International Review of Educational Cinematography (Jan-Dec 1934)

336 EDUCATIONAL CINEMATOGRAPHY a) that for civil, religious, artistic and literary history only the word of the teacher should be used for the logical and continuous relation of facts, to build up the different circumstances and conditions, bring out the characters, illustrate the psychological motives and lend to the narrative the strength of moral, national and human suggestion and of ideal aspiration ; that, in view of the importance of religious feeling in the spiritual evolution of the child and of the importance of the use of the school film and considering, on the other hand, the difficulty of producing films suitable to be used for the teaching of religion such films should be treated with special care and the cooperation and the approval of the responsible authorities should be sought beforehand ; b) that in mathematics, a subject in which the film could be used for the inculcation of certain notions or for the study of useful technical applications, it is of the utmost importance to develop the faculty of abstract and clear reasoning ; c) that for the teaching of modern languages, films or slides may be usefully employed, for the elementary study of languages and to make the pupils acquainted with the country where the language they study is spoken ; d) that when using the film as a visual aid one should consider the frequency and the duration of the projection, according to the limits imposed by the physiological and psychical possibilities of the children in the different stages of their development. As to the methods to be used for school films, the Congress states : 1) that the use of the cinema should not interfere with the educational influence of the teacher, nor with the effect of his words. It is he who should put the questions, explain, comment, inspire and direct the activity and the response of the pupils ; 2) that consequently, the teaching film should not be sound or talking, but a silent film in which the commentary is made by the teacher except where the sound or talking film may usefully complete and strengthen the visual impression ; 3) that the use of the film should not induce a passive absorption of rapidly succeeding scenes, but that it should be used to stimulate the activity of the child in every kind of scholastic work ; 4) that during the projection of the school film the teacher should have the opportunity of intervening, in order to illustrate points which require special explanation and that he should take into account the fact that lantern slides are often very useful, either by themselves or together with motion pictures ; 5) that the subjects to be used for school films should be part of an organised didactic plan, which has been previously studied by pedagogues and approved by the school authorities in accordance with the school curriculum and which may be modified according to new possibilities which the use of the film presents. As to the question of organization, the Congress states : 1) that school films should always be made from a didactic point of view and with the close cooperation of the teacher ; 2) that all teachers, either elementary or secondary, should be trained, technically, psychologically and didactically, in teachers' colleges or by special courses, in the use of the projection equipment and of the school film ;