School superintendent

“ If he is warm and genial, such will be the school. A cheerful superintendent spreads cheerfulness throughout the school. A light and trifling, or a gloomy and morose, superintendent infects teachers and scholars alike with the same spirit. Never should the superintendent allow the least impatience or harshness to manifest itself in his look, tone of voice, or manner in the school; for its effects will prove most disastrous. Ill-temper is a perfect barrier to religious improvement and usefulness. ”

“ A merely nominal superintendent is a curse to a school, as is a weak, foolish mother, or father, in the family.
Further, he should study to gather hints and suggestions to help the teachers not only in the school, but also in the teachers' meetings and everywhere. [44] Particularly should he observe the teachers during the teaching hour, and never interrupt them, but be ready at any moment to come to their assistance. He should always protect the teachers while teaching, and not allow the librarian, or secretary, or missionary collector, to appear on the floor at that time. ”

“ For the town or city district is of small area, and the schools few and close together. If the number of teachers is large, the superintendent is assisted by principals of different schools, and by deputies. The teaching force is better prepared, and hence requires less close supervision. School standards are higher, and the coöperation of patrons more easily secured. The course of study is better organized, the schools better graded and equipped, and all other conditions more favorable to efficient supervision. ”

“ And in the increasing number of schools which are employing graded lessons, not uniform in the departments, the superintendent should have at least a general knowledge of the subjects studied in each department. The more thoroughly the superintendent fills his own mind and heart with the truth, the more efficiently will the truth be taught in his school. ”

“ Nearly everywhere, Sunday-school conventions are available; and to [Pg 208] these, as gathering up in his own experience whatever his school has learned and accomplished, the superintendent should carry his freshest inspiration and his wisest plans. No superintendent can live—can be a live superintendent—to himself.
One thing should be said, to close this hasty sketch. If the superintendent is all this, or even part of all this, in his personal motives, and in his relations to officers, teachers, scholars, and other schools, he will always be a paid superintendent. He may have no salary ”

“ The election of the superintendent should be made by the workers in the school, its board of teachers and officers, and its action should be formally confirmed by the ruling board of the local church. No man should hold the office of a superintendent who fails to receive the approval of the church of which the school is a part. He should know that in his appointment the school, the church, and the pastor all unite. ”

“ The masters in every department of work are never too wise nor too old to learn.
If a man can be found who possesses all these seven traits of character and temperament, the school which can secure him for its superintendent [52] will be fortunate indeed. And the superintendent who thoughtfully reads the catalogue of qualifications, and feels that in some of them he is lacking, may by divine grace and his own will working together make progress toward the goal of becoming an ideal superintendent. ”

“ No matter how much the superintendent knows, or thinks he knows, he should hold his mind open to new knowledge. He should be on the alert for new ideas, from the periodicals, from books, and from his fellow workers, in conversation, at conventions and institutes; not that he may inflict every new method upon his school, but that out of many methods he may select the best. ”

“ How can he learn, except by doing everything, now and then, when the superintendent is present? Many a superintendent has worn himself out doing five men's work rather than train four men to help him. Elijah trained Elisha to be prophet in his stead. If he had not done so, I hardly think Elijah would have been carried to heaven in a chariot of fire. Every worker should prepare his successor, should make himself unnecessary.
Let it be the superintendent's ambition, then, to create an automatic Sunday-school, one he can leave to run itself. He must keep himself in the background. ”

“ Important.—Supervision is fully as important as teaching. The supervisor must be, to even a higher degree than the teacher, a strong personality, and this too implies a high standard and an attractive salary. The supervisor or superintendent must be somewhat of an expert in the methods of teaching all the common school subjects. Not only must he understand school discipline and organization in its details, but he must possess the ability to "turn in" and exemplify his qualifications at any time. It will be seen everywhere that the supervisor or superintendent is the expensive person ”

“ Frequent changes in the management of the school will tend to destroy the efficiency of its work. But whenever the great interests involved in the religious education of an entire church or community require a new superintendent the change should be made, even though sympathy be felt for the one set aside. The institution must not be sacrificed to save the feelings of the man.
4. His Qualifications. It is important to consider the qualifications of an ideal superintendent, remembering, however, that all these qualities are rarely to be found in one man. ”

“ Sunday School. I had already met the superintendent, Miss Warren, and she had explained one most interesting feature of her system—namely, that each month she held a staff meeting of parents and teachers to discuss the lesson, the children, and the school. In each department of the school there was a superintendent; a grade leader who ensured a continual supply of teachers (absentees having to send in their names to her beforehand) ; a teacher and an assistant teacher for each class, the latter being there to learn her art ”

“ Then, too, a county should be divided into districts and more assistance given the county superintendent in the supervision of schools. In other words, supervision should be persistent, consistent, and systematic; visits should be more frequent. In the city a superintendent or principal has all his schools and teachers either in one building or in several buildings at no great distance apart. In the latter case he can go from one to another in a few minutes, staying at each as long as he thinks necessary. Little time is lost in travel. ”

“ I. What are the Qualifications of the Model Superintendent?—The purpose of the school is the conversion and spiritual education of those who are under its influence. This, therefore, must be the purpose of the superintendent. As one can not teach what he does not know, so he can not accomplish a purpose unless he knows practically the steps which lead to its accomplishment. ”

“ Seeking Workers. In nearly all Sunday schools there is a constant need of helpers, to fill the places of withdrawing or absent teachers; and the work of supplying the demand generally falls upon the superintendent. He may find relief in the work of an associate superintendent, as will be seen in the next chapter. Both the superintendent and his associate should always be on the alert for new teachers and for new scholars. ”

“ What can a supervising officer do for a school or for a teacher under such circumstances? Practically nothing. The county superintendent is usually elected to office by the people and frequently on a partisan ticket. This method of choosing naturally tends to make him give more attention to politics than he otherwise would think of giving. So the supervision or superintendency of country schools is too often slighted or neglected—and who is to blame? ”

“ Every public rural school, then, is a state institution and, as such, falls to some degree under the control of a branch of the state government, which is usually presided over by a state superintendent of public instruction or a state board of education. In practice the actual control over any particular school is exercised by school-officers, elected by the people of the locality or chosen by the state educational officials. The local school-officers are known as school-boards, boards of school-directors, boards of education, school-trustees or county superintendents. ”

“ The school spirit is abroad in the consolidated school district; people are thinking and talking school. It becomes the customary and fashionable thing to send children to school.
Better Supervision.—There is also much better supervision in the consolidated school; for, in addition to the supervision given by the county superintendent or his assistants, there is also the supervision of the principal, or head teacher. This is in itself no small factor in the making of a good school. Good supervision always makes strongly for efficiency. ”

“ A county superintendent is not always elected for his merits as an educator, but often for his popularity, influence, and "agreeableness." An elected county superintendent usually cannot come into conflict with the parents—for instance, by insisting on a rigid enforcement of the school-attendance law entailing the arrest of the parents for disobeying the law—without losing his position at the next election. ”

“ The committee for appointing teachers should be composed of three persons: the pastor of the church, the superintendent of the Sunday-school, and the superintendent of the department where the teacher is to teach. If there is a separate superintendent of teachers in the Sunday-school, he may represent the superintendent of the school in this capacity. No one should be set over any class as teacher whose appointment is not satisfactory to the three persons named above. ”

“ Cases of variance between pupils and teachers arise. Often times the school suffers from financial lack. The chief officer of the school is the one to whom all such matters come for final adjudication. The superintendent therefore must be (h) a person of good executive ability, that with firm, strong hand he may hold each part of the system of which he is the center revolving in its own orbit, never flagging, never tiring, never ceasing to do its own part in the work, never clashing with any other. Such are some of the principal qualifications of the superintendent. ”

“ Add to this the fact that cities attract the strong teachers—the professionally trained teachers, the output of the professional schools—and we can see again how effective supervision becomes in the city as compared with that in the country. In the country we find only one superintendent for a county often as large as some of the older states, and the possibility of visiting each school only about once a year. ”

“ Under the American system a county superintendent of schools invariably has to be a school politician, and almost invariably has to be a political politician as well. His school gang is made up of his assistants and clerks and principals and other numerous appointees, all of whom depend upon his favor 225and are looking for promotion; also those teachers who serve him as bell-wethers, leading the flocks of teacher sheep. ”

“ Perhaps the word unction would more worthily express the idea. The superintendent's interest should rise to this high point.
He should maintain good discipline and order, both for himself and his school. Sometimes the most disorderly man in the whole school is the superintendent. The two elements of good order are self-control and good temper. Let no man think he can control others unless he can control himself. It will be in vain for him to insist on order, punctuality, and regard to all the rules of the school, unless he himself [42] is a living example of strict conformity to them all. ”

“ All power and authority in school affairs should reside ultimately in the board of education, consisting of not more than eight persons appointed by the mayor of the city, to hold office four years, two members retiring annually and eligible for reappointment once and no more. This board should appoint as its chief officer a superintendent of instruction, whose tenure should be during good behavior and efficiency, and whose powers and duties should be to a large extent defined by statute law, and not wholly or chiefly by the regulations of the board of education. ”

“ He should be a person of sympathetic attitude, of high qualifications, and of experience in the field of elementary education. The assistants should be carefully selected by the board on the recommendation of the county superintendent. Poor supervision is little better than none.
The Schools Examined.—The county superintendent and his assistants should give, periodically, oral and written examinations in each school, thus testing the work of both the teacher and the pupils. These examinations should not conform in any perfunctory or red-tape manner to a literally construed course of study. ”

“ The constant growth of the Primary Department is his perennial perplexity. To relieve the congestion in the crowded Infant Class its older pupils must be brought into the main school, and teachers must be found for them. The superintendent is always seeking, and often seeking vainly, for new teachers.
(b) Another difficulty is found in the attempt to transfer scholars from one class to another. No matter how much out of place a pupil may be, it is almost impossible to transfer him to another class without incurring the displeasure of the teacher, the scholar, or the scholar's family. ”

“ School boards have not always purchased everything that I have requested, but I have found in the vast majority of cases that if the board has faith in the superintendent and feels that he knows what he wants, and what he will do with it after he gets it, he will not have much difficulty in obtaining what the school really needs. ”