Jesse Spalding School for Children with Disabilities (1933)

Synopsis

Dating to the year 1933, this silent film from the Chicago Public School System under Superintendent of Schools, Dr. William J. Bogan celebrates "A Century of Progress handicapped children". (The "Century of Progress" was the name of the Chicago World's Fair of this same time period). The film gives an extraordinary glimpse into "state of the art" education for children with disabilities in the first part of the 20th Century, and is one of a couple films in our collection about "special" students. The context of this film is important, as one needs to keep in mind that the Polio epidemic had placed extraordinary strain on American society and its schools. Also, 1933 coincides with some of the worst times in the Great Depression. Given this, the level of care provided by the Chicago public school system seems noteworthy and perhaps was even unique. The film looks at the efforts in Chicago to see that children with disability can receive an education, albeit a segregated one. As the film notes, in 1833 few children with a physical difference were accommodated. At:34, the Jesse Spaulding Public School is seen, and one still exists in Chicago at 1626 West Washington Blvd. Unfortunately we don't know much of this school or its charter, but apparently it was tasked with accommodating (as the title card states at:48) "crippled children". At:56, Dr. William Bogan visits the Spalding campus. At 1:16, some of the 45 buses that transport children with disabilities are seen arriving at…

Uploader's description on archive.org

Details

Running time

14 minutes

Language

English

Collection

Ephemeral Films

Subjects on the Internet Archive

• Stock Footage

Reviews on the Internet Archive