Review of Freedom to Learn (1954)
Title
Review of Freedom to Learn (1954)
Subject
Academic freedom
Audio-visual education
Educational films
Cold War in popular culture
Anti-communist movements--United States
Description
This is a review of the educational film "Freedom to Learn" which describes the film, the questions of academic freedom it addresses, and how to get a copy of the film.
Creator
Educational Screen: The Audio-Visual Magazine
Source
Media History Digital Library Non-Theatrical Film Collection (1918-1973)
Internet Archive
Publisher
Educational Screen: The Audio-Visual Magazine
Date
1954
Summer 1954
1954-06-10
Contributor
Sandri, Vince
Rights
Public Domain
Format
Text
jpeg
Language
English
Type
Text
Identifier
“Freedom to Learn.” Educational Screen: The Audio-Visual Magazine 33, no.6 (Summer, 1954): 228. http://www.archive.org/stream/educationalscree33chicrich#page/n219/mode/2up/educationalscree33chicrich#page/n219/mode/2up.
Coverage
United States
1950s
Text
Freedom to Learn
Can it be restricted and still be freedom?
Only a well-educated citizenry can interpret and defend our American heritage and preserve our democratic ideals. The youth of this country must understand the ideals of their American way of life and those of nations where people are not free.
This is the theme of the new NEA film Freedom to Learn, to be given its premier showing at the NEA summer convention in New York City. The film shows how modern schools try to prepare our children to assume their responsibilities as good citizens. It explains that respect for facts, a constant search for the truth, and knowledge of the world as it actually is are essential in this preparation.
In Freedom to Learn, Mrs. Orin, a high school teacher of the social studies, faces honestly one of the great questions of our time: “Can the freedom to learn be controlled and restricted and still be freedom?” This question and others are brought to a sharp focus when Mrs. Orin, trapped and entangled by the well-meaning fears of parents, is charged with teaching communism in her class.
Called before an open meeting of the school board, Mrs. Orin reveals her own deep confidence in the American principle of free education for all. She expresses her strong belief that teaching is meant to open the minds of young people to fuller and wider knowledge and that teachers who are restricted by fear and pressure cannot teach young people to become free men and women.
At the same time she makes clear that no teacher can be the final judge of truth, that this judgement remains for the decision and conscience of every free man. If these judgements are to be sound, our children must be given freedom to learn. Whether they have this freedom or not is not up to Mrs. Orin – but to each of us in his own community.
A respect for facts, a constant search for truth, and a knowledge of the world as it is are essential to our democratic way of life.
No teacher can be the final judge of truth . . . This judgement remains for the decision and conscience of every free man. If these judgements are to be sound, our children must be given freedom to learn.
We – all of us – are the ones who must finally decide whether to give our children freedom to learn.
This is the story of the 28½-minute film, available in black and white or color. It boasts the same team that produced the Golden Reel award-winning Skippy and the Three R’s. Producer: J. P. Nicholson, Agrafilms, Inc. Director: Irving Rusinow. Writer: Jarvis Couillard. Composer: George Kleinsinger. Cameraman: Pinckney Ridgell. The film has been cleared for television.
Prints of the film will be available shortly after its premier showing this summer. Purchases can be made directly from the NEA Division of Press and Radio Relations, 1201 16th St., N.W., Washington 6, D. C. Prints may be borrowed from the state education associations.
Information is the first need of any class when learning about labor and management, or any other subject.
Can it be restricted and still be freedom?
Only a well-educated citizenry can interpret and defend our American heritage and preserve our democratic ideals. The youth of this country must understand the ideals of their American way of life and those of nations where people are not free.
This is the theme of the new NEA film Freedom to Learn, to be given its premier showing at the NEA summer convention in New York City. The film shows how modern schools try to prepare our children to assume their responsibilities as good citizens. It explains that respect for facts, a constant search for the truth, and knowledge of the world as it actually is are essential in this preparation.
In Freedom to Learn, Mrs. Orin, a high school teacher of the social studies, faces honestly one of the great questions of our time: “Can the freedom to learn be controlled and restricted and still be freedom?” This question and others are brought to a sharp focus when Mrs. Orin, trapped and entangled by the well-meaning fears of parents, is charged with teaching communism in her class.
Called before an open meeting of the school board, Mrs. Orin reveals her own deep confidence in the American principle of free education for all. She expresses her strong belief that teaching is meant to open the minds of young people to fuller and wider knowledge and that teachers who are restricted by fear and pressure cannot teach young people to become free men and women.
At the same time she makes clear that no teacher can be the final judge of truth, that this judgement remains for the decision and conscience of every free man. If these judgements are to be sound, our children must be given freedom to learn. Whether they have this freedom or not is not up to Mrs. Orin – but to each of us in his own community.
A respect for facts, a constant search for truth, and a knowledge of the world as it is are essential to our democratic way of life.
No teacher can be the final judge of truth . . . This judgement remains for the decision and conscience of every free man. If these judgements are to be sound, our children must be given freedom to learn.
We – all of us – are the ones who must finally decide whether to give our children freedom to learn.
This is the story of the 28½-minute film, available in black and white or color. It boasts the same team that produced the Golden Reel award-winning Skippy and the Three R’s. Producer: J. P. Nicholson, Agrafilms, Inc. Director: Irving Rusinow. Writer: Jarvis Couillard. Composer: George Kleinsinger. Cameraman: Pinckney Ridgell. The film has been cleared for television.
Prints of the film will be available shortly after its premier showing this summer. Purchases can be made directly from the NEA Division of Press and Radio Relations, 1201 16th St., N.W., Washington 6, D. C. Prints may be borrowed from the state education associations.
Information is the first need of any class when learning about labor and management, or any other subject.
Original Format
print magazine article
Files
Citation
Educational Screen: The Audio-Visual Magazine, “Review of Freedom to Learn (1954),” Post War Teen Tuning, accessed April 28, 2024, https://postwarteentuning.omeka.net/items/show/9.