By Frances McHugh

“I’ve been teaching mathematics for 43 years and I’m all for educational television I think it’s wonderful. It is a big responsibility and it makes you work as a classroom teacher harder than ever before, but it is a stimulating new opportunity in my experience.”

These are the words of Miss Irene Pellum, algebra teacher in Blaney High School. She insists that if students “can’t keep up on ETV, that is a reflection on the classroom teacher.”

But classroom teachers are the key to the success of instruction by educational television, according to teachers in various South Carolina schools who have had one to three years’ experience with the electronic teaching tool.

Consensus among those teachers interviewed recently is that the class room teacher works as hard, and most of the time harder, than in the conventional teaching situation. In spite of this fact, these teachers felt that they and their students “profited greatly” from the use of ETV, described it as a challenge to teacher as well as pupil.

All of them noted that the level of achievement in general had been raised. They noted also that the advantage of visual aides offered by ETV gave the subjects more thorough coverage both in breadth and depth.

“A classroom teacher could not get the same effect with the same visuals in the room as the ETV can.” said Mrs. Sarah Aull, algebra teacher at Crayton Junior High in Columbia.

“ETV certainly does not eliminate the classroom teacher,” said Mrs. Ruby Sefick, science teacher at Daniel High near Clemson, “but it simplifies for me. It relieves the load of acquiring and setting up apparatus for demonstration and experiment – besides we couldn’t afford the equipment for every classroom that ETV gives us. Now, however, I can use more time to reinforce and enrich, clarify and so on, because ETV has saved it for me.”

According to Mrs. Benjamin Hall Jr., French teacher at Booker T. Washington High School in Columbia. “The cultural aspects of teaching French through ETV would be hard to duplicate in the classroom. Not only is this visual aspect a help, but the pronunciation and enunciation is superb, since the high fidelity carries the voice so well.”

“The ETV classroom teacher is not just a cheerleader,” said Mrs. Caroline Aimar of Rivers High in Charleston. “What make this audio – visual so good is the real French atmosphere that comes through on the ETV visuals. We work vigorously and we like it. We need more time for drill work through.”

“ETV teaching is the hardest I’ve done in my 12 years, but it’s the most enjoyable and the most rewarding,” stated Mrs. Grace DuV. Roper, French teacher at Greenville’s Parker High School.

Miss Pellum is “all for ETV” and thinks it is “wonderful.” She said, “For children in a small community, this affords a chance to match and surpass the contemporaries in large metropolitan schools. They soon learn in large metropolitan schools. They soon learn in an ETV class quite emphatically that they’d better get it.”

“This method of team teaching with ETV puts the burden of learning where it belongs – on the student,” Mrs. Aull pointed out.

But she also emphasized, “There is no better way for the new teacher to learn presentation of her subject.” This idea was reflected by all teachers interviewed. many of them were eager to point out that their colleagues who were teaching in conventional classrooms (experienced teachers) found time to look on on the ETV teaching.

“They like to observe the way another does it,” said one, “and they continually incorporate the ETV ideas in their classroom teaching.”

“This is not a rare statement at all.”said Robert Jones, head of the mathematics department at Edmunds High School in Sumter. “Teaching a course by ETV is equivalent to a full scale in-service workshop experience. WE in Sumter are especially impressed with this in-service training value of educational television. It has the effect of upgrading for new and experienced teachers in any area it touches.”

We were able to accommodate 200 students in plane geometry through ETV – a job we were not staffed for in our school. Much of our instruction has been in large groups with two classroom teachers, the groups numbering 65 to 75,” continued Jones.

“We have also found that the ETV math courses are geared for the average and above average students. so we feel that grouping those for ETV classes is more successful than the cross sectional situation we had last year.

“There is little question that the classroom teacher is held to the course as designed by the TV teacher. This means that he is restricted and aided according to his particular vantage point. Time is not available for his contribution to the course material as a show or for his addition of optional topics. The extra class time, after the TV set is turned off, is only sufficient for answering questions and clarifying, material presented by the TV teacher.

“The School Mathematics Study Group has valuable information on the structure of mathematics courses based on sound research by Harvard and Illinois research personnel. Parts of these programs need to be used in conjunction with the present course design.

“Just as textbooks need revision from year to year, the TV sequence needs revision, and I am happy to know that there is enough flexibility in the closed circuit set up to make this possible,” he concluded.

Some teachers pointed out that free periods following ETV classes helped them clarify points with some students, also gave them a chance to “catch up” slower ones. Miss Pellum said. “If the ETV gives them 10 examples, I give them 10 more.”

Some said the ETV teacher was “very Real” to the students, others that there was some lack of rapport. However, it was pointed out that junior high students need more personality projection from the teacher than high school students.

One French classroom teacher said a real aid to ETV follow-up was the practice of taping the ETV teacher’s voice so that students could play back and check their own pronunciation. others pointed out that students themselves were inspired by ETV to duplicate visuals for extended classroom use. “Our classroom looks nearly like the ETV set,” exclaimed one teacher.

The team effort seemed to appeal to all classroom teachers interviewed. Miss Pellum said, “Consider the crew of experts the ETV teacher has backing her up. No classroom teacher can have that, so we get 1,000 per cent through ETV.”

All seemed pleased over the communication between ETV teachers and classroom teachers. Mrs. Hall pointed out, “sending us the comments and suggestions of the other teachers in the state gives us so much wider scope than we could have otherwise.”

Science teacher Mrs. Sefick suggested that poor readers learn faster in ETV instructions than in conventional situations.

Mrs. Sefick emphasized the “very important” need for students of education to receive instruction in utilizing this tool.

“More emphasis,” she said “should be placed on proper utilization of the ETV tool for training teachers. All teachers should learn how to gear to this method.”