Educational screen & audio-visual guide (c1956-1971])

Journalism — 1922 (Continued) the motion picture into education, the emphasis in the magazine was placed on the film. This was good journalism. It attracted readers and advertising support.'* Of the 60 or more formal articles which appeared in volumes one and two: 31 were centered on the use of the film in education, in religion and in the community; six were on the use of the slide; five on visual education in general; four on the psychology of visual instruction; four reported research; and the remainder dealt with miscellaneous aspects such as teaching with stereographs, the use of the bulletin board in the teaching of English, the educational work of a museum, the administration of programs and the work of professional organizations. It is also interesting to note that the majority of these articles were authored by members of faculties of 13 universities and colleges. In none of the articles was there any unbridled flag waving. Greene was determined that the magazine be open to discussions of the pros and cons of visual education and this it was. As he stated in his opening editorial, the magazine was to be "distinctly intellectual and critical, rather than commercial and propagandistic." Fourth, Education Screen made a notable contribution to the development of visual education by opening its pages to professional organizations which, in those early years, could not afford the luxury of a publication. For example. The Visual Instruction Association of America, The National Academy of Visual Instruction, the Better Films Committee of The National Congress of Mothers and Parent-Teachers Associations, and the Film Councils of America all enjoyed this privilege. Also, following the merger of The Visual Instruction Association of America and The National Academy of Visual Instruction with the Department of Visual Instruction ( DVI ) of the National Education Association in 1932, the greatly strengthened DVI arranged for space in the magazine to be devoted to official news, notes and proceedings of the organization. DVI's first "News and Notes" appeared in the May, 1932, issue. This arrangement, with no cost to DVI, continued until June, 1955, when the Department (now called the Department of AudioVisual Instruction) decided to publish its own journal. The high professional standards which have characterized the editorial policies of Educational Screen may be attested to by the fact that Nelson L. Greene 18 7f is worthy of note that among the advertisers in volumes one and two: Eastman Kodak Co.; Keystone View Co.; and Spencer Lens Co., (now The American Optical Co.), are still advertising in The Educational Screen. " Paul C. Reed was president of DVI in 1940-1941. He too worked closely with DVI, when he became editor of Educational Screen in 1947. was elected and served as president of DVI in 19361937.'* This fact also underscores the splendid working relationship which existed from 1932 to 1955 between the magazine and DVI. Finally, the magazine has rendered a valuable service by publishing film estimates and evaluations. A considerable portion of the space in early volumes was devoted to discussions of theatrical films, evaluations of them and recommendations for viewing them in theaters by various family groups. For many years EducatioTMl Screen was the chief unbiased source of such information. However, as other publications such as Parents Magazine began to issue film evaluations Educational Screen discontinued this type of service to its readers in November, 1940. Also, beginning with the first issue and continuing to the present with a few exceptions, the magazine has published each month annotated listings of non-theatrical films. In later years, these listings have been expanded to include "new materials and equipment." As early as November, 1923, evaluations of school films by a committee of educators were published. Today such evaluations are a feature of the magazine although there have been gaps in this service during the intervening years. When the late Charles H. Judd was director of the School of Education at The University of Chicago, he used to advise his students to select one of the major magazines in the field of education and read it from cover to cover from volume one, number one, to the current issue. This discipline he asserted would give the student a perspective of education which could not be equaled by any other exercise. Certainly if anyone were to aspire to be a real student of the audiovisual movement in America there could be no better task he could set for himself than to apply Judd's advice to reading Educational Screen. If one were to do this he would find at the outset that the budding visual movement circa 1922 was faced with many obstacles. Greene's editorial in the April, 1922, issue stated the situation clearly; "(1) Most school authorities not sufficiently convinced of its value to make appropriations for its adoption; (2) Hence no funds available for the essential equipment; (3) Hence no chance for teachers to learn to use it effectively; (4) Hence no market for worthwhile materials; (5) Hence, no worthwhile producers can afford to supply them in quantity; (6) Hence, no final proof of the value of visual instruction is possible; (7) And many school authorities want 'final proof before appropriating! ... It is a hard situation, indeed, but not without cure." (p. 98) A hard situation it was indeed. But as one would read on through the thought-provoking editorials, the articles, and the other content he would be aware of progress, slow at times, but progress nevertheless. It would be clear that the visual instruction movement which emerged in the roaring twenties grew hand in which emerged in the roaring twenties grew hand-inhand with its basic vehicle of expression, Educational Screen, through the depression years, through World War II, and through the post-war period to its present status of maturity. 20 Educational Screen and Audiovisual Guide— January, 1962