Visual Education (Jan 1923-Dec 1924)

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April, 1923 113 The absolute inadequacy of the facts retained by the pupils, the surprisingly scanty harvest obtained by the teachers, suggested another difficulty, equally serious : the overrating of the children's power of observation. Did you ever think what a vast number of facts are presented to the immature mind of a child in a thousandfoot film on steel manufacturing, for example? Can an average adult who has not studied that particular subject give a good description of what he has seen in the thousand feet of such a picture? Enthusiasts must surely have overlooked these iron facts. But facts they are, and the sooner they are fully recognized, the better for both the children and the "movies." I am glad to say that we did recognize them and acted accordingly. Solving the "Mental Attitude" Problem First, as to the attitude of the pupils. It was not easy to change it at first. Merely to announce that the pictures are for instruction and not amusement is certainly not sufficient. Our recitations had to be definitely adapted to this new method of teaching. The pupil's mind had to be made full of the subject — full of questions, full of curiosity of the right sort. This of necessity involves skill and intense interest on the part of the teacher, but it is the sine qua non of success. I cannot say, however, that this meant any additional labor; as a matter of fact, in the end much labor was saved both the pupils and their teachers. The methods used were very simple. In the first place, as early as the preceding June, we selected the best films obtainable, booked them in advance, and provided every teacher with a copy of our weekly motion-picture program for the entire school year. This gave every one an opportunity to get ready for the screen lesson and to make each weekly exhibition an organic part of the science, geography and history courses. Thus pupils went to the assembly hall (1) with several questions which were to be answered by the pictures ; (2) with an intelligent curiosity as to how certain things they had read or studied about were done or how they actually looked; and (3) with the attitude of an observer who must later report in the classroom as many facts as he is able to observe— the more, the better. This was our solution of difficulty number one. That it was a real solution we became absolutely convinced by the results which I shall set down a little farther on. Developing Ability to Observe and Retain Difficulty number two — undeveloped powers of observation and retention— was greatly reduced by this arrangement, chiefly through a wise selection of films. By this I mean that special pains were taken to secure films which did not show too much, and which in addition made an attempt to present what they did show in such a manner as not to tax the pupils' minds beyond their capabilities. At this juncture it seems quite pertinent to state that such good films are hard to find, and that many of those which attempt to instruct often nullify the chief value of the motion picture by showing too many maps, graphs and diagrams, instead of utilizing their unique opportunity to bring pupils into close touch with the reality. Another way in which we dealt with the second difficulty was to use the pictures as a direct means of strengthening the power to observe and retain facts. This was done by requiring systematic notekeeping; by holding pupils responsible for a certain number of facts after each film showing; by letting pupils write down their experiences as a part of their work in English composition, and by many other similar exercises with which every teacher is familiar. Every pupil who could write as little as a sentence had his "Movie Notebook," which became a highlyprized treasure and which, by the end of the school year, held a great deal of useful information. Children would often illustrate these notebooks with pictures clipped from newspapers and magazines, or with drawings of their own making. The Benefits of Visual Education Now a word as to the results that crowned our adoption of these revised methods, and I shall close. 1. The first great result was a rebirth of interest in "school movies." Restlessness and listlessness disappeared. "Movie day" was again looked forward to with eagerness. Once more teachers found it a great help in their work. 2. The power of observation showed marvelous development. To cite only a single instance, secondgrade pupils were able to give a definite idea of a glacier in good, clear, though necessarily very simple English. Their work was certainly a strong argument for the use of the cinematograph in the school. 3. Geography and science took on a new meaning for every boy and girl. Industrial geography — admittedly the dullest of subjects if not presented in the right way — became a joy and an inspiration. Pupils were stimulated by the film to go to the library for books which would explain certain processes they had seen pictured on the screen. They ceased to study for the mark and began to "love the game beyond the prize." What they learned now was not "words, words, words." They read about real things that they could visualize as they read, and therefore they studied intelligently. It is not necessary to point out to an educator the great value of this result; suffice it to say that an achievement of this sort is a realization of an educational ideal. 4. That the scholarship of the pupils was raised goes without saying. They did better work, not only in geography and science but in English as well. They expressed themselves much better ; they gained in clearness, unity and force. Their accounts of the films