3. Community improvement projects. The possibilities for learning-by-doing abound in every community. The estab lishment of needed recreational, social service, and health facilities for children, youth, and adults are only a few.

4. Community surveys and studies. Live and meaningful civic education comes to those who participate in planning, doing research, interviewing, analyzing, and interpreting in community surveys.

5. Supervised participation in community organizations. With high percentages of young adults not participants in any community organization, a program of first-hand acquaintance with community. resources, agencies, and organizations is a good investment in civic education.

6. New-voter preparation programs. Age 21 is the psychologically ripe time to sharpen civic consciousness and induct all young people into full participating citizenship.

7. Educational tours. These may grow out of previous study or may themselves provide a form of learning.

consultation

8. Leadership training, services to leaders of community organiza. tions and direct leadership, and supplying educational materials and equipment to these groups. With roughly half of the adults in the typical community organized into groups with weekly or monthly programs, any improvement of group leadership and enrichment of the educational content of these programs will affect a large ready-made segment of the population.

9. Volunteer leadership systems. Block leader organizations, friendly visitors, and similar volunteer services can combine education with social and civic service and can reach many who cannot be effectively involved in educational activities in less personal ways.

10. Supervised correspondence study, individual tutoring, directed visiting, and directed reading. All but the largest of communities will always have people with specialized interests in numbers too few for group study.

11. Creative production programs in arts and crafts, music, dramatics, literature, and related fields.

12. Forums, lectures, discussion groups, film forums, workshops, and short institutes to help develop understanding of international affairs, UNESCO, and national, State, and local problems. Much of the less intensive educational activity in parent education, intergroup understanding, con

sumer education, and other fields likewise can be approached in these ways.

13. Mass media. Films, the press, radio, and television are most useful in disseminating information to great segments of the community.

COMMUNICATION MEDIA (Continued from page 132) sage across to the students. All of us know, from personal experience, the effectiveness of the comic book and the sound motion picture. In addition to these, the term audio-visual aids also includes the sand table, the chart and poster, the working model, the diorama, the still picture, the slide, and the filmstrip.

The task of the instructor, once she has decided how she wishes to "change"-educate--the student, is to decide what experience will be most effective and efficient in effecting that change. Also, she must decide what medium of communication will provide the most effective kind of experience. There are, of course, practical considerations of cost and availability to be considered. But, in the main, the modern skilled instructor needs to consider the whole range of instructional materials in terms of what each can do best and in terms of the quality of the specific item, in order to select those materials which provide the most effective and efficient educative experience.

We know that a child can gain a better impression of the irregularity of the coast line of the eastern seaboard of this country by looking at a map for 2 minutes, than he could through many, many words. On the other hand, no picture of any kind can take the place of oral discussion of the values of not being tardy. A picture may be worth 1,000, 10,000, or 100,000 words-only when the picture is on a subject that the picture can cover best, when both teachers and students understand the picture, when it is a "good" picture, and when the teacher knows how and when to use the picture.

The use of the sand table, the chart, the poster, and the still picture depends largely on the ingenuity and alertness of the teacher herself. There are few sources of central supply of these materials. Still pictures of the kind available in many popular magazines are rich sources for many subjects ranging from science to art and for all grade levels. Using the still picture in an opaque projector provides the opportunity for making use of the picture as a group activity instead of an individual one, heightens the

attention, and enlarges the picture so that all may see it clearly. It is doubtful that there exists a school where the teacher cannot be exercising ingenuity, cannot devise visual aids that will assist her as no other materials can in providing a richer and a more effective experience for the student.

An invaluable source of instructional material is the local still picture. The community is always a good place with which to start. Here the history of the community, the city plans, the transportation, the industry, the architecture—are all available in the form of still pictures or filmstrips. These can be made locally and with the most inexpensive type of camera.

One school uses water color to paint the map of the community on the classroom floor. In the primary grades, this is a simple map showing where the roads in front of the school lead to and extending only as far as necessary to show the location of all the homes of all the students. Each spring the map is washed off the floor, and each fall the incoming class paints their As the children move upwards in the grades, the maps become more complex, including the routes of the mailman, the milkman, and eventually they become scale maps showing transportation systems and the like.

own.

Other visual aids, such as motion pictures and filmstrips, are available on a purchase or rental basis. When there are local libraries of film material, the task is much simpler than when the instructor must consult general catalogs and then locate the material. In every school system there should be some source of information regarding these visual materials. Once such information is available, the teacher needs to acquaint herself with their content. It is unlikely that a teacher could teach a chapter she had never read. In the same manner, teachers must see the films or filmstrips or other material before using them in class. In the course of doing this, she will discover that in many instances the title may be misleading, or that the material in some way does not fit the needs of her instruction at that particular time. An evaluation form that provides the kind of information which will enable other teachers to form accurate judgments relative to the quality of the visual material, which is used over a period of years, and which is available to all teachers, will eventually prove invaluable in eliminating this very basic difficulty.

The instructor also must learn how to use these materials. We have learned in

the theaters and from the comic books just to look and then to leave. The educational use of pictures is quite different. All of us have consciously to overcome this traditional experience. The basic rules of good use are essentially those of all good instruction. First familiarize yourself with the material; prepare the class; use it; then follow up to make certain it is understood. These materials require individual consideration, and the teacher will need to develop variations. With some motion. pictures, you simply show the film and do not discuss it until the next day, particu larly if it is a film serving emotional objectives. In other instances, the film may need to be shown several times. No one knows all the answers to these problems of usage--there are too many differing kinds of films serving a wide variety of objectives and the time has been too short for experience to provide us with definitive answers. Each teacher will need to experiment informally and to learn on the basis of her

own experience how to use audio-visual aids effectively.

The community, the textbooks, the audio aids, the visual aids-all these and many more are "instructional materials." These may seem like a great many sources, a "confusing" wealth of sources, but they are no richer, no greater in number, than the sources through which the child learns outside of school hours. No one of them is "best." Each does a different kind of job. Each has a contribution to make. The task of all educators interested in giving the children of this Nation the best possible education is that of learning just which source will do the best job in each specific instance.

In conclusion, it is suggested that one master card catalog in which teachers and pupils can find information regarding all media available in the school will do much to improve the educational program. Such a catalog will suggest to the user the various media of communication that can be correlated in the school program.

"When we survey the new information and processes which have become realities in the last decade, we realize that science teaching and testing at all levels must develop some new patterns."

-Philip G. Johnson, specialist for science, Division of Elementary and Secondary Schools, Office of Education, in article, “Some Developments in Science Teaching and Testing" reprinted from School Science and Mathematics, March 1950 issue.

"As much as we might wish it otherwise, our higher educational facilities are utilized for war as well as for peace. Education for international understanding has a place in the college curriculum immediately next to training for national defense. College students must hurry from their classes on the United Nations to the armory for military drill.”

-Claude E. Hawley, Associate Chief for Social Sciences, Division of Higher Education, Office of Education, in article "Higher Education and National Defense," Higher Education, April 15, 1950, issue.

"There are educators who believe that the schools eventually will need their own television stations and should look forward to

impending technological developments which will eliminate many existing difficulties and overcome many programming problems."

-Floyde E. Brooker, Chief, Visual Aids to Education, Division of Central and Auxiliary Services, Office of Education, in article "How Television is Progressing in Schools," The School Executive, April 1950 issue.

"If higher education is to be made accessible to many students who must remain in their own homes, those communities in which it can be shown that higher education is not accessible for geographic or financial reasons have a responsibility to extend public-supported educational opportunity 2 years beyond the high school."

—Earl James McGrath, U. S. Commissioner of Education, in address "Expanding Opportunities for Higher Education in the United States," delivered before the Annual Convention of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, San Francisco, Calif., April 21, 1950.

"The secondary schools of the Nation are moving forward functional education and education for all American youth. For those school staffs eager to get started or to

move forward from their present positions, the Commission on Life Adjustment Education for Youth exists to provide a broad base for encouragement and a service of coordination."

-J. Dan Hull, Assistant Director, Division of Elementary and Secondary Schools, Office of Education, in article, "Progress in Life Adjustment Education," Educational Leadership, March 1950 issue.

"When next you take advantage of counseling services to help you solve employment or other kinds of problems, you may well remember that you are using a profession which may soon be as common as that of the lawyer or the doctor. Just as neither the lawyer nor the doctor can promise that you will win your case or maintain perfect health, so vocational guidance services cannot assure you of vocational success or adjustment. They are, however, another means, becoming world-wide in scope, by which the prospective worker may secure better satisfaction and greater progress in a kind of work he likes and is able to do well."

—Harry A. Jager, Chief, Occupational Information and Guidance Service, Division of Vocational Education, Office of Education, in article, "Vocational Guidance Becomes an International Service to Youth," Employment Service Review, May 1950 issue.

It Pays Off

EDUCATION IS ONE of the crowning examples of the passing of the negative notion of public expenditure. A century ago, as the idea of universal free compulsory schooling was battling to win its way, there were those who condemned the whole notion as socialistic and dangerous. “What!" they cried, "Would you tax one man to pay for the education of another man's child?" But a century of the common school in America has demonstrated its value so conclusively that no responsible voice attacks the basic idea that it is wise to put public moneys into public schools for all the children. It pays off, in better citizens, better producers, finer people. It pays off, too, in dollars and cents, as any comparison of the man-hour productive efficiency of an educated labor force with an uneducated labor force shows.

-John L. Thurston, Assistant Administrator for Program, Federal Security Agency, in address, "Investments in Human Resources" April 22, 1950, before the Association of Credit Unions of the State of Michigan, Detroit.

Radio Recordings

THE FOLLOWING described radio recordings have been added to the library of the Script and Transcription Exchange of the Office of Education and are available for free loan distribution upon request.

From the National Broadcasting Co.'s “Living-1950” series, the two broadcasts of February 14 and 11 which were devoted to the subject of education. In the first, As the Twig Is Bent, is mirrored an examination of the Nation's public schools, past, present, and future, as reflected in the story of a typical American teacher over a 50-year

span.

The second program, Action at the Grass Roots, is a drama document based on the case history of an experiment in Delaware which began with a local parent-teacher association and progressed to the State legislature with resulting State-wide improve ments in teachers' salaries and school equipment. Program closes with a brief talk by Henry Toy, Jr., who was president of the Council for Delaware Education at the time of the experiment, and presently is execu, tive director of the National Citizen's Commission for Public Schools.

Clearances permit the use of these recordings only by educational groups and over noncommercial facilities. Each program is 30 minutes in length and is recorded on reverse sides of 16-inch disks at 333

r. p. m.

God Helps Those . The title of a program from NBC's "Living—1949" series which tells the story of Penn-Craft, the cooperative community in the heart of the coal mining region of Pennsylvania. Beginning in the job-hungry thirties, the program documents unfortunate conditions in a community hard hit by the depression, and the successful plan of personal rehabilitation which was arranged by the American Friends Service Committee. Story points up sharply the efforts of a group of men. practicing democracy by the self-help technique.

from the NBC "Living-1949" series, it gives a step-by-step account of a successful plan for slum clearance that was begun more than a year ago in Philadelphia when representatives of Federal, State, and city governments, in cooperation with civic organizations and individuals in a community, joined hands to accomplish a creditable job. Program is suitable for classroom study purposes as well as for discussion purposes in community organizations.

Each of the last two mentioned programs are 30 minutes in length and are recorded on reverse sides of 12-inch microgroove records at 333 r. p. m.

1949-50 Voice of Democracy Essays. The prize-winning essays in this year's annual Voice of Democracy radio contest have been recorded by the four student winners for distribution through the exchange. In a competition that drew a million entries, high-school girls and boys wrote and recorded scripts on the subject "I Speak for Democracy." This year's winners whose voices are heard on the recordings are Richard L. Chapman, Brookings, S. Dak.; Gloria Chomiak, Wilmington, Del.; Anne Pinkney, Trinidad, Colo.; and Robert Shanks, Lebanon, Ind. Teachers and students have found it advantageous to borrow these recordings each year as models in preparation for future competition.

Visual Aids

Emotional Needs of Children. Preface to a Life is the story of Michael Thompson, newly born, and the way his parents can influence his behavior during childhood and his character during adolescence and adulthood. The equally harmful effects of a mother who babies him excessively and of a father who expects too much of him are demonstrated to point up the desirability of Mike's developing as an individ ual, loved by his parents but respected and appreciated for what he is. Produced for the National Institute of Mental Health, The New Philadelphia Story. Also Preface to a Life is exactly what its title

indicates a visual documentation of the importance of a healthy childhood as the preface to a healthy life. The film is 16mm sound, b/w, runs 29 minutes, and can be borrowed from State departments of health, rented from 16mm educational film libraries, or purchased from United World Films, Inc. (Castle Films), 1445 Park Ave., New York 29, N. Y. Purchase price is $35.85, less 10 percent to schools. Directory of 16mm Film Libraries. Do you have your copy of A Directory of 897 16mm Film Libraries? Order from the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington 25, D. C. Price: 15 cents.

"How To Obtain U. S. Government Motion Pictures, 1950." Reprints (single copies only) of the chart, "How To Obtain U. S. Government Motion Pictures, 1950," which appeared in last month's SCHOOL LIFE, may be had without charge. Send requests to Visual Aids to Education, Office of Education, Federal Security Agency, Washington 25, D. C.

1950 Catalog Supplement. Single copies of the 1950 Supplement to the 1949 catalog, "U. S. Government Films for School and Industry," are now available and will be sent upon request. This supplementary catalog, published by Castle Films, lists and describes 331 motion pictures and filmstrips of United States Government agencies which have been released for educational use within the last year. Send requests for the 1950 Supplement to Visual Aids to Education, Office of Education, Federal Security Agency, Washington 25, D. C. No charge.

Color Pictures of Common Insects. The Department of Agriculture has prepared a series of 25 "picture sheets" on common garden and farm insects. Each sheet is devoted to a single insect, shown in natural colors. The Picture Sheets (except No, 3-out of print) can be purchased from the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington 25, D. C. Price: 5 cents each.

Children's Books for Seventy-five Cents or Less. Prepared by Mabel Altstetter. Washington, D. C., Association for Childhood Education International, 1950. 49 p. 50 cents.

College Programs in Intergroup Relations; a Report by Twenty-Four Colleges Participating in the College Study in Intergroup Relations, 1945-49. Washington, D. C., American Council on Education, 1950. 365 p. (College Study in Intergroup Relations: vol. I) $3.75.

Ends and Means in Education: A Midcentury Appraisal. By Theodore Brameld. New York, Harper & Brothers, 1950. 244 p. $3.

Equality in America: The Issue of Minority Rights. Compiled by George B. de Huszar. New York, The H. W. Wilson Co., 1949. 259 p. (The Reference Shelf, vol. 21, no. 3) $1.75.

Evaluation of Citizenship Training and Incentive in American Colleges and Universities. By Thomas H. Reed and Doris D. Reed. New York, The Citizenship Clearing House (Affiliated with the Law Center of New York University), 1950. 64 p.

Gateways to Guidance; Some Aspects of Mental Hygiene for Classroom Teachers. Brooklyn, N. Y., Board of Education of the City of New York, 1950. 58 p.

Goals for American Education; Ninth Symposium. Edited by Lyman Bryson, Louis Finkelstein, and R. M. Maciver. New York, published by Conference on Science, Philosophy, and Religion in Their Relation to the Democratic Way of Life, Inc., Distributed by Harper & Brothers, 1950. 555 p. $5.

Helping Boys in Trouble; the Layman in Boy Guidance. By Melbourne S. Apple

gate. New York, Association Press, 1950. 124 p. $1.75.

High-School Driver Education; Policies and Recommendations. Developed by National Conference on High-School Driver Education, Jackson's Mill, W. Va., October 2-5, 1949. Washington, D. C., National Commission on Safety Education, National Education Association, 1950. 78 p. 50

cents.

Secondary Education: Basic Principles and Practices. By William M. Alexander and J. Galen Saylor. New York, Rinehart & Co., Inc., 1950. 536 p. $4.

Situational Factors in Leadership. By John K. Hemphill. Columbus, Ohio State University, 1949. 136 p. (Bureau of Educational Research Monographs, No. 32) $3, cloth; $2.50, paper.

-Susan O. Futterer, Associate Librarian, Federal Security Agency Library.

A Prevailing Theory of Art Education for the Junior High School. By Mary B. Swynehardt. Master's, 1947. Ball State Teachers College. 88 p. ms.

Surveys books and courses of study on art education at the junior high-school level, published since 1932.

A Survey of the Extent of Teacher Participation in Administration of Secondary Schools in Indiana. By William A. Bennie. Master's, 1949. Indiana State Teachers College. 44 p. ms.

Analyzes 238 replies to a questionnaire sent to 400 secondary school teachers in Indiana. Indicates that distribution of assigned duties is not affected by the enrollment of the schools; that length of tenure is an important factor in the teacher's participation in school policy making; and that large high schools are more democratic than small high schools.

The Value of Audio-Visual Materials in Use in the Skilled Business Subjects as Revealed by the Literature. By Eleanor Ryan. Master's, 1948. University of Cincinnati. 76 p. ms.

Discusses use of the demonstration, the motion picture, the stereopticon, the opaque projector, charts, graphs, exhibits, the blackboard, the cartoon and bulletin board, the class journey in teach. ing business subjects.

-Ruth E. Strawbridge, Bibliographer, Federal Security Agency Library.

SCHOOL LIFE, June 1950