Show okio 0 diio school cheol of al ail r brinas world to liffie SaS BK TV a y g I 1 B W pe edO chool se boffl mampere Q 41 ufa 4 41 74 ma 1 k ina W r W q 04 ji 1 R ro UR by JAMES M CHALFANT years ago B LL darrow then attending a little red schoolhouse in champain Champ aln county ohio actually a little red school schoolhouse house began bega n his first official connection with ith school administration ills his position then at the age of ton ten was rather humble during the fall and winter months he fie built th the tire fire being required on 4 5 especially cold days to be at the schoolhouse at seven in the morning in order to have the place warm by the time the other youngsters arrived As compensation for caring carl tig for the lie fire he received five cents a day for sweeping out the room when the roads were muddy it was usually necessary to use first the hoe then the broom and then the mop he received another nickel dally daily with these hard earned nickels botin young darrow made the birst payment ment on a Web websters stes unabridged dictionary he be recalls today after a varied exper experience lence including teaching in the country schools the centralized school and the high school darrow known to thousands of school children in more than a score of states as uncle ben the italio schoolmaster I ads the most interesting and most successful effort in education by radio the ohio school of the air a division of the state department of education of ohio at columbus ills his official title now is director of educational broadcasting state stale of ohio two years ago lie he was just a free lance visionary islo nary a man with a big idea that the radio might be enlisted to vital ize public school education there were still to in the united states slates well over of those isolated little one room schools such as lie he had at tended in his youth so long as that eliat was the case he felt the gan equality of opportunity in education must remain rather empty and meaningless surel there must be some way to tap the great streams of knowledge of culture of current events and carry new life and vigor to the country schoolhouse as well as to the city school system the might well lift the little red schoolhouse out of its long isolation and place it on a par with the million dollar city school for a part of the school day at least master blaster teachers through the mn magic ic of radio could become visiting teachers and expert assistants tor for the teachers in charge of those one room schools still in opera tion lion well the story of the origin of the ohio school of the air Is a bit complicated darrow said when the question was put to him and my con lection with it Is I 1 suppose the result of my to in teresta over a good many sears in the first place ive been something of a pioneer right along always preferring the tain with great possibilities to the rather tame dainty with the exception of my high school teaching since I 1 left college I 1 liae have oiled filled no other mans slices shoes pe ive always made a job for myself and then filled it after varied and interesting experiences in country life institute work and with the agri cultural extension of maryland state college I 1 found myself lit in 1924 in charge of childrens tire pro grams at station chicago Clil cago I 1 became intense ly interested in educational broadcasting then but left to promote a patent that I 1 thought though was going to prove profitable it did fairly so but not for me after a year or two I 1 abandoned rily ray manufacturing project the first thing I 1 of then was to get back into the field of radio education more and more there grew upon me the iden of a national school of the air I 1 was convinced that the radio might become a tremendous agency for public school education the idea posed three big its IF educators could be in deuced offic officially lally to sponsor the project IF a radio station might be persuaded to broadcast aduca dional programs free of charge and IF financial support could be secured to pay the cost of ad ministration a school of the alie air could be established 0 j from one end of the country to the other I 1 traveled seeking to enlist the lie aid of r t 1 B H darrow uncle ben the radio school master director of educational broadcasting in the ohio school of the air 2 class listening in on the smile ladys broadcast of story plays and in a cin cinnoti school 3 gov myers Y cooper of ohio right and john L clifton director of education listening to the tha ohio school of the air 4 A school principal listening in on the school of the air program 5 edwin markham distinguished poet and author of the famous the man with the hoe who is a member of the committee on poetry of the ohio school of the air dons and individuals to help me put my mv idea across finally late in 1027 the payne study and experiment fund of new york became sufficiently interested to put me on its staff to investigate and develop the possibilities of broadcasting tor for schools on a national scale under the guidance of organized educational authorities the results of that preliminary survey were laid before the national educational association in boston february they were greatly interested te but beyond the passing of a strong resolution suggesting a committee to look into the matter did nothing not liing then I 1 interested the lead ers era of the roosevelt noo sevelt memorial association james it garfield theodore roosevelt jr gifford pinchot arthur IV page and others it looked as though the association were going to the project but it was discovered that some tech nica rile allty lity as to the terms of gift made that utterly impossible in june 1928 I 1 thought 1 had the radio bianu facture rs association in convention in chicago ready to put the idea across cut but once more red tape gummed the works in july I 1 came tu to columbus and broached broa clied my plan to dr J L clif ton state director of education ue ile was inter ested but frankly dubious of his depart departments mento ability to undertake the work 1 11 I kept hammering away at clifton tor for some time In October the payne fund came to my res cue with ao an offer to pay my salary for the rest of the year and loan me to ohio and then sta alon of cincinnati came through with td an offer of tree free broadcasting I 1 went back to clifton and told him the situation pull up your chair he said you are chios first director of educational broadcasting its too long a story to tell how a program was evolved how educators were awakened ened to the great possibilities of educational cat ional lonal broadcasting how great teachers and other national figures were nere secured to donate their time and services to the school of the air from thirty to sixty people each week were cooperating with the school without compensation the ohio school of the ate air was established in january I 1 1029 in april 1020 9 the state legisla lure appropriated funds to carry it on tor for two yea years rs the ohio school of the air tins has attracted so much favorable interest on the part of educators generally that it Is to he be during the tall fall of the present year the subject of a special in vesti resti gation gatlon by a federal commission tills this commission composed of prominent educators was wag appointed by secretary of Int intel eilor lor ray lyman wilbur with instructions to report to him not later than january 1 1930 on oil the feasibility of educational broadcasting on a national scale P the ohio project Is not the first but it Is the pioneer in the field of constant regular public school radio education and darrow Is the first director of 0 educational broadcasting ever appointed by a state the ohio effort differs from a number of earlier experiments by being more varied and in having legislative support rach school day over and VEAO from two to three the school of theale the air brings to thousands of schoolrooms and thousands of homes a carefully correlated and graded course of instruction for all twelve grades of public school Current events story games and health talks history drama logs nature study appreciation of art geographical world tours french lessons chemistry and physics lectures music lessons drama these suggest the breadth of the curriculum small wonder onder that schools are hastening to equip to receive broadcasts in some cities notably cincinnati school boards require that all new school buildings shall be completely wired for radio the school of the air as the state department of education very emphatically says Is in no way intended to supplant classroom teach teaching inz it Is meant to augment and supplement the tace face to face teach teaching lug of the classroom teacher its programs are carefully planned with the cluse close cooperation of school people till nil over the state it attempts to do only those things which may be done better by radio than by any other instrumentality for example the school children may read of some great current event such as the inauguration augu ration of a president or the ratifying of a peace pact or the teacher may tell them about it ilow how much more compelling vivid memorable it Is hoN however Never for them to hear history in the making via the loudspeaker they may feel the pulse of the nation the vital throbbing present and so get a new conception of the stuff that history Is made of the attitude of the ohio department of education toward the school of the ale air experiment Is clearly reflected in a recent communication from J L clifton director to operating cooperating co teachers it may be said that at no time lias has the world of science been so able and willing to serve education as at the present the radio having passed through a joyous carefree childhood and the storm and stress of the adolescent period Is now approaching mature creative manhood As it comes knocking nt at the schoolroom door it says can you will III you use me great broadcasting stations are at our service A wealth of talent li iq available but unless there Is close co opera tion lien between the radio teacher and the classroom teacher the pupils will nill profit but little one marvels man els at the tremendous possibilities of the radio but in the classroom use of the radio many problems remain to be solved extensive experimentation in the psychology of hearing should be made new principles of teaching must ile be evolved new methods must be developed for educational broadcasting Is still to in the experimental stage lot kut a big idea blea Is on foot and we teachers as a body who have always performed our duty towards public education must cooper co oper ate in order that the radio may be made to work in constantly constont ly new ways even in an age of marvels there Is so something methin awe inspiring about the radio through the radio the throbbing present may be brou brought lit home to us and the dead past made to live again certainly not the least of the splendid achievements in radio has been the development of radio education the enriching and vitalizing of classroom instruction st very gratifying results have already been noted however with the conception that tills this newest aid to education seeks to complement but not to substitute for the living presence of the alie classroom teacher who shall set the bounds to t what we may liny confidently expect to accomplish lr V advancing the ends and alms of true education educato P in the das which lie ile immediately before us |