Show hi lio IL on z 11 ofa i r world to atle e d c h 0 0 io use 4 51 1 A VY q ff TRE 1 4 N y 5 A U V an 4 its 5 M ff V ax Q 0 M 0 X irm M n z ag yg by JAMES M CHALFANT years ago B D U H darrow then attending a little red schoolhouse in champain Champ aln county oil ohio loa lo a actually actu ally a little red schoolhouse began his first official connection with school administration ills position then at the age of ten was rather humble during the fall and winter months lie built the fire being required on k 4 especially cold days to be at the schoolhouse at seven in n the morning in order to have the place warm by the time the other youngsters arrived As compensation for coring caring for tle tie fire alre he received five cents a day for sweeping out the room when the roads were muddy it was usually necessary to 0 o use first phd hoe then the lie broom and then the mop he received another nickel dally daily with these hard bard earned nickels young darrow madd viti first payment on a websters unabridged dictionary he recalls today after ii a varied experience including teaching in the tha 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 radio school roaster master heads the most interesting and gohd most successful effort in education by radio tile ohio of the air a division of the state department of education of ohio at columbus Colum hua Ms hla off official lelal title now Is director of educational broadcasting state of ahlo two years ago lie he was just a n free lance visionary a man with a big idea that the radio might be enlisted to vitalize public school education there were still in the united states well over of those iso ise 4 anted little brie one room schools such us as he had at tended in hta his youth so long ds as that was the case lie he felt the son gm equality of opportunity in education must remain rather empty and meaningless surely there must be some way to top tap the great streams of knowledge of culture of current events and carry new life and vigor tiger to the clou country schoolhouse aa well na as to the city school system the radio might well lift the little red schoolhouse out oat of its long isolation and place it on a par with the dollar city school for n part of the school day at least master blaster teachers through the illogic of radio could coald become visiting teachers and aad expert assistants for the teachers in charge of those one room schools still in operation 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 connection with it Is I 1 suppose the result of my la in threats over a good many years yeam in the first place ive been something of a pioneer right along always preferring use tile tain with prea grea to the rather tame certainty i with the exception of my high school teaching since I 1 left college I 1 have filled no otlien mans oboes ive always made a job for myself and then filled it it after varied and interesting experiences in country life institute work anil and with the agri 1 cultural extension of maryland state college I 1 found myself in ID 1121 14 1 in charge of childrens programs at station chicago I 1 became intense ly interested lu in educational broadcasting then hot but left to promote a patent that I 1 thought though was going to prove profitable it did fairly so but not for roe me I 1 after a year or two I 1 abandoned jav manufacturing project the first thing I 1 thought of then was to get back into the field celd of radio education more and more there grew upon roe me the idea of a national school of the air I 1 was convinced that the radio might become a tremendous agency for or public school education the idea presupposed three big is ifs IF educators could bo be induced officially to sponsor the project IF a radio station might be persuaded to broadcast eduan kiwal programs free of charge and IF finan clel rup rapport port could be secured to pay the cost of ad infirm i afon a school of the air could be bushed prom from one end of the country to the other I 1 traveled seeking mating to enlist the aid of SAY N 1 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 I 1 on the smile ladys broadcast of story plays and in a cincinnati school 3 gov myers ayera Y cooper of ohio right and john L L clifton director of education listening to the ohio school of the air 4 A school principal listening in on the school of the ale air program 5 edwin markham distinguished poet and author of the famous the man with the tha hot hoe who Is a member of the committee on poetry of the ohio school of the air eions and individuals to help me put my idea across finally late in the payne study and experiment fund of new york became sufficiently interested to put me on its staff to investigate nod and develop the possibilities of broadcasting for or schools on an a national scale under the guidance of 0 organized educational authorities the results of that prell preliminary survey were laid before the national educational association in boston february 1028 they were greatly interested te but beyond the passing of a strong resolution suggesting a committee to took look into the matter did nothing then I 1 interested the lead erg em of the roosevelt memorial association james R garfield theodore roosevelt jr arthur W page and others it looked as though the association were going to sponsor the project prole ct but it was discovered that some toch tech nic allty as to the terms of slit gift made that utterly impossible in june I 1 thought I 1 had the radio manu mann facture rs in convention in chicago ready to put the idaa across hut but once more red tape gut gummed umed tile the works in july I 1 came tu to columbus and bron broached clied my plan to dr J IC L allf iff ton state director of education ile he was inter ested but frankly dubious of his departments department ability to lander undertake take the work vork 1 I 1 kept ham hammering mering away at clifton for or some time in october the payne fund came to my res ms cue with an offer to pay my salary for or tile the rest of the year ear and lonn loan me to ohio and then sto sta tion of cincinnati came through with an offer of fr re broadcasting I 1 went vent back to clif ton and told him the lie situation pull up houi chair he said you tire are chios first director ol of educational broadcasting its too long a story to tell how a program was evolved liow educators were a awakened aliened to tile the groat great possibilities of i edu rational cat eat lonal ional broadcasting liow how grent teachers and other national figures were cre secured to donatt their time and services to the school of tile the air from thirty to sixty people ench week were cooperating 0 with the school without compensation the ohio school of the air was established in january I 1 1029 in april I 1 1020 the state legisla ture appropriated funds to carry it on for or two years the ohio school of tile the air has attracted so much favorable interest on the part of educators generally that it Is to be during the fall months of c the present year the subject of a special in by a federal commission this commission composed oni posed of prominent educators was appointed fly by secretary of interior ray lyman wllbur wilbur with instructions to report to him not later than january 1 1930 1910 on the feasibility of educational broadcasting on a national scale the ohio project la 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 educational broadcasting ever appointed by a state tile the odilo ahlo effort differs from a number of earlier experiments by being more varied end and lu in having baving legislative support each school day over and vijao from two to three tile school of the air brings bringa to thousands of schoolrooms and thousands sands of homes a carefully correlated and graded course of instruction for all twelve grades of public school bc hool current events story games and health talks history drama dratnal 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 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 tor for radio the school of the air na as the state department of education very emphatically says Is in no way intended to supplant classroom teaching it Is meant to augment and supplement the face to face teaching of the classroom teacher its programs are carefully planned with the cluse close cooperation of school people nil all over the state it attempts to do only those things which may be done better by radio than by any other instrumentality for F or 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 it how much more compelling vivid memorable meno rable it Is however for thet them to hear history in the making via the loudspeaker louds pealer they may feel the pulse of the nation tile the vital throbbing present and so get a new conception of tile the stuff that history Is made of the attitude of the ohio deportment department of education toward the school of the ale air experiment Is clearly reflected in a recent communication from froia J L clifton director to operating cooperating co teachers it may be said that at no time 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 tile the storm and stress of the adolescent period Is now approaching mature creative manhood aix A it comes knocking at the schoolroom door tt it says can you will you use me great broadcasting stations ire are nt at our service A wealth of talent Is available but unless there Is close co opera tion between tile the radio teacher und and the classroom teacher the pupils will profit but little one marvels nt at tile the tremendous possibilities of the radio rut but in tile classroom use of the th radio many problems remain to be solved extensive experimentation in tile the psychology of hearing should be ronde mittle new kew principles of teaching roust must tie he evolved new methods must be developed for educational broadcasting Is still lu ili the espera mental stage rut but a big idea Is on toot foot and we teachers as a body who have always performed our duty towards public education must cooperate in order that the radio may be made to work ln in constantly now new ways even in in an age of marvels there Is something awe inspiring the radio through gli the radio the throbbing present may be brought home to us and the dovd dt fd past made to live again certainly not the lent leat of tile the splendid achievements in radio lips lies been the development of radio education the enriching and vitalizing vitalising vita vitall lising zing of classroom instruction st very gratifying results have already been hinted lIn linweber wever with the conception that this newest aid to education seeks to complement but not to substitute for the living presence of the classroom teacher who shall set beet the bounds to what wo we anny confidently expect to accomplish in ili advancing the ends and alms of true education in the days day which lie ile immediately balata uell |