Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1905-03-16

The next question about school board
is what its functions or duty should be.
The ideal board Of seven men should in the
first place decline all executive service.
Nothing executive should be within their
functions. 1t should be their work to de-
termne the general policy Of the school
system. They should make and fill their
own executive offices, direct expenditures
and settle questions which arise in the
carrying out Of their policy. I know by
experience that these occupations would be
quite enough for any board of education.
They would take as much time and
th ought as any unpaid board should be
expected to give the city.
This limitation Of function would be a
new departure for most American cities.
Most school committees attempt TO perform
executive functions through subcommittee
on high schools, books, supplies, teachers,
janitors, ETC., etc. Thus. Boston has
school committee OF twenty-four members
which divides itself into numerous sub
committees, all Of which attempt executive
functions. Now it is Obvious that even
well-chosen, fortunately constituted board
will probably contain no experts on these
difficult matters Take the average COM
mittee on books for example. This COM
mittee ought to know what books are used
in the schools, what better books are need
ed and why, and what books are on the
market They ought to be able to under
stand the wish and needs of the teachers in
regard to the books they are required to
use. should think city unusually un-
fortunate whose subcommittee on school
books consisted of a bankers clerk,
blacksmith and wholesale grocer, none of
which estimable callings can be said to fit a
man for the difficult function of selecting
text books for school. 1t would be as
rational for city to confide TO such COM
mittee the building of a bridge or the super
intending of its hospital. In these days
all executive work should be in the hands
OF experts. The man who ought to direct
the purchasing of books for city S schools
is the man who comes in contact with
teachers, school children and school books
every day of his life.
The first duty of the school board is to
appoint its executive officers. How many
should they be? St. Louis has shown the
way. There should be four executive off
GERS a superintendent of instruction,
superintendent of building, a superinten-
dent of supplies, and lastly superinten
dent of finance and accounts. Every man
should be an EXPERT and understand thor
oughly the business he is to do.
Let us first examine the functions of the
superintendent of instruction. The organ
ization of the grades of instruction is
complex piece of business; the teachers
should be selected, promoted and dis
missed by the superintendent who should
of course follow some public method that
can be clearly described and explained.
Local means should be provided for train
ing young teachers for service in the city's
and there should be long proba-
tionary periods for these Young teachers
The construction OF programs whole field,
an intimate acquaintance with many details
and rare mixture of ingenuity and good
judgement The superintendent should be
for the tone and temper of the
school discipline in all grades for it's gentle
ness, firmness, elasticity and steadiness.
To find man fitted by natural gifts and
appropriate experience to discharge these
functions will be the most difficult task of
the board.
The superintendent OF supplies will need
in his work the direct ADVICE of the teach
ers in the schools. Without this consulta-
tion it would be impossible for the most
skillful man to do his work to the best adj
vantage This leads me to say that teach
ers should be much more consulted by exc
cutive heads than is at present the case.
Every school principal ought to have
faculty of his own with whom he steadily
consults The superintendent OF supplies
should have charge Of all the great variety
of supplies of whatever nature for service
in all the schools, and should be RESPONSE
BILE for the purchase of fuel He would
therefore control the engineers and janitors
who spend the fuel.
The Legislature of New York State,
through the efforts of Architect C. B. ].
Snyder and others, enacted the following
law pertaining to school house ventilation !:
No school house shall hereafter be erected
in any city Of the third class or in any in
corporated village or school district of this
State, and no addition to school building
in any such place shall hereafter be erected
the cost of which shall exceed five hundred
dollars, until the plans and specifications
for the same shall have been submitted to
the commissioner of education and his ap-
proval endorsed thereon. Such plans and
specifications shall show in detail the
ventilation, heating and Lighting of such
building. Such commissioner of education
shall not approve any plans for the erection
Of any school building OF addition thereto
unless the same shall provide at least
fifteen square feet OF floor space for each
nunil to be accommodated in each study or