EDUCATION BY MOVIE

Southland Times, Issue 18927, 28 April 1923, Page 6

EDUCATION BY MOVIE

SOUTHLAND BOARD ADOPTS SCHEME At yesterday’s meeting of the Education Board Mr D. D. McDonald, of Wellington, put before the Board a proposal for “visual education” in the schools of Southland. In explaining the scheme Mr McDonald said that it consisted in the showing of specially selected educational films of geographical, historical, scientific and literary interest, to the children of the primary schools. The great advantage of the scheme was, however, that the children would be previously prepared for seeing the films by special descriptive journals which would be issued to all. The charge for admission would be sixpence for each exhibition, but where the teacher considered that the child could not afford to pay, admittance would be free. The system had the complete sanction of the Education Department and was already in vogue in Auckland, Hawke’s Bay, Canterbury, Wellington, and Otago. Several headmasters in those districts had attested to the excellence of the idea and stated that it instilled into the child's mind things that could not possibly be taught in the class-room with the orthodox text-books. Miss Carson, Australasian secretary of the Chautauqua, described the system as being far in advance of anything at present employed in the United States, the main advantage being in the issue to the children of the printed lessons beforehand. „ asking for the sanction of the SouthBoard Mr McDonald said the scheme was not a money-making one, the charge for admission being barely sufficient to cover expenses. The films would be shown once a month, at first only in Invercargill, but it would be gradually extended till at the end of the year between ten and fifteen towns in Southland would have the benefit of the films. The Board unanimously agreed to sanction the proposal and several members expressed the opinion that the movement would be of the greatest assistance to education in Southland. • The scheme will be put into operation in Invercargill in a fortnight’s time.