Visual Education (Jan 1923-Dec 1924)

March, 1924 75. into his mind. Yonder magnificent astronomy he is at last to import, fetching away moon and planet, solstice, period, comet, and binal star, by comprehending their relation and law * * *. Education should be as broad as man." This definition is so fundamental and all inclusive that it embraces not only the training received by the child in school, but also everything which he learns by observation and experience. The whole process of education is here indicated. It is impossible to determine the relative importance of formal training and first hand experience in the process of education; nor is it necessary to do so. Obviously both factors should be employed, each as a supplement to the other. Obviously the complexity of the modern world prevents the individual from having direct experience of or contact with all the factors of his environment. Some things he must learn at second hand through books, maps, charts, pictures, and other devices. As a proof of the value of pictures in bringing information to us from distant places, note the enormous extent to which pictures are used for purposes of illustration. Books, papers and magazines are filled with illustrations and advertisements bringing ideas to supplement the printed word. Even recent occurrences such as earthquakes, fire, flood or other disaster may be sent by telegraph and appear in all parts of the world a day or two after their occurrence. During the world war our papers and journals were filled with pictures of the various military operations so far as it was deemed wise to show them. The records of this war will be more intelligible to future generations because of the pictured record of its events which will be available. Indeed, the world history of our time is being written in pictures as well as in narrative and future ages will find that this was indeed a picture age — the "orbis pictus" of Comenius made real. CRATER OF HALEAKALA ON THE ISLAND OF MAUI View 24, Picturol on Geysers and Volcanoes — S. V. B. Universal Picturol Set. The Climax of Picture Making To a certain extent this increased use of pictures for illustrative purposes has grown out of the vast improvement in present day picture making. The motion picture has made possible the depicting of events as well as persons and places. It has been the most picturesque and sensational addition to the art of picture making. We also have the tele photo lense which brings a distant object within a few feet of the observer. By its use the habits of wild animals may be studied at close range and the recesses of nature explored under the most advantageous conditions. The airplane photo presents a bird's-eye view of the earth and the works of mankind just as they formerly appeared to the eye of the imagination. The X-ray apparatus enables us to look within opaque structures and photograph even the very processes of human growth and decay. The slow camera enables us to analyze and study an action which we may wish to imitate and it reveals natural processes such as the blossoming of a flower or the * evolution of a butterfly. These and many other inventions have made possible a wealth of pictures of a kind hitherto unknown and increase the value and usability of picture material. The above facts indicate what a rich and varied store of informa tion can be brought to the mind, but we must remember that true education is more than information. Education implies an activity of the mind, not mere passive receptivity. Pictures are such a facile approach to facts that we are in danger of expecting too much. No matter how ingenuous pictures may be they do not afford a royal road to learning. They must be so used as to induce the maximum of responsiveness on the part of the learner. As Emerson has phrased it in the quotation above, the natural object must draw music out of the mind as the wind draws music out of the Aeolian harp. Learning by Doing The doctrine of learning by doing or of self development through self activity is one of the greatest discoveries ever made in the field of education. This doctrine is finding new application in modern pedagogy. All the activities of the modern school are so arranged as to enable the child to go through the processes necessary to develop certain abilities. The use of pictures should not controvert the doctrine of self activity but should be presented in such a way as to excite interest and response. Some of the practical difficulties in the way of the use of picture material have been to obtain enough pictures of the right kind within a