Education by Radio (1937)

The PUERTO RICO SCHOOL OF THE AIR, a project of the Department of In¬ struction of Puerto Rico, has just completed its second year of broadcasting. Established in 1935 thru a $17,000 grant from the Carnegie Corpora¬ tion, the School of the Air was carried on during 1936-37 by a $15,000 appropriation from the legislature. Twenty-four different series of pro¬ grams are presented including art appreciation, music, history, literature, vocational guidance, social and economic problems, safety education, and other subjects. All programs are in Spanish with the exception of the “Adventures in Bi¬ ography” series which is in English. An English language course is also given and a manual is available to aid the students in preparing their lessons and following the broadcasts. Persons completing the twenty lessons receive certificates. The Puerto Rico School of the Air includes programs of interest to young children, high school children, and adults. Some of the programs are intended to be used by the teacher to supple¬ ment the classroom work while others are de¬ signed for adult education. It is felt that the radio, by taking the school into the home, offers the easiest means of improvement for the largest number of illiterates. • PL.WS BY THE JUNIOR LEAGUE of Dayton, Ohio, are now a part of the regular school curriculum for 53 classes in 13 high schools of that city. The radio provides the means of bringing into the classroom dramatizations of the classics being studied by the English classes. This pro¬ gram, presented by a group of Dayton Junior Leaguers trained in radio technic, was made pos¬ sible thru the cooperation of the Dayton school superintendent, the English teachers, and radio station WSMK. As the program is a sustaining feature, the expenses, including scripts and a director’s salary, have been assumed by the radio station. The scripts being used were written by G. W. Batchelor, who for the past three years has adapted classics for the Ohio School of the Air. • STATION WOI, Iowa State College, Ames, con¬ ducted a series of fifteen broadcasts to Iowa high schools giving occupational information for educational and vocational guidance. The program each week was devoted to a particular vocation as described by an authority in the field. Listeners were supplied with notebooks containing outlines to be filled in with information gained from listen¬ ing to the broadcasts and also lists of references for further study. Transradio press announced on June 10 the settlement out of court of its $1,700,000 suit against the major networks and press as¬ sociations. The suit, which charged conspiracy in restraint of trade, had been pending more than two years. Altho terms of the agreement were not announced, it is known that the networks agreed to recognize Transradio as a regularly established news organization. Class VI: A “city station” using a local channel and designed to render service primarily to cities and towns and the suburban areas contiguous thereto. The power of these stations may not exceed 250 watts and their service areas are subject to mutual interference in accord with agreed upon engineering standards. While this new classification of stations may be perfectly sound from an engineering standpoint, it is subject to definite criticism on the grounds of its social and economic implications.^ There is also some question about the desirability of writing it into an interna¬ tional agreement before the probable results of its national use have been explored. Upon examination, the United States may desire to repudiate the classification. Such a procedure might prove em¬ barrassing in view of the commitment made by Commander Craven in his xApril report in which he said: Six classes of stations defined very much along the lines of the Federal Com¬ munications Commission’s engineering department’s January report were adopted. These do not materially change our existing practise and are in accord with our necessities. The ultimate disposition of the new classification of stations will depend upon the conclusion finally reached with regard to the social and economic effects of the existing broadcasting structure. Comr mander Craven’s report on that subject is eagerly awaited. Before turning from the Washington situation, there are two more activities deserving of consideration. Both have to do with Dr. John W. Studebaker and the U. S. Office of Education. One is the Federal Radio Education Committee, of which Dr. Studebaker is chairman, and the other is the educational radio project which is being con¬ ducted with WPA funds under the Office of Education. The Federal Radio Education Committee, consisting partly of commercial broadcasters and partly of representatives of education, has been in existence for approximately two years. Its program has been reported in this bulletin.® Dr. Studebaker hopes to announce in the near future a comprehensive program of research and demonstra¬ tion. Earlier announcement of the program has been delayed by problems of finance. This delay has brought some criticism to Dr. Studebaker and has caused his committee to be called a “smoke¬ screen” for the industry. The best answer to such charges is Dr. Studebaker’s address at the recent Institute for Education by Radio.^ The radio project of the Office of Education, which has been put¬ ting on programs over the facilities of both NBC and CBS, continues to report increasing mail response from listeners and a growing demand for the mimeographed scripts available thru its script ex¬ change. At this particular time, the annual question of a renewed appropriation is up for consideration. The future of the project is by no means assured. Leaving Washington and continuing the rounds in order to get an overview of other aspects of the radio problem as it affects educa¬ tion, it can be reported that in New York all three of the chain broadcasting companies are contemplating changes in their educa¬ tional operations. Some of the changes may be far-reaching, includ¬ ing personnel as well as policy. Apparently the commercial broadcasters are receding from their intrenched legal position. They are no longer claiming that they have a legal responsibility for what is broadcast from their stations and a willingness to meet this responsibility without help from educators. They are seeking ways to develop cooperation. The educational groups seem disposed to meet them at least half way. ^Education by Radio 6:6-7, 30-36, March and October 1936. ^Education by Radio 6:31, September 1937. * Education by Radio 7:17-22, May 1937. [32]