New Britain herald., 1922-06-02
MOTION PICTURES
Will BE ANALYzED
Will Spend $4,000 to Determine
Educational Value Of Movies

Chicago, June Ten thousa nc
dollars is to be spent in the mex
twelve months in an effort to deter
mine just what value the motion pic.
ture has in the education of children
1t is claimed that the most ex-
travagant promises have been made
by enthusiasts for this means of i'm
parting information to the young
while detractors have classed the
films as practically valueless. Where
Ythe truth lies between these extremes
| Or. Frank n. Freeman of the Univer-
sity of Chicago will endeavor to learn
10000 for Investigation
DR.. Freeman. professor of educa-
tional philosophy and connected with
the School of Education of the Uni
versity Of Chicago. has been granted
$40, 600 by the Commonwealth Fund
| of New York. an endowment formed
| for research work in various lines.
Various sums are granted upon appi-
cation and after investigation discloses
the worth of the object sought, and
are for a period of one year. At the
expiration of that time a report must
be made on the results attained.
There seem to be two general
problems presented for solution" said
DR.. Freeman. One is to determine
what can best be taught by moving
pictures and to devise means of en-
larging this field and the second is to
find ways of improving the pictures
them selves.
Some OF the films in use in the
schools are of a purely educational
character but more of them are in the
nature of literature in that they are
partly entertainment. There are Of
course, biological and nature study
pictures that might be classed as
strictly education. There are also in
this class the animated diagrams
showing the circulation of the blood,
nerve action. etc.
Visual education, a t present, Is not
systematized. The situa ton reminds of
an enthusiastic friend who went to
Mexico to take pictures. He shot
everything in sight and then when he
got back it took a geographer to 'cutl
and paste and get an understa ndable
story out OF the films.
Motion pictures will not spread
over the whole curriculum but will be
incorporated as a part of the school
work. What is best to show is a |
matter for much study Some subjects.
of course, lend themselves very read |
lily to the film. a the Matching Of
salmon and orange culture. Pictures
Of the various stages in these indus
tries are, ] think, readily understood
by the children. Getting vicarious ex-
perlence,' one man called it.
Valuable Results
Valuable results are obtained in
the presentation of objects which the
child never has seen. IT, for instance,
the child never had seen a ship or
picture of one, film of vessel NOV
ing over the water would convey
much more meaning than oral in
formation"
Experimental work now is going
on in the University of Chicago at
the University of Illinois and in at
least two cities where there are large
school systems. Pictures are being
taken, shown to the pupils and the
results observed. One test is to deter
ton pictures to show the child the
proper way to sit while writing an
other will be on the proper use of
tools, the picture being made in the
school shops.
Information Lacking
Due to the lack of precise in
formation on the film in the educs-
tional field" said DIR. Freeman, films
sometimes are much too long Again
they are too short. How much film
a child can absorb is matter for
experiment. There is a grievous lack
OF system, too, in the matter of
captions. ] have seen films that were
more than sixty per cent captions. Is |
this the best length or should they be |
much shorter, or should there he no
ca ptions at all and such matter left
to oral exposition after the manner Of
the illustrated lecture?
Il am of the opinion that the film
is not SO far superior to other methods
as to be- substituted in a wholesale
way but that it has its definite field |
and is eycellently adapted to certain
things seems beyond doubt"