Milford chronicle., 1921-03-11
MAKING LIFE HAPPIER
in COUNTY'S SCHOOLS
BEING A DAY WITH A SUPERVISOR ON
HIS VISIT TO SCHOOLS In RURAL
new CASTLE.

est. 1t is commonplace, to be sure, but
for that very reason a story worth
the attention of every mother and IA
ther of a school child in the rural dis
tricts.
1t is the recital of a day with n
school supervisor.
To lay minds a school supervisor is
something of upernumeTary-som
thing added to which may be sub
tracted from. But, as is pointed out in
the report, supervisor is a close as
sistant to the county superintendent,
who perfOrce is tied tightly to the of
flee in administering the normal du-
ties of his position. The supervisor
goes out among the teaching staff, in
to the schools themselves, and reme-
dies those little daily defects and
troubles which make teaching difficult
and the school child wish he or she
were somewhere else.
The narrative of day in the
schools, as found in the recent annual
report, is as follows:
''At the first school, the supervisor,
arriving at a. m, found the room in
order, and made attractive as possible
by displays of the pupils work. The
teacher was a pleasant woman of ma
ture years, capable and experienced
At the. recess period this teacher said:
"'I am so glad you came. I've been
wanting advice. You noticed the lit
tie boy in the second grade who read
so poorly. He has just moved here,
and needs to be broken of so many
bad habits in reading. What would
you suggest?
Needed a Sentence Builder"
"The Supervisor gave her an easy, |
but attractive story book for the pu-
pill to read at his seat, and suggested
that a special kind of sentence-build- |
er be prepared to teach him to group |
his words in phrases. Then the teach |
er asked for new primers for her |
first grade, and returned the supple |
mentary books just completed by |
grades five and six. These were taken |
by the supervisor to another school.
"The supervisor hurried onto the
next schOOl-a two-room school. The
upper grade teacher taught well a
geography lesson, but she seemed
worried. AT noon she poured her trOu-
bles into the supervisors ears. On ac-
count of a misunderstanding the two
teachers were out of step The SUI
pervI5oT called the other teacher IN,
all disagreement vanished, matters
were cleared up, and cooperation rul-
ed again. Thus two competent teach
ers were. persuaded to finish the year.
New Game and MOxe Heat
"After lunch the supervisor went
with the teacher to the playground,
and taught the children new game.
Before the bell rang, the supervisor
went into the primary room. 1t was
not well-heated, and the radiators
were cold. When the heat was turned
on, however, the noise of escaping
steam interfered with school work.
The supervisor discovered that the IA
diators needed caps over the outlets.
This was noted, and later, being re-
ported to the local trustee, Temedied.
The teacher was capable, but report
ed that the pupils were not doing good !
penmanship. The supervisor, there
lore, taught the class in writing.
The fourth school was reached at
he last recess. The teacher here was
inexperienced and had many problems +
o solve. After observing several
classes, the supervisor taught class, s
1t the teachers request. After school,
he gave the teacher some seat work
or the primary. grades, and showed y
Ter how to make other kinds. Then
he went over the program with the
eacher and helped to re-arrange the
ime for some of her classes. She al
O answered some questions concern
1g records and reports and helped the
eacher to make some lesson plans in Il
be subjects which were giving her "
he most trouble. b.
Upon this typical day, the super P
isOr returning to the Office at 6 D. m. fc
)und four letters from teachers in
waiting her attention. One needed the st
eat work bulletin and some sugges- b
ons for an entertainment; another ra
sked advice about dealing with a re- al
'actOry pupil; the third asked for
ore report cards and books for some til
ew pupils; while the fourth invited M
le supervisor to speak at her COM pl
unity meeting. AS these letters need
immediate answers, the days work in
lded at late hour. so
"In addition to this regular duty of Ne
sitting schools and helping individ-
u teachers, the supervisors help in G..
aiming and conducting County bo
eachers' Conferences, and in select
g text books and supplementary ma ha
rial, and assist in unifying the edu- pa
tional work of the county. They also re
eet with the County Board of Educa-
IN, when invited to do so, and re- tel
rt the needs of the schools under an
cir supervision"
Strong Need of Comparison %'
Here, possibly, comes the pith and Tu
e point of the supervisory system
teaching. While the county has De
my good teachers, some still are spe
lching upon merely provisional GER lyn
does Wilmington city for that mat
more adequately prepared teach
!; teachers who have had at least
o years of normal school training ,
addition to four years in the high
lOOl. aDe
And still here again enters the prob ooe
q of good school buildings and shC
lipment of essentials to education pea
progress. u tne
The best teachers often refuse to the
rk in unsanitary buildings. The ef- ais.
ency of good teachers is marred by uo:
poor lighting, made
ate heating and lack Of proper ven acc
Ltion. Modern equipment is neces- ma.
y to obtain best results. nIs
% quote once more from the story III
the schools of New Castle County was
shown in the annual report, buried d S
ply, as has been said: EeU ~
Some of the aims, now beginning VIII VIII