The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1884-05-10
EDUCATIONAL.
The Duties of The Principal and Ne
cessity Of His Supervision.
Good Frec-Libraries for Evening
Schools---Human Nature
I'm Bows.
THE PRINCIPAL

III SCuDo--WbIh, IL cN CIV NlltIt III illc,
success depends on the proper organi-
cation OF forces and wisdom in utilizing
agencies. The right man in the right
place. makes all TIM right; while
the best man NAV be so miSusrd rs 10
be positive obstruction In nothing
is the unwisdom of our graded school
system displayed more than in the mis-
takes perpetualy made concerning the
principal. In one school his teaching
power is wholly dispensed with, and he
is let loose ior the sole work OF what is
called supervision. There are schools,
especially in communities where the
graded system is a novelty and trained
teachers are not easily obtained, in
which it is necessary that the principal
Of great building, for n time, should
be wholly occupied in the supervision
Of instruction and discipline; spending
a portion of each day in every room
until the local teacher is able To handle
her work effectively. But even this
imperative duty requires wisdom and
tact, or it will be married by OVERRIDING.
The moment that tilly children are con-
WINGED their teacher is, in any way, in
competent. is the moment OF defeat; for
throug,i iLat gap, as through 4 crevaSse
in NJ ,sissippi levee, the flood of dis
order pours in and browns the land.
And, n soon as possible, the princi-
pal, man or woman, should have fixed
periods of instruction with the higher
classes of the school. Every bright
child will be gratitied by the compli-
ment of being enrolled in the princi-
pals class, and many dull or medic
ere scholar will do better work with
the hope of reaching it. The last alb
surdity is reached when a famous teach
er is placed over several hundred chill
dren and dozen assistants 10 be re-
lieved entirely from the work that has
made him famous; too often compelled
to waste lis encr~ics in ,c.Ooi-bJuN-
keeping and matters of detail. All
work of this kind should be reduced as
much as possible, in quantity, and Ell
Their distributed among the entire corps
or assigned to a principals clerk; leav-
ing the superior teacher and ruler of
the house in a condition to do the best
possible work in the organization, in
struction and discipline OF the estab-
liShment
On the other hand, most destruc-
tive mistake is often made by shutting
the principal entirely in the highest
room, leaving no time for supervision,
or even for observation of what l. going
on below. Anybody can see how help
less the teacher must be in this posi-
ton; deal with material which has pass
ed through a series of rooms over which
he has no control-ignorant in fact of
what is being done in any of them.
The attempt to instruct such II class is
perpetual struggle with insurmount-
able difficulties, which, sooner or later,
exhausts the patience and destroys the
efficiency of the finest teacher. In too
many of our smaller cities and in some
of our chief town his arrangement is
made with purpose. The assistant
teachers are thrust in as a matter of IA
voritism, and, of course, resent super
vision and work with an eye single to
please their own trustee; the principal,
often woman, being engroSsed by the
same degrading occupation. The gem
eral superintendent is sometimes a
weak man, kept in place by ambitious
trustees on account of his weakness,
that he may not interfere with the plans
of ambitious members of the board; or
Boss who aspires to the manage
ment of every room and the personal
supervision of every teacher. While
this may be done in place of moder-
ate size, the attempt TO handle the
schools of a city of even 10000 people
in this wav is mistake which becomes
more apparent with the increase of
population.
Supervision is the backb bone of every
system of public schools. But no SUI
perintendent or principal can teach
school over the heads of the room
teachers. Neither can the room-teach-
er be wisely INDUCED in an ''independ-
ence" that isolates her pupils and
breaks up the harmony of the school
family. Here, as everywhere, we want
1.-THE golden mean"