Milford chronicle., 1921-11-25
TRAVEL AND SIGNS
TEACH USUALLY
Nothing New or 'Faddish"
About Visual Education, says
Chicago Expert; Idea as Old
as Pictures.

lIdNCl lS " SGLIlu6
moving picture at first hand through
the car window, and electrically light
ed signboards represent everyday il
lustrations of visual education in the
business world.
So declares Dudley Grant Hays, di.
rector of visual instruction in Chicago
schools, who maintains that visual
education in the classroom, far from
being a new discovery or a fad of the
hour, is natural method of teaching
which was an accepted thing when
pictures were first inserted in text
books and live polliwogs first brought
into schOOlrOOms. Educational films
simply carry the idea step farther
along the path.
There is no question as to how the
general public feels about visual ed
ucatiOn," said Mr.. Hays to a repre-
sentative of the Society for Visual
Education. Riding to your work in
the morning and home again at night,
great billbOards, rods and rods of
them, drive home their messages
through your visual sense, seeking to
create the desire to buy.
Americans are great travellers.
Travel appeals to us because it is ed
ucatiOn, because it enriches our field
of experience. By means of travelling
about the country we produce for our
selves vivid motion pictures of other
people, how they live, what they do.
But suppose the things we see when
we travel the mountains, rivers,
oceans, plains and valleys, the people,
! customs and industries are put
upon the scroolroom screen, where
every child may share in the know
ledge without the necessity of paying
carfare or being away from home.
That is extending a great educational
service to our boys and girls"
Mr.. Hays believes that for the over
burdened and OVerwOrked grade tea
cher, the use of visual helps offers re-
lief from the strain of the crowded
curriculum. Lacking time or facilities,
or both, for bringing to her pupils the
first-hand International material
needed to furnish their minds with
clear-cut conceptions, she can solve
many a problem by pressing the pro-
jector into service. To the city teach
er, especially, nature-study slides and
school films such as those produced
for the natural history series of the
Society for Visual Education, provide
invaluable material for the adequate
presentation of nature lessons.
Having taught nature study, hav-
ing behind me the experience of cOun- |
try teacher, city teacher and princi-
pal, know the problems that exist. |
My idea has ever been to bring the |
pupil, whenever possible, into direct |
contact with the real bird, insect, an
imal, tree or flower in it's natural en-
vironment," said Mr.. Hays. "That is
the ideal visual education, because it
appeals to more than one of the
child's senses, and the more senses
you can bring to bear, the more COM
plete will be his mental picture of the
object.
"The city teacher, however, worhS
under a peculiar handicap. Her day is
so crowded with duties, her facilities
are so meager for securing actual
specimens, that it is small wonder she
sometimes grows discouraged. Field
are rarely practicable eX-
cept as semi-Occasional affairs out
side of school hours. 1t would be- un-
reasonable to expect all these things
of the teacher. Our aim, therefore, is
to provide her, through slides, films
and similar devices, with partial sub
stitutes for direct contacts. But it
still remains true that the quality of
results secured rests with the teacher
herself. The usefulness of any visual
teaching aid depends entirely upon
the way in which it is presented and
correlated"
In discussing the question of added
gained through modern ex-
tensions of the visual method, Mr..
Hays declared that while it is legiti-
mate to quote results of isolated eX-
periments as applying to that partic-
ular case, there still remains to be
developed a body of scientific data
from which to draw broad general
"Our work along that line ought to
be coordination and a cooperation
between the heads of the psychology
and the visual departments, in shap-
ing definite program that will give
us a yardstick by which to measure
.hese things in some tangible way.
1--WE know this, however-that the
ng the facilities of the Chicago visual
instruction department is very mark
ed. In some of the schools a begin
hing was made, about two years ago,
n teaching pupils to make their own
slides. Literature, nature study, his
ory, geography, domestic science and
)ther studies lend themselves admir-
IDLY to this work. 1t is surprising to
tote what creditable results have al
'eady been achieved. One of the most
features of the plan is
is remarkable success with pupils
Who have been in the class of hard
o handle students. Confirmed truants
md habitually unruly boys, discover
ng an unexpected talent for artistic
have been led through
ride of achievement in this work to
axe new interest in their lessons"
The department takes care not only n
# slides, stereograph and other col
ections; but of all acquisitions made
" teachers for school films. It sup
rvises in a general way the circula-
ion of museum exhibits by the Harris
'ublic School Extension of Field
Iuseum. 1t sends instructors to re-