View report page

43
"Camera Talks" had been approached earlier by the National
Association for the Prevention of Tuberculosis about making a
film strip on this subject. As a result of our ideas and interest
we were asked to co-operate with them in the making of a professional
strip. Scenes for about half the frames were shot in
Croydon and we hope the strip will be ready for general distribution
by the end of June.
After speaking to a Croydon Teachers' Science Society, Dr.
Wright thought that the rising generation would be the most
profitable group to tackle. After a period of trial and error
the following programme is being carried out in Secondary
schools (boys and girls):-
1. A pegboard triptych displaying coloured cardboard cutouts
about the effects of smoking is put up in the school for
one or two weeks.
2. Leaflets expanding on the subject and written in a simple
style are distributed among the older children.
3. The illustrated talk is given.
4. Evaluation of the effects of this propaganda is attempted
by asking each group to either:-
(a) Write an essay on smoking-after seeing the display,
and before hearing the talk.
(b) Write an essay on smoking after seeing the display and
hearing the talk.
or (c) To evaluate the leaflet simply as a piece of propaganda.
These essays are still being assessed, but already one
clear fact has emerged from them-children can take the facts
and they are interested in the methods of research. We have
also observed that quite a number of boys are smoking regularly
at thirteen years old, but many of them have given it up for
reasons of sport or finance by fifteen years old.
Dnfortunately, there are very few parent-teachers' associations
among secondary schools, but through these we are trying
to encourage parents to dissuade their children from starting
the smoking habit.
Education on this subject is a long term policy and dramatic
results are not expected: it is planned to repeat this programme
annually in these schools.
Having to talk to school children about the effects of