Radio Is Playing Big Part In Christchurch School Life.

Radio Record, Volume VI, Issue 51, 30 June 1933, Page 43

Radio Is Playing Big Part In Christchurch School Life.

All Sorts of Subjects Have Been Covered In Comprehensive Weekly Programme Special to the Radio Record HE educational broadcasts which have recently been inaugurated in Christchurch are creating a great deal of interest, not only in the schools, but among the parents, too. Mr, F. C. Brew, M.A, of the Christchurch Training College, who organised the Wellington scheme and has also organised the "educasts" in Christchurch, gave a representative of "The Radio Record" some interesting details of these new broadcasts.

The programme of educational broadeasts for the State schools was begun on Wednesday, March 29, at 3YA. Christchurch, and has. been continued on Wednesday of each week since then, from 2 to 8 pm. The broadcasis will continue until December 6 next. So far the topics taught include the following: School music, poetry and drama, the writing of English, modelling in clay, stencilling, the grasslands of Canterbury, four Canterbury bird studies, health pioneers, playways for infants in speech education, and travel talks, With one exception, the travel talks, the one lecturer has given a series of four lessons on successive Wednesdays in his special subject, so that at the end of the first month three lecturers had each given four lessons ip a connected series. In the next month a fresh set of three lecturers each followed ov with four consecutive lessons. In this way the organisers of the programmes (the Schools’ Radio Programme Committee) have sought to ensure variety of subjects, variety of lecturers, and also continuity of teaching. In most cases the lessons have been presented in classroom style, time being allowed for the "air" pupils to make notes, to ask questions of their own teacher, and to answer, for their own teacher’s criticism, questions put by the studio teacher. In three sets of lessons the studio teacher has had children in the studio who are taught as a kind of control group, so that the pace of the lesson may be regulated. Speech, modelling and stencilling have been managed in this way, with excellent effect. Every teacher is supplied through the Education Gazette with an advance statement of teaching aids required: eg. materials, diagrams, paints, cardboard, ete., copies of the words and music of songs to be studied; hints as to preliminary observation, as for example a preparatory study of certain specified grasses; and during the lesson itself teachers and children are invited to write to the lecturer for further information or for samples of lecture material. In short, the busy co-operation of the pupils is sought and encouraged, rather than passive listening. The response of the schools has been keen, with the result that many children and teachers have been given a new impetus in and @ fresh outlook upon their school work, A number of new schools has been enrolled in the past few weeks, but exactly how many will not be known until the receipt of the answers te a questionnaire now being pre

A number of appreciative letters have been received by the Schools’ Radio Committee and by the individual lecturers, and some of the comments made have resulted in improving the programmes from the point of view of the convenience of the listening schools. In some schools only one receiving set is available, when either the classes have to be moved in and out of the one room, or the set has to be moved

from one room to another. To facilitate this, a gramophone record is to be put on between lectures and the length of the session extended for about six minutes, that is until 3.6 p.m. instead of 83 p.m. Many copies of English composition and poetry dealt with in the air lessons have been distributed to the schools. Future programmes will include topical geography of Canterbury, the age of discovery, typical infant-room activities, town planning, pronunciation of Maori names; and suggestions are now being invited for other sub jects. The major part of the work has been done by the lecturers of the Christehureh Teachers’ Training College, but some Christchurch teachers and a few special experts as well will take part. The Schools’ Radio Committee, through its convener, Mr. J. G,. Polson, Training College, Christchurch, is always ready to receive suggestions for further improvement,