Bridging the Gap

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 735, 7 August 1929, Page 8

Bridging the Gap

Radio as Adult Educator

EVERYONE has left a gap in liis education. Nobody can keep abreast of knowledge without intensive study, and the average man is unable to devote more than a short time to learning, once his organised tutorial training is complete. Radio broadcasting the world over is assisting to bridge this gap, and in New Zealand as much as anywhere the cultural influence of wireless is spreading by the broadcast of stimulating and informative lectures upon a range of subjects which could not possibly he absorbed through ordinary methods of study.

Adult education by wireless in this country is in its infancy. Certainly its advantages are fully recognised by the broadcast authorities, and the width of its influence as a factor in improving the general knowledge of the people is becoming daily more apparent. Eut so far New Zealand has merely caught the scattered ends of a system which ultimately will become a network of instruction, serving all classes of people and suiting all schools of thought. A year or two ago the possibility of a housewife leaning on her broom in the middle morning while her loudspeaker told her how to save a shilling on the butcher’s bill, how to bring up the children, or how the law affects the unsuccessful marriage, was not conceived. In many homes in England today it is routine. We in New Zealand are following closely the example of England, where authoritative educational lectures on the air have reached that stage where a permanent staff of organisers is kept busy, not speaking themselves, but arranging programmes for others to fill. It is a department of its own, this adult education. The post-wap revival of the tutorial classes in clubs and educational societies has now spread to the modern scientific tutor —the radio—and those who do not possess the facilities for University training are enabled to amplify their knowledge upon any subject in which they are interested. For example the housewife may listen in in the morning to a talk upon how to prepare the next meal or how to budget her accounts for a certain salary; in the afternoon she may enjoy a course of reading for busy women, at the same time continue darning her husband’s socks or stirring the mixture for the evening’s pudding. In the early evening books, music, plays and films of the moment might interest her, or talks upon Questions which concern women in politics. At other times she may listen to subjects of general moment that are being broadcast. Thorough organisation has revealed the days and times most suited to the requirements of the different classes of people. A typical schedule of talks for the day begins with a chat at 10.45

a.m. upon “Menus and Recipes.” followed at 3 p.m. by a word or two upon “Health in the Home,” and at 6 p.m. by a selected lecture upon “The Day’s Work,” or a short gardening or poultry talk. Some information about public departments, like Industries and Commerce, Agriculture or Overseas Trade fills the 7 o’clock schedule, supplemented frequently by a dramatic criticism or a novel review, or perhaps a screen talk. A little later, at 7.25, the listener will hear something like “How an Airplane Flies,” "Diet—lts Principles and Practice,” a talk on Italian or French, or perhaps something to interest nature lovers and animal keepers. A weighty talk upon “The Modern Outlook” will fill the serious mind at 8 o’clock, and “Crime and the Criminal,” debates and discussions, or topical talks upon every-day subjects are sandwiched into the programme at later intervals. No class ol student is overlooked. Ancient Greece is analysed alongside the modern Utopia, and the j"ung mind is given stimulating thoughts upon things about which it will later be called upon to express itself. That is in England. New Zealand is following upon similar lines, and in Auckland more than anywhere else in the Dominion, the instructive trend of the broadcast will be seen in any programme chosen at random. Tutors are drawn from the W.E.A. to talk upon drama, the League of Nations, science as it affects every-day life, industrial tendencies and conditions, literature, art and a multiplicity of other things possessing general appeal; and experts are speaking almost nightly upon a wide range of subjects. Saturday afternoon may now be spent listening to a few words about gardening in preparation for the Sunday morning onslaught upon early spring weeds; women receive valuable information in the afternoons about homecraft, cookery and dressmaking; while physical culture, artistic physical development, psychology, health and hygiene are all covered by authoritative speakers. Farmers’ affairs are also dealt with in a popular series In the South, and the Auckland announcer’s book review in the evening gives an illuminating idea of contemporary literature from day to day.