Show iiPW W&MIE TUIP AMID) aim TV cannot replace books Today as always says this professor-sta- r you must read to be educated DO THEY WHICH See his basic book list for ages 7 to 70 SlV A' By FRANK C BAXTER riorum iimtiTi or inouin or HEED? - S7 utiiithc tiiTNtiN cuiroiNii "Only the written word gives students the solid background that underlies all real culture" -- QUESTION Mrs Newton P Leonard of Providence President of the National Congress of Parents and R Teachers was elected lUilpdeJsland's “ Mother of the Year” watching television an effec for 1955 Her question: We took her education I culture and tive short cut to the professor of English question to Dr Frank C Baxter literature who became one of television's leading stars ANSWER t My dear lady let’s understand each other I think it’s very joOy to watch snakes wriggle and tadpoles turn to frogs Natural science runs amuck on TV and it can be lots of fun for all of us — make no mistake about that Television’s educational programs can certainly be instructive in a piecemeal haphazard sort of way They c fill one’s mind with fascinating And at their best they open up new horizons and arouse curiosity But even network executives and producers enthusiastic as they have a right to be about their wonderful new medium do not expect it to work miracles And it would miracle if by merely going to school and be a children could grow up to be TV our watching cultured adults Your television set is not a vending machine for higher learning It can at best be an invitation to knowledge That in itself is very much Cod bless TV if it opens our bric-a-bra- full-fledg- ed well-round- CwrlH IMS UattaS ed C3 UXTEJ on his Sunday eyes to the hidden treasures that await for example the reading of “Robinson Crusoe" But God help us too if the dramatized smattering on TV is all we ever get My own experience may be a case in point Some people think I’m trying to sow the seeds of “culture" on my CBS-TSunday afternoon program True I do read authors aloud The Shakespeare and other “high-broardor that I pour into my delivery has even inspired some critics to dub me “the Uberace of the Library-But heaven forbid that anyone should think I’m peddling easy-towallow instant-reliculture pills! All I’m trying to V w’ -s ef (CBS) program do is kindle the latent reading spark in all of us And there’s no doubt that as an invitation to learning television is superb But the coaxial cable alone will not pump culture into anyone’s veins — child or adult Despite what any educational theorist may say one can't possibly grow up to be educated without wide reading Things learned by word of mouth tend to be thin and transitory How much of what your teachers from kindergarten through high school told you can you remember today? Continued on page 37 Wiwmnh MaSasta C—— rt 1 7 |