augmented by material not only froin many studios in this country, but from every battle front where our troops are engaged. They are thus armed with the finest training and knowledge that our civilization can provide, and a good part of the credit goes to the audio-visual training aids developed largely for and by our schools. The army films for the training of our soldiers are grappling with a mighty big problem, but that's not nearly the whole story. We have to change ourselves not only into a nation of soldiers, but into a nation of munition makers as well. For each armed man in our service, we are told it now takes eighteen men and women at work behind the man-bebind-the-gun—in industry, transportation, farming, and all the other many phases of our complicated modern economic life— working with all their might to keep the soldier func- tioning effectively on his primary job. We had to make machinists out of automobile salesmen, munition makers out of advertising cop)- writers; we had to teach brand- new skills to millions of people, and we had to teach them quickly, efficiently, and correctly. So we broke down those skills into minute sections that could be learned quickly and well by new recruits to our labor army. So today, our many single operation specialists replace the all-around experienced craftsmen with many years of experience. In this crisis, we drew at once on another great American resource—the accumulated experience of thousands of school teachers in every type of school, the visual instructionists who for twenty years and more have been developing the motion picture as a teaching tool. If you, as teachers, and we, as purveyors to the school market, had not for many years been developing this field of visual education, the armed forces would not have found these two teaching tools nearly so well developed in our hour of need. Many training films are being made specifically to meet definite new training needs. A typical example is found in the case of General Electric Company's series of films on welding, a series of marvelous 16min. color films. An- other example is provided b\- a soap manufacturer turned munitions maker. Proctor and Gamble, who trained their personnel in advance of factory conversion by Army films showing arsenal operations. The United States Office of Education produced approximately fifty talking pictures, each devoted to a specific job in the training of personnel for war industry. So satisfac- tory were the results obtained from the first batch, that one hundred and fifty more are now in production. Es- tablished non-theatrical film distribution channels were utilized in bringing these USOE films to a record cir- culation in a very short time. But the modern industrial worker does not work with his hands alone, and even motion pictures, dynamic as they are, would fail in their full purpose if they aimed solely at demonstrating strictly manual skills. Whether in school or industr\' a motion picture pro- gram intended to aid the war effort must not only teach the hands but must also reach the heads and the hearts of the people to whom it is addressed. These are just as important as are the pictures that aim to improve manual skills. Such films are offered by the Office of War Information, and by a lutmber of other new agencies such as the Coordinator of Inter-American Aflfairs, as well as by the older departments and bureaus such as Agriculture. Interior, Mines, Health, etc. Government morale films are, of course, not aimed exclusively at industry, or at education. They are addressed to the entire American people, and are meeting a fine response. So also is the new series of films just coming into circulation, produced by the Office of Civilian Defense. Encouraging as is the progress that we have made, our future progress is sure to be even greater. This again is no mere prophecy —for in countries like Great Britain, in the war far longer than we, the use of motion pictures for training and morale purjjoses outstrips our own. For example, our film library is aiding in the dis- tribution of over two hundred diff^erent films from the British Ministry of Information, marvelous examples of the modern documentary technique, most of them. Some are .so good that they have been given nationwide theatrical distribution before becoming available for non-theatrical audiences. They have innumerable films dealing with the armed forces, civilian defense, the farm front, the home front, the industrial front, transporta- tion and communication, women and young people in war. There is a whole series of films also devoted to our fighting allies, the Poles, the Czechs, the Russians, and even the Ethiopians. And, of course, they show the war eflfort put forth by all members of the British Commonwealth of Nations. A number of the Dominions have put out their own film services besides. Where is all this going to lead us? We may well a.sk. It is sure to lead us. in education as well as industry, into a world far different, and we trust far better than any yet seen. A more highly skilled race will be a more pro- ductive race. and. therefore, a race with higher living standards and a greater stake in the world we live in. W'e are defending the old freedoms we long have cher- ished. We are going to make them stronger than ever in our own land, as well as make them accessible hence- forth to all the peoples of the world. By seeing pictures of our fellowmen of the United Nations, as they fight and work in our common cause, we will develop a far better understanding of them, and with understanding should come a far greater sympathy, and a growing liking. Our country's films are going out to the ends of the earth, and certainly these pictures of our every- day life and work are going to give other nations a far healthier impression of the real America. What is the war training job going to do to education, to the schools as we now know them ? Certain it is that the present forward fusion that now welds school and industry, army and i)eople and Government all into one solid mass, is never going to be turned back- wards. Henceforth the school is going to become more closely integrated with industry than ever before, and industry with the school; and the use by both of com- mon teaching tools^—films such as these U.S. Office of Education films,—is going to be one of the welding agents that will bring this about, and fit America's countless millions not only for the tasks of war but of the peace that follows.