Television and Education

WHEN visual aids came into the classroom we realized that here, at last, was a pleasant, sugar-coated method of learning. Indeed, said our progressive teachers, the art of reading became more or less old-fashioned. Perception of facts was made easier and more attractive with the advent of pictures. The printing trades, with their antiquated production methods, were compelled to brighten up their pages by the use of color.

Then television, a spectacular electronic wonder, appeared on the scene and a newer, wider window was opened upon a glamorous world. Now, for the first time in history, the field of visual education was no longer restricted to the limited confines of the few youngsters who sat in private or public school rooms. Millions of Americans had video programming, good or bad, delivered right into their living rooms.

The average viewing time of the TV- equipped homes had, by the advent of 1952, exceeded four and a half hours a day. The nation realized that private telecasters, accountable only to their own individual consciences, were possessed of more than a majority of the leisure time of Americans within the range of video.

The number of our countrymen who are thus reached with a signal of varying degrees already exceeds 70,000,000. As the Republican and Democratic delegates meet in Chicago to choose a candidate for President, they will be closely watched by more than half of all the people of the United States of America. Theoretically, this should raise the political and social maturity of our citizenship. In any event, the town meetings in New England, or the political gatherings in the cantons of Switzerland, are to be transformed into a gigantic demonstration that the democratic processes can be utilized before the mass audience which is a mighty nation.

Our 17,000,000 TV set owners are presently able to watch only 108 video stations in the United States. Even this number is phenomenal when compared with the one or two stations in England, France and the Soviet Union. But, in this country, we will shortly begin a tremendous television expansion. Although only a dozen more stations may take to the air this year, it is expected that by 1955 there will be in excess of 2,000 television stations on the air.

We ought not be too overwhelmed by

the present status of television, fantastic as it may be. We must realize that the surface of its potentialities hasn't been scratched.

Although teachers are pointing out that the old-fashioned reading methods must be revised, we have all learned that the new techniques of training by visual means is anything but archaic.

What is the significance of the fact that training by television is becoming an established, effective and a proven teaching method? Recently the Department of Psychology of the Fordham University Graduate School conducted a most interesting "Television Evaluation Project" among all grades of personnel in the United States Army. A special television network was set up in ten Eastern and Middle Western cities. The test showed that "all grades of officers and enlisted men made higher scores on the test questions after the series of educational telecasts than they did before the telecasts." The test showed conclusively that the lessons taught were positively retained over a longer period of time. All classes admitted that they thoroughly enjoyed the new method of teaching.

JUST because this new TV industry has had this phenomenal growth, we may easily become blinded by the conditions of the day. A year or so ago the economics of television revealed losses by many individual stations amounting to as much as a hundred thousand dollars a month. Today, profits accruing to some of these same stations run up to as much as three or four hundred thousands of dollars a month (usually before taxes).

Alert American business men became

interested in the economics of this medium, possibly because the United States is about the only place in the world where broad- casting rights are still farmed out to private enterprise. Private enterprise must also become conscious of many potentialities besides keeping their own television balance sheets in order. They must assume leadership in their communities by establishing educational television outlets for carrying out the functions of their favorite nonprofit institutions.

Because of these present profit figures in telecasting there has suddenly developed a new glamor, and many folks are rushing to get into the act. Having gone through the agonies and pleasures of such pioneering on several occasions, I may be forgiven if I ask my friends to hesitate and recognize the obligations, as well as the opportunities, of the moment.

Television is truly at the crossroads. The vast economic future of television, to my mind, exceeds anything American business has ever seen in new industry. Already it is apparent that it will soon become, far and away, America's leading advertising medium.

Video is more than a mere advertising medium. Its moving messages combine sight and sound. For the first time in history we have found a means of visually demonstrating a product in use, under almost perfect conditions, before a mass, receptive audience. Already agency men are claiming that the dollars pouring into the TV industry from the blue-chip advertisers will soon add up to a dollar volume far in excess of that claimed by newspapers, magazines and radio media.

It is not the purpose of this article to show that television is a phenomenon dedicated to making licensees rich or political candidates office holders, nor is it necessary to discuss the merits of television as an entertainment medium only.

It may be desirable, however, to emphasize that there is a vast opportunity in the medium to advance the education and enlightenment of all peoples everywhere. It is important, also, to say that the time for decision on the future of education via television is NOW.

Jack Gould, the very able television editor of The New York Times, said a mouthful on February 3, 1952: "The commercial stations in television are making— and no doubt will continue to do so—very real contributions of an educational and cultural nature. ...To be fully effective educational television cannot be sporadic or incidental, as it largely is on the commercial outlets. Like all education, it must be a continuing process dedicated to concrete and definable objectives."

Urging the New York Board of Regents to follow through on their promise to build a chain of eleven television educational stations, Mr. Gould realized that the chips on the whole question of educational television are now down. He said, "At first glance the cost of the Regent's proposed television network may seem substantial; it is. But it takes virtually four or five million dollars to build one high school serving several hundred or a few thousand students. For the same money an educational television network could bring the liberal arts and vocational skills into the homes of millions. That's no boondoggle; that's sound investment in the future."

Thus it is that with the lifting of the freeze against the granting of television licenses, the Federal Communications Commission is now asking educators and public-spirited citizens to accept with- out charge more than 200 telecasting channels. Community-spirited men and women throughout the country must now stop talking and accept a challenge.

The question is not too acute for the Trustees of Dartmouth College since there has been only one educational channel assigned for-.the entire State of New Hampsire. This is located at Durham, N. H. The nation may not have the benefit of Hanover originated games. The Big Green teams, which we hope will be seen by millions, will therefore have to be watched while playing outside their native habitat. The Dartmouth ski teams might well get themselves on film. Winter sports lend themselves especially well to video! The saddest loss in this allocation is the fact that the vast TV audience may not have the benefit of the wholesome liberal arts training which is the Dartmouth tradition.

OUR duties as citizens and parents do not end with attempts to build community television stations or even supervise existing programs. This is a personal matter and it cannot be shunted off by mere criticism of an industry. Are your children using this facility intelligently? A recent survey conducted by Xavier University in southern Ohio showed1 that at least one-half of the u-year-old children examined stayed up at least one night a week and watched late movies, which do not even start until after 11 o'clock at night!

As we see these youngsters glued to their television screens, we are conscious of the fact that this new instrumentality has affected not only the living but even the buying habits of the American people. While it is apparent that children stay up too long to watch recreational programs, including variety or mystery shows, it must also be obvious that this overindulgence indicates a lack of parental discipline.

In evaluating the medium of television, we should also realize that our children are also having made available to them historical items in the field of current events- like the signing of the Japanese Peace Treaty, the Kefauver Crime Committee hearings, sessions of the United Nations, and other worthwhile matters, which surely must have a beneficial effect upon the mental, social and even the political maturity of all our people.

At Erie's WICU we offer video fare from 6:45 in the morning until long after mid- night. Although we are affiliated with all four networks, we try to emphasize local, community and public service programming. We recognize that we have an obligation to program for the entire family. This equitable division of the day, or "mood programming," splits the day into segments whereby the morning offers news, religious, school and domestic items; the afternoon is devoted to entertainment and home economics directed largely to the housewives and shut-ins; from 5 to 7:30 there is a preponderance of programs for the children; the early evening offers variety shows; the mid-evening, dramatic and mystery shows; and the late evening has its full share of sports, like boxing and wrestling. But like any well-balanced menu, specific items are not always favorites of all members of the family.

In my opinion the chief interest in any community lies in home-produced shows. Local names and local happenings are still the most newsworthy. In Erie, a city of 150,000 people, we have days when more than one thousand local folks appear before our television cameras. Although local, public service programming is not only a successful method of building an audience, more and more broadcasters are finding such programs financially worthwhile. But whether commercial telecasters are willing to assume this responsibility or whether they would rather "sit on the coaxial cable" is not important. The chance offered to educational institutions for successful operation is a certainty through this appeal to local community programming.

The line between educational and noneducational films is no clearer than that between commercial and non-commercial shows. Are we to say that a travelogue, an art class, a weather or geography report, or a ballet dance is less "educational" than a Shakesperean or Shavian drama? And does a variety show which, after all, appeals to the largest number of people, having a billboard in the background bearing the name of the company which foots the gigantic bill, necessarily mean that the show is any less educational?

In giving a license to a telecaster the government places the responsibility for deciding program fare. This responsibility cannot be shunted, and none of us would say that a majority opinion as to what goes into our hundreds of shows each week would necessarily be any better than that chosen by the telecasters.

About a year ago, we cut the length of wrestling on the television station at Columbus, Ohio, from two to. one and three- quarters hours on Saturday nights. We were confronted, the next week, with a threatening petition signed by five hundred women!

Recently I addressed a joint parent- teacher and ministerial meeting in Ohio, and I asked how many of the 500 persons present watched the excellent informative program "Keep Posted," which is on the air at the same time that Milton Berle shovels out his tripe. What do you think of the results of this survey? Three hundred and fifty were wowed by Berle, 225 watched the cavorting Frankie Sinatra and a mere two dozen claimed that they "dutifully" watched the thought-provoking show sponsored by the Saturday Evening Post.

In January, we took an advisory poll of Erie televiewers on their preference for the Wednesday night programming. More than 15,000 persons voted in faVor of carrying the fights on Wednesday nights as contrasted with less than goo who favored our carrying one of the best dramatic shows ever shown on television!

Although none of us is enthusiastic about the effectiveness of industry self- polieing, there has recently been adopted a Code of Proper Conduct. Television programming, in general, has not suffered the vulgarity which sometimes has hit the theatre and especially the movies. There is a general consciousness that this is a living room medium. Our objective must be, not to exercise censorship to the point of excluding some of the world's great literature or limit the freedom of speech, but merely to see that the rules of ordinary decency continue as a basic ingredient of the American home.

IT is not difficult to establish a consciousness of the possibilities of extending educational programming. Those who are willing to accept these community responsibilities can get their institution's governing body to go ahead with the project and secure application forms from the Federal Communications Commission in Washington, D. C.; retain a lawyer and an engineer, arrange the financing and then get a television station on the air. But what if YOU fail to act?

The pressures from broadcasters and others to turn these channels back to the government for private use is, of course, intense. And in all fairness these licenses, if not used by educators, should be turned over, after a reasonable time, to someone who will bring television service to the people of the area. The extent of the pressures unleashed against certain university Boards of Trustees is already being observed. A few business men have said already that television is tremendously expensive and suffers substantial losses and that State-operated institutions do not have the benefit of income from commercials. They suggest that educational programming is narrow, dull and possesses no general appeal. They point out that teachers are not showmen. They even insist that teaching psychology or geology can never compete for an audience against the glamorous leg show.

But we should realize that educational television will merely supplement the present commercial telecasting stations. They will serve the local, intellectual needs. I want to point out, however, that many commercial stations, like those in Detroit, Philadelphia, Erie, Baltimore and elsewhere, are even now proving that the schools can provide worthwhile video school fare.

The first undergraduate course leading to a college diploma was begun by Brooklyn College in July of 1951. Subjects taught included speech, English, American culture, community relations, art, physical science, merchandising, law, musical appreciation, the theatre and other subjects. Colleges and schools throughout the nation are undertaking more of such extension courses.

In general, however, there has been a lack of time afforded by commercial telecasters for necessary school experimentation. We have conducted public class rooms on our Erie station for months on end and the results have been generally successful. Through all of this experimentation there will someday be forged a television teaching format. Obviously, if schools have more aired time and have their own video studios and telecasting facilities, that successful format will be reached much more quickly.

My own feeling is that a different approach is necessary. Commercial telecasters, who sell their time in as little as tensecond segments, are not likely to go over- board in meeting requests for public service broadcasting. Nor can they be blamed for this attitude in a system of competitive telecasting such as ours. One remedy for this would be a decree by the government that all licensees must set aside a segment of the broadcast day, say one or two hours, for the use of public service and nonprofit institutions.

Inducements like the granting of awards for specific types of programs, such as play-writing, art courses, agricultural hints or other educational features, might stimulate telecasters to make outstanding contributions in this field. Surely, it will elicit tremendous cultural contributions from our American people.

It would be most unjust to say that all the worthwhile public service programs on the air are now locally originated. Actually the networks are exploiting some of television's great educational capabilities. Horizons, on Trial, Meet The Press,United or Not, Court of Current Issues,How Did You Get That Way? Johns Hopkins University Science Review, and dozens of other informative shows are even now available.

OUR schools throughout the land are quite conscious that securing public service programs from our educators is not easy. In the Erie area we have four colleges offering different educational television programs. This is accomplished by one person, working full time, going into the byways and inducing the teachers and students to utilize the proffered facilities.

In getting around the country before educational groups, I have found a tendency among teachers to criticise present TV programming. I have often told them that they should stop making speeches long enough to accept our invitations to use present outlets. After all, telecasters do have various segments of the broadcast day available for educational programming.

We have had many first-class squabbles in trying to pry loose from schools and universities visual libraries. Some of these films possess outstanding educational features and they should be made available to mass audiences. Telecasters have often screamed that teachers, like football coaches, forget that educational activities of public institutions, including sports and films, belong to all of the people.

Recently the Ford Foundation came to the conclusion that the public interest and educational programming can best be furthered through the medium of present commercial telecasters. James Webb Young, consultant for the Foundation, said that "commercial telecasting with its multi-billion dollar potential will furnish the real impact of television on this country." Let's admit that we have a vast and expanding industry, conscious of its opportunities to raise the level of information and the emotional maturity and even to advance the behavior patterns of the American people.

The hour of decision is at hand. Let us resolve once and for all that the issues between private and public forces, between educators and commercial telecasters, or between any other segments of our economy, will not snag the progress of this revolutionary new art. The public welfare decrees that education by television remain the heritage of all the American people.

PUBLIC-SERVICE PROGRAMS on Mr. Lamb's television station WICU in Erie are shown on two educa- tional levels. A school program demonstrating the use of audio aids in elementary teaching.

The weekly Veterans' School which features a variety of things from welding to art and mathematics.

"AUTHOR MEETS CRITIC: Representative of educational and cultural television programs on national hook-ups is this popular NBC feature. Hume Cronyn is at far left, John K. M. McCaffrey at far right.

Now is the time for decision onthe future of education via television, says the author, who owns twotelevision stations and is also anewspaper publisher. He argues forthe resolving of the issues betweenpublic and private forces, so thisnew medium, growing with giantstrides, may fulfill its vast opportunity to contribute to the educational and cultural life of the nation.