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Films in school
by Ronald Gow
Probably the most important single event in the history of the educational cinema in England was the report issued in 1924 by the Imperial Education Conference. Their main conclusion is striking: « That a strong prima facie case has been established in support of the view that the cinematograph can be of real value as an adjunct to present educational methods, that properly used it may be of great assistance by way of illustration, and that it should accordingly be recognised as part of the normal equipment of educational institutions ». There have been several practical investigations into the value of the cinema in school, and a mass of statistical evidence has been placed at the disposal of teachers, but the most interesting of all investigations has yet to be published. I refer to the research undertaken by the Historical Association in schools all over the country, and it is certain that the forthcoming report will be of the greatest significance. But on the whole the record of the past twenty years is a sad one. Teachers have tried and failed because there were no films. Producers have failed because they did not understand either teachers or education, and because there was no money in it. (It is axiomatic that film producers think in millions and school teachers in sixpences). At the same time I must confess that it is very wrong to think that teachers have all the ideals and the cinema people all the brass. The ideals of a Bruce Woolfe are expensive, even if they do gain deserved recognition in the long run.
Conferences, commissions and investigations have followed one another and said friendly things about the cinema. And yet the fact remains that it is the opinion of the teacher that really counts. (The average teacher, so far as his accursed rut of public examinations will allow him, is hungry for the cinema in school). A tremendously powerful instrument that can turn our children into criminals, teach the black man to disrespect the white, destroy the morals of us all, or even denationalise of us, is a force that cannot be ignored. The teacher feels that, properly controlled, this force might be of use in the deplorable business of knocking knowledge into the heads of little boys. It is certain that we are on the threshold of better times for the educational film. The teacher is beginning to notice really cheap apparatus that can be used without unpleasant legal formalities. That there is a fair supply of educational films is now evident. It is not a very great supply, but having used those films which are available, the teacher will have the right to demand what he really wants. He may call the tune when he has paid the piper. We