Education by Radio (1937)

VOL. 7 March 1937 No. 3 EDUCATION BY RADIO is published monthly by THE NATIONAL COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION BY RADIO S. Howard Evans, secretary One Madison Avenue, New York, N. Y. Committee Members and Organizations They Represent Arthur G. Crane, chairman, president. University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, National Association oj State Universities. James E. Cummings, department of education, Na¬ tional Catholic Welfare Conference, 1312 Massa¬ chusetts Avenue, Washington, D. C., National Catholic Educational Association. J. 0. Keller, assistant to the president, in charge of extension, Pennsylvania State College, State College, Pennsylvania, National University Extension Asso¬ ciation. Harold B. McCarty, program director, state broad¬ casting station WHA, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, National Association oj Edu¬ cational Broadcasters. Charles A. Robinson, S. J., St. Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri, The Jesuit Educational Asso¬ ciation. Agnes Samuelson, state superintendent of public in¬ struction, Des Moines, Iowa, National Council oj State Superintendents. WtLLis A. Sutton, superintendent of schools, Atlanta, Georgia, National Education Association. H. J. Umberger, vicechairman, Kansas State College of Agriculture and Applied Science, Manhattan, Kansas, Association oj Land-Grant Colleges and Universities. George F. Zook, president. American Council on Edu¬ cation, 744 Jackson Place, Washington, D. C., American Council on Education. member EDUCATIONAL PRESS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA The WISCONSIN college of the air, thru the facilities of state radio stations WHA and WLBL and the National Youth Administra¬ tion, inaugurated on August 26, 1936, a radio group listening project. Since the project was or¬ ganized there have been established 118 listening centers consisting of 306 listening groups with a total of more than 8,500 listeners. Of this number about 5000 are located in school centers, 2,500 among the youth of the NYA projects, and 1000 in community centers. While the specific or central objective of the group listening project is to bring a high grade, educational opportunity to thousands of out-ofschool youth who cannot continue their prepara¬ tion, and to the adult population who desire to form listening groups, the educational possibilities for the classroom are not neglected, and a large number of schools thruout the state are receiving helpful assistance from the broadcasts. The procedure for organizing radio listening groups is quite definitely set forth in two bulletins, which are sent to the organizer or sponsor whereever a listening group is being established. Where the groups are large enough to warrant it, an instructor is appointed from the list of available teachers in the Emergency Educational Division. In addition to the information given thru the bulletins regarding procedures for organizing and conducting radio listening groups, carefully pre¬ pared study aids or lesson previews of all the College of the Air lectures are mailed to the group sponsors each week to guide them and their teach¬ ers in directing the discussions. At the end of the course an examination is provided for those who care to qualify for the certificate of achieve¬ ment which is granted for satisfactory work. made, the influence of this medium will be found similar to that of motion pictures. If so, parents will have to be especially concerned about it because of the unique way it enters the home. In motion pictures the child has to leave home, go to the theater, and pay a price of admission. In many states there are laws which prevent children’s attending theaters unless additional conditions are met. In radio there are no such barriers. A child in any home with a radio need only turn a switch to become a member of the audience, regard¬ less of whether or not the program deals with experiences for which he is prepared. Against the expressed wishes of his parents he can listen in on conversations never intended for his ears. It would be easier to ignore this influence. Parents, educators, and socially-conscious persons in general would find their problems simpler if they could be concerned only with those segments of human experience which bear the formal labels of education. Such an avoidance of reality is now impossible. Exploratory studies have gone far enough to indicate that certain out-of-school influences, of which radio is one, have a tendency to undermine and interfere with the results which schools are striving to achieve. Dr. Vierling Kersey, director of education for the state of Cali¬ fornia, authorized a study in 1931 of the out-of-school influences in the lives of children. As a result of this study, it was pointed out that the chief of such influences were motion pictures, radio, books, magazines and newspapers, playgrounds, and comic strips. It was suggested that the combined influence of these media was prob¬ ably equal to the influence of the schools themselves. In the face of such findings there can be no substantial support for the argument that those interested in education and culture are going outside their field when they give voice to their concern over the sum total of radio programs available in this country. Unfortunately the evidence of need for concern about programs does not give any equally clear indication of what should be done about them. Of course, certain types of programs are clearly accept¬ able, while others are obviously not desirable. There is a great middle ground, however, where programs are neither good nor bad and where no one can be sure of what should be done about them. There is no possibility of securing educational scrutiny in advance for these pro¬ grams because a word which is perfectly innocent in the script may be given an emphasis in its delivery over the air which changes its meaning entirely. There is no possibility of eliminating this condi¬ tion by giving prizes for excellent programs because many of the users of radio are more interested in financial returns than in win¬ ning medals of merit. The uncertainty as to the course of procedure does not mean that nothing should be done. Educators rightly look to government to develop program standards which will take into account the educa¬ tional influence of radio as one of the factors which determine whether or not a station is operating in the “public interest, con¬ venience, and necessity.” They look to frequent conferences among those interested in educational and cultural affairs as a fertile source for ideas of what should be done. To the extent that they can dem¬ onstrate their competence, they also look to an increasing share in the preparation and production of the programs which constitute the output of this great educational instrumentality. This expressed intention to prepare and present programs should not be confused with the question of who should own and operate broadcast transmission stations. The so-called American system of commercial radio has demonstrated its value and is apparently here to stay. Educators want to improve, not undermine, that system. [ 10]