The educational screen (c1922-c1956])

Page 390 The Educational Screen Phwcchio, a folklore classic of Italian literature; The Plough and the Stars, about Ireland; Pygmalion. about upper and lower classes in England; Queen of Destiny and Victoria the Great, two films on the Brit- ish Empire; The Real Glory, about the Philippines; Robin Hood; Saludos Amigos; A Christmas Carol; Servant of the People, which shows how the conclus- ion of a successful war may find the allied states drift- ing apart; Snow IVhite, German folklore; Michael Strogoff, a tale of Russia; Stanley and Livingstone, British-American characters in Africa; They Shall Have Music, starring Heifetz, Russian-born Jewish violinist. Motion pictures are destined to contribute powerfully to the foundations of international security, which are rooted in understanding. Visual educators are accord- ingl}' preparing to do their part in the great task of democratizing understanding. One of the chief tests of success for administrators of visual instruction must, therefore, increasingly be a measure of their ability to provide for the utilization of audio-visual materials, whether in school or out, for the development of en- during peace and prosperity through the cultivation of world citizenship, side by side with local pride and justifiable patriotism. The Shape of Things to Come (Concluded from page 376) animal forms and then pasting them on the blackboard in the appropriate places of an outlined geological time table. The investment of about thirty feet of film portraying this activity brought its dividends in the eagerness with which these students approached the other evidences of evolution. It was for this same class that I had prepared an allegorical scenario to help them better understand the significance of embryological facts. Since this scenario calls for animations it is waiting for a biological Disney to tackle the problem. A few of the films recently begun and waiting to be completed may be briefly mentioned here. Breeding Better Daylilies, portraying the genetic problems in- volved in selection and hybridization, is one of them. This film was begun imder the guidance of Dr. Stout, geneticist of the N. Y. Botanical Gardens. The idea behind the film is to show students that a new desirable plant or animal does not appear with such ease as some textbooks seem to imply. In line with the problems of heredity we have a piece on common and fraternal twins in Evander both in kodaslides and in motion pic- tures. The school and its students are great resources for cinematographic material. To show that cine- micrography is not beyond the scope of amateurs, we have a roll or two on microscopic studies of cells, plant and animal, pollen-tube formation, hydra, etc. To take the halo off anything connected with the sanctuary of cinematography, equipment is often set up, explanations made, and pictures shot during class periods. There is no better incentive to get students to join the school's motion picture club. The reader may well ask, "Now that you've made a film, what do you do with it?". The answer is that a properly planned film is one that can be worn out by use rather than by drought in a forgotten cubby holt'. Films of even fifty to a hundred feet, provided that they add some pertinent information to a lesson, are worth the investment. As for our own film-making, we were satisfied that other teachers of our depart- ment thought enough of them that they too wanted to use them in their classes. We never dreamed of cir- culating our films outside of our own school. Others became aware of our work and were anxious to see our creations. The fact that a school-made film may appeal to outsiders is in itself a challenge to directors and distributors of visual aids to plan for better ways and means of circulation. Most schools make just one edition, the original, rever.sal film. We barely get enough funds from our school board General Organiza- tion to make one or two usable subjects per year. Luckily the Film Steering Committee saved the life of our Chick film by making the dupes before the original was worn thin. As for They All Go to Evander we had to turn down most requests for its use outside of our own school. With the many excellent films produced by various high schools throughout the country, and with the many more improved films to come from these and other schools it is not too early to plan now for the wider circulation that these films will merit. To ex- pedite this matter I would like to suggest some ap- proaches to this problem. 1. Local, state and national staffs of visual educa- tion experts, attached to Education Departments, to make inventories of schools producing their own visual aids. 2. These staffs be empowered to review school-made films just as they review the commercial products. 3. By reimbursing the producing schools, these staffs be permitted to make additional prints of any worthwhile educational films for the larger audi- ences they deserve. 4. From time to time these staffs should receive and offer suggestions for film subjects needed most, and assign producing schools situated in those geographical areas which best contain the in- digenous cinematographic material. 5. This may sound like an extremely radical step, but I offer it for the benefit of schools that lack the proper equipment for producing their own pictures. I would have the .State or National Director of Visual Education build an archive or film library of subjects varying in length from ten feet upwards. Master negatives or positive prints of these subjects could be sold to schools at a slight profit to keep those libraries up to date. Schools submitting a scenario could be informed of the shots already available, and a production unit of the V'isual Education Staff could provide the missing shots. Through this method creative visual education would make greater strides in one year than in one decade of the past. Yes, the shape of Visual Education is moving out of the shadows, and in the full light it is cheerful to behold.