Education by Radio (1933)

Broadcasts for Chicago Schools The public-school system of Chicago is continuing the sponsorship of half-hour daily broadcasts intended for classroom use. The present program schedule which began January 30 will continue thru and include June 23. WMAQ, a Chicago commercial radio station furnishes the free use of its facilities for these broadcasts, but the program itself, as it should be, is in charge of members of the staff of the Chicago public schools. G. P. Drueck, principal of the Curtis Junior High School, is chairman of the committee in charge of the broadcasts. The excellent cooperation which has existed between the schools and the radio station is due in no small measure to the foresight and vision of Judith C. Waller, vicepresident and general manager of WMAQ. The school broadcast period is from 1:30 to 2pm each school day. During each half hour, two fifteen-minute lessons are given. Programs are so arranged that some material is provided for pupils in all grades from the first to the ninth inclusive. The subjects for which supplementary material is given by radio include: music, social studies, geography, his¬ tory, household science, science, stories in mathematics, poetry, art, guidance, current events, character inspiration, health, book club, prominent citizens series, primary story hour, and a series on the Century of Progress intended to give both pupils and teachers a better idea of this exposition. Excellent material for school use is being broadcast in these programs, it was discovered by the research director of the National Committee on Education by Radio on a recent visit to Chicago. Pupils in classrooms he visited were intensely in¬ terested in the broadcasts and seemed to be profiting by what they heard. Not all schools are equipped to receive radio pro¬ grams, nor are they required to use them, even if they do have radios, but the evidence school authorities have collected concerning the use of the programs convinces them of the de¬ sirability of their continuance. Demonstration by Radio an eight-minute speaker on the subject of reading is zV. followed by an expert teacher and a wellprepared class to prove what the speaker has said. This is the plan the New York city schools follow in using the radio for purposes of demonstration teaching. By the middle of May 1932, a series of twenty-four of these demonstration lessons had been given, using WNYC a noncommercial radio station belonging to the city of New York. Consent Decree Victory for RCA While the federal government sought to sever the in¬ terlocking ownership ties that bound RCA to Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company and to General Electric Company, and obliterate the exclusive cross-licensing agreements, aims to which RCA scarcely could offer a gushing welcome, nevertheless RCA’s goodwill and financial condition are improved by the terms of the contracts. . . . While any violation of law is denied by the defendants, and the decree is specifically clear about the reservation of any such admission, nevertheless radio in nearly all its branches was generally regarded by the public as being obviously bot¬ tled up in the combination of interests. . . . One would expect, since RCA was the chief defendant, that it might emerge from the fray somewhat damaged in repute and purse, but in fact RCA’s position is morally stronger. It is impossible to see any financial penalty to RCA in the generosity with which Westinghouse and General Electric have treated it in respect to the floating debt owed by RCA to these two concerns. As a side issue the RCA building was purchased by General Electric at book value, $4,745,000, while $4,255,000 in ten-year debentures were issued by RCA to the two companies, these transactions cancelling the $17,938,733 debt to the two of them, the difference, $8,938,733 being discharged in consideration of the new agreements. Since RCA is to move into Radio City ultimately, it will have no need for the beautiful office building it recently erected, and it is a treat under such circumstances to have a creditor take over an asset at book value in a depressed mar¬ ket, and join with a co-creditor in virtually writing off a dif¬ ference of nearly $9,000,000. Then, too, RCA was under heavy commitments for leases in Radio City. . . . and since the requirements will be much less than previously antici¬ pated, RCA pays some $5,000,000 [a bargain according to Mr. Sarnoff] to Rockefeller Center for the privilege of with¬ drawing from the excess of the lease commitments over re¬ quirements. . . . Since the terms of the consent decree require that General Electric and Westinghouse dispose of half of their stock hold¬ ings in RCA in three months. ... On what terms the dis¬ tribution will be made has not been stated, but as to the onehalf required in the three-month period it seems reasonable that the RCA stock will go to the stockholders of the two companies as a gift, which would strike some consoling bal¬ ance with the $9,000,000 write off. . . . — Editorial in Radio World, December 10, 1932, p20. Education by radio is published by the National Committee on Education by Radio at 1201 Sixteenth Street, Northwest, Washington, D. C. The members of this Committee and the national groups with which they are associated are as follows: Charles T. Corcoran, S. J., director, radio station WEW, St. Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri, The Jesuit Educational Association. Arthur G. Crane, president, the University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, National Association of State Universities. J. O. Keller, head of engineering extension, Pennsylvania State College, State College, Pa., National University Extension Association. Charles N. Lischka, 1312 Massachusetts Avenue, Washington, D. C., National Catholic Educational Association. John Henry MacCracken, vicechairman, 744 Jackson Place, Washington D. C., American Council on Education. Joy Elmer Morgan, chairman, 1201 Sixteenth Street, Northwest, Washington, D. C., National Education Association. James N. Rule, state superintendent of public instruction, Harrisburg Pennsylvania, National Council of State Superintendents. H. Umberger, Kansas State College of Agriculture, Manhattan, Kansas, Association of Land-Grant Colleges and Universities. Jos. F. Wright, director, radio station WILL, Univ. of Illinois, Urbana, Ill., Association of College and Univ. Broadcasting Stations. Everyone who receives a copy of this bulletin is invited to send in suggestions and comments. Save the bulletins for reference or pass them on to your local library or to a friend. Education by radio is a pioneering movement. These bulletins are, therefore, valuable. Earlier numbers will be supplied free on request while the supply lasts. Radio is an extension of the home. Let’s keep it clean and free. [ 16]