Visual Education (Jan-Nov 1920)

10 Visual Education number in one standard set runs to 600. The subjects are chosen to cover the whole earth, and with selections so made as to cover many topics which will be studied in geography, in history, in literature. These stereographs are classified into all the topics where their use may be profitable, cross-referenced and indexed, and the whole study published in book form, as a Teacher's Guide, so that the teacher may find any stereograph available for teaching any subject as easily as she can find a word in the dictionary, and can put her hand right on the required stereograph without a moment's delay. Each stereograph has on the reverse side a description running to 250 words, written in an interesting style and carrying the necessary information to the student. In use the teacher puts out the stereoscope and one or two stereographs, relating to the next day's lesson. Some time during the study periods of the day each pupil will study the stereograph, read the description and be ready next day to tell what he saw. It becomes a game to see who can stand and report in good English what he saw looking through the window of the stereoscope into the reality beyond. At the end of the week, or when the review on the country or topic comes, the same views, in lantern slide form, are put before the whole class, and some pupil is chosen to stand before the class and discuss what one view presents and other pupils report on other slides. A real interest is aroused. Better teaching results. Live material is in hand always for drill in geography, history, English. The success of the method is unquestioned. The sets of views are in use in thousands of schools all over the country. It is the best contribution yet made in visual education in America. The stereograph arrives at perfection in presenting the perception of solidity and distance, the third dimension of the view. There is nothing to compare with it in this service, but it is a static world. The waterfall is a frozen waterfall. The wave is an arrested wave. Motion is absent. Yet motion is another "dimension" and the presentation of motion in the picture is an arrival at another apex of perfection. The jetting, plunging water of the cataract is there, before the eyes. The gracefully moving animal, the rushing waves, the swaying trees, are all there, to the last perfect detail of motion. The marvel of it, the miracle of it, has an endless charm. And as usual, this interest has been catered to by using the film as an amusement, because, of course, people are always ready to pay well for being amused. So compelling, so persistent, so universal is this interest in the film that, as we are now told, the cinema business is one of the largest three or four industries in the whole country. Now since education comes through arousing the interest of the child and since the power of the movie to arouse interest is patent to all, it has occurred to many people to draft the movie into the service of the school room. And the trial has been made repeatedly. Every trial has shown some measure of success, but always some critical drawback has arisen to block progress. The flickering light on the screen is hard on the eyes. The projection machine is very expensive. It uses a large current, which may be dangerous, especially as it is likely to set fire to the film. That puts it under ban by the insurance interests, and an expensive housing or shelter is required. This restricts its use to the auditorium, and