LESSONS BY RADIO

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXXI, Issue 4567, 10 November 1937, Page 2

LESSONS BY RADIO

SCHOOLS OF CHICAGO. _______ INFANTILE PARALYSIS. New York, Otcobei; 1. Chicago, the schools of which have been closed by the infantile paralysis epidemic, is conducting primary education by radio. The experiment is co-operative. The newspapers are acting as substitutes for text-books and are publishing columns of lessons each day. Throughout North America—many Canadian cities, including Toronto, are similarly affected—the experiment of mass education by radio lectures is being closely followed.

Never before has education by remote control been tried on so vast a scale. The living-room, the bedroom, or the sunroom, wherever the family radio may be, is the classroom. The subjects discussed include English, science, and social study. Nearly 325,000 boys and girls -are attending—6s per cent, of the city enrolment. Examinations, covering the radio lessons, will be held when the schools reopen.

I Inspectors find a favourable reaction to the experiment. The older children are studiously taking notes; the younger ones follow with difficulty the unseen teacher. Mothers are heartily co-operating. Parents are distressed if the child misses a lesson through faulty radio reception. It is too early to comment on the possibilities of this emergency plan. No mechanical device can substitute successfully for the presence of the teacher, but the value of newspaperradio service, in the exigent circumstances, cannot be over-estimated.