The Educational screen (c1922-c1956])

by WILLIAM H. HARTLEY Sfate Teachers College, Towson, Maryland WHAT on EARTH is HAPPENING? THE HUGE SAUCER-SHAPED SPACE SHIP ZOOmed through the stratosphere with the speed of lightning, hesitated, darted off to the south, circled several times, and then, as though having made a momentous decision, slowly settled to the earth. More specifically, it landed in the very center of Alabama. This was logical, for the -pace ship had followed the same trajectory as the stars which fell on Alabama years ago. As a matter of fact, this flying saucer had just arrived from our good neighbor Mars. The Martian scientists, educators, and artists who -tapped out of the pie-like plane had made their hazardous voyage for the express purpose of determining whether or not life really exists on the earth and, if so, just what activities occupy the Earthlings. Immediately the scientists began to analyze the soil, take air samples, trace down uranium deposits, and split an earth atom i)r two. The psychologists ran rats through mazes, frustrated the zoo monkeys, and investigated the love life of llie schizophrenics who write for scholarly journals. The artists painted sunsets and bowls of fruit; they made weird objects out of wire, string, and old ukulele picks. I5ut the educators — ah, that great and learned group — immediately set up workshops, conducted questionnaire -urveys, and wrote reams of reports, articles, textbooks, )earbooks, etc. etc. Most prolific of the educators were the audio-visual specialists. Their research task was simplified since they spoke "audiovideo", an international language, as everyone knows. Their leader was a wise and philosophical professor named Ragde Elad. He headed a committee consisting of Luap Deer, Retlaw Hcittiw, Selrahc Nabob, and F. Naed YksulCcm. This distinguished group visited the schools of the United States, watched typical lessons, interviewed outstanding educators, toured film libraries, investigated the literature of the field, and finally came up with the following report. A Report on the Dynamic Utilization of Audio-Visual Tools of Learning in the Earth Planet's Public Schools (USA) by The Martian Committee of Five • The Committee was pleasantly surprised to find that in the use of audio-visual methods of teaching the Earthling educators proved to be alert, earnest, enthusiastic, and, on the whole, progressive. They have now reached a point where their methods compare favorably with Martian methods of five hundred years ago. Left to their own devices, the Earthlings of the United States may well develop a truly efficient method of teaching in the next century or two. There are, however, elements in the intercontinental situation that may force them to take rapid, positive action in the near future lest they find themselves without a future to worry about. Our study of audio-visual teaching throughout the United States may be summarized under the following headings: facilities, apparatus, still pictures, slides, filmstrips, motion pictures, recordings, radio and television. We shall summarize our findings briefly under each heading. Those interested in a documentary and statistical analysis should refer to the special ten-volume report* prepared by the Committee. Facilities In most schools which were visited, one or two rooms had been equipped with room-darkening devices. Classes had to be moved from their regular rooms to these special rooms when a film was to be shown. Some •Available from the Martian Library of Congress, Notgnihsaw, CD., Mars.— ED. June, 1951 219