THE CINEMA IN SCHOOL

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17346, 29 September 1924, Page 6

THE CINEMA IN SCHOOL

School teachers are warned that they cannot expect the end of all routine work when the cinema comes into general use for educational purposes. They can look forward, however, to a stimulation of mental effort on the part of the child that should make their duties less trying. These observations appear justified alter reading a report issued last month by a committee appointed by the Imperial Education Conference. The conclusion arrived at is that a strong case has been established for the recognition of the cinematograph as part of the normal equipment of educational institutions on the grounds that it:— Encourages observation and awakens interest; Imparts instruction in sonic subjects more easily, more vividly, and more durably than oral lessons; Enlarges the scope of a child's experience; Is of special use indirectly in the teaching of English by providing subjects of real interest for oral conversation and written composition; Tends? to educate a child’s taste, and therefore to create a demand for a higher standard of motion pictures in the future. The committee agreed that films are ot particular use for nature study, geography, science and industrial processes. It held, though, that the cinema was too frequently applied in English schools to show processes which the teacher should demonstrate personally—for example, the showing on the screen of simple chemical experiments which any science master could perform. Fears have been expressed in New Zealand, as well as at Home, that the cinema will stifle imagination and reduce the children to a state of passive receptivity, but the evidence given in Great Britain all goes to indicate something entirely different. Properly applied, the cinema will give invaluable assistance everywhere in the education of the child.