Mechanical Teacher

In almost every rural public school in Kansas last week, at 2:15 in the afternoon, the schoolchildren were shushed into silence by their teachers, then heard from a loudspeaker:

"The Radio Classroom! . . . Hello, boys and girls. . . . Are you getting just the sort of food you need? How many vitamins are you getting? Enough? Can you have too many? What about the water you drink? Is it safe? Are you sure?"

So began the hygiene lesson--15 minutes' worth. Other days, pupils got an equivalent dose of social studies, science, art or music.

The mind behind the loudspeakers is R. Russell Porter's, radio director of Kansas State Teachers College, Emporia. He wanted to do something to improve Kansas' remote rural schools. He got free time from a local station, but discovered that most rural schools had no radios. Since then Parent-Teacher Associations and similar groups have rounded up receivers, finding battery sets when a school lacked electricity. Five stations gave free time. If the idea pans out, Kansas scholars may have more such classes--but no one expects that an announcer will ever replace the teacher.

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