Evening star., 1937-09-19
Bv Patricia McGerr.


"WELvE-YEAR-OLD Jimmy lost
all faith in his teacher last
Spring. The class was study
4 ing the life of Louis Pasteur,
and she made several statements
which were in direct opposition to
what was portrayed by Warner
Bros film on the subject. When
Jimmy called attention to this, she
insisted that she was right and the
movie urong-and, as Jimmy ex-
planned to his mother later, Paul
MUM got the academy award, and that
teacher never won anything, so that
ought to prove who knows the most
about Mr.. Pasteur."
While few children actually chal-
lenge the authority of their instructor.
they are far more likely to remember
the things they see at the movies than
the more accurate but less dramat-
ically presented lessons of the class
room. Educators, recognizing the
vivid and lasting impression which
may be made on child's mind by
motion picture, are beginning to utilize
this medium as an aid to teaching.
Although visual instruction in
Washington has not progressed SO
rapidly as in some other large eastern
cities, the children starting or return
ing to school here this month will find
motion-picture projectors in all the
secondary and many of the elementary
school houses. First-graders will have
their introduction to education made
more exciting by films on Washing
ton, His Life and Times" "Raby
Beavers" or Milk" Second-graders
may learn about Pueblo Indians"
Land Transportation" or Robinson
Crusoe" through the motion pictures.
There are few subjects in which the
words of teacher and textbook may not
be supplemented by the cameras eye.
I 1SE Of films in this way is COM
paratively new. The department
OF visual education in Washington was
established in 1923, but it is only
since 1880 that projectors and films
have been supplied to the schools.
Since that time a library containing
44l silent films has been built up and
these may be borrowed by the schools.
The films cover 1874 different subjects.
There are l59 prints to be used in the
teaching of geography, 89 on science,
38 on history, 80 on health and hy-
giene. l3 on primary subjects. on
the arts and 2 on business practice.
Geographic Al films include pictures
taken in most of the United States
possessions and many foreign coun-
tries. There are also step-b by-step
demonstrations of our use of natural
resources, including coal mining, cot
ton growing, numbering and fishing
The teaching of history is helped
along by Photographic records Of the
lives of famous men, the Civil War.
the pilgrims and the Declaration of
independence. The life story of plants
and animals. the production of silk
and the harnessing of water power
are flashed on the screen for the bene-
fit of students of science and nature
Cleanliness, diet and posture are sub
jects of the health and hygiene group,
while bedtime stories are dramatized
Tor the primary grades.
The best use of motion pictures is
being made by the elementary schools,
according to Miss Elizabeth Dyer, di-
rector of the visual education depart
ment for the white schools. The
younger children are more used tc
learning from pictures and less able
to study the printed word. To the
cider group. CT ts4s ether hand, the
movies mean primarily recreation.
The secondary schools" Miss Dyer
pointed out, have the problem OF
maintaining student interest through
auditorium programs. They show
the films during these periods with
no advance preparation and no effort
TO associate the pictures with the
regular class room work. The use
OF visual aids in this way, in our es-
tlmation, sacrifices its fullest value
Films should be used to stimulate
thought and research and not merely
to amuse"
t is the job of the visual education
division to discover what films ar
being produced, to evaluate them ant
to decide on purchases in view of loca
needs The work is handicapped b.
limited budget. An appropriation
ps $4,000 for the coming year mus
cover all expenditures for new Aim
ana protectors and for repair an,