TIME Inc. has a special interest in a 24-page booklet published recently by Stanford University. The booklet, Better Teaching Through the Use of Current Materials,* is a report on an 18-month experimental study conducted in a selected group of California schools by Lucien Kinney and Reginald Bell, of Stanford's School of Education, with the cooperation of TIME Inc.

TIME Inc.'s participation in this project came about when Frank B. Lindsay, chief of secondary education for the California State Department of Education, asked if we would supply copies of our magazines, MARCH OF TIME Forum films, MOT radio recordings and related study materials for the experiment. As a result, although TIME Inc. had no say in directing the study, 2,013 students in 15 California high schools (chosen to give a wide variety of localities and economic backgrounds) used TIME, LIFE, FORTUNE and other publications for their basic school assignments, textbooks for collateral reading. At the end of the experiment's first six months the participating teachers were so enthusiastic about the results that they voted unanimously to continue the project and organized an informal California Council on Improvement of Instruction.

Although this is the first time that our publications have been used in a single, formal, large-scale project like California's, they have been used for many years in various aspects of U.S. education. TIME Inc.'s Educational Bureau, for instance, has provided, in addition to our publications, teaching aids (e.g., the TIME Current Affairs Test, monthly quizzes on the news, maps, charts) to schools and colleges all over the U.S.This material has been used extensively, especially in journalism, science, social studies and English classes.

The California experiment was applied to classes in English, social studies and science. Here are some of the results to date:

English teachers found that the study of language took on new sparkle when pupils discussed and wrote about the daily concerns of the adult world.

Science teachers found that current articles on the atom, radioactive rays, etc., were ideal for introducing students to scientific principles. Furthermore, on such topics as radioactive rays, in which recent developments have outstripped the textbooks, "the only major source of [this new] information is current materials."

Social studies teachers found that reading adult periodicals not only stimulated debates on national and international issues but also gave students a more serious concern about their role as citizens of a democracy.

Another development noted was an improvement in the ability of students to read critically and to make allowances for point-of-view ("without which the reporting of events would be dull, if possible at all").

Teachers who instructed both experimental and regular classes testified that the former "learned more . . . gained wider knowledge and better learning habits [and] an increased understanding of historical perspective."

As students tapped the resources of their communities for classroom material, they developed a more informed interest in civic affairs and in the personnel and practices of their local governments. This enthusiasm also communicated to parents who, in some cases, read for the first time the periodicals their children brought home.

There was evidence, too, that the teaching profession had also benefited. Said the California Council: "[The experiment] suggests a sound and readily adaptable means of raising the general level of instruction."

*Any educator interested in this report can get a copy of it by writing to Dr. Reginald Bell, School of Education, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California.

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