The Delta independent. [volume] (Delta, Colo.) 1886-19??, 1923-05-11
THE FUNCTIONS OF A
SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT
(By ]. F. Peckl


which runs thus,
az the cook and the Captain bold
And the Mate Of the Nancy Brig,
And the Bo'sn tight and the Midship.
mite,
And the crew of the CAPTAINS gig"
He is the main spring; the spark
plug; the keystone of that most re-
markable of all American institutions,
the free public school system.
1t seems to me that the operation
of our public school system should be,
and really is, similar to organizations
in industry with which most board
members are familiar. In the business
world number of people join togeth-
er to form stock company, it may be
to manufacture some article. The
people are the stockholders, expectant
OF dividends, and they select board
of directors. These directors choose
an executive, let us call him the man.
ager, into whose charge, with a Ger
| tain few definite limitations, is placed
the development of the plans; the
building or improving properly, the
selection of the personnel of his or
ganization,, the manufacture and sale
of the article, the collection and ex-
penditure of revenues, and last but
by no means least, at the years end
he must have a balance on the right
side of the ledger so that the stock
holders may receive the dividend, the
return on their investment, the re-
suit which they expect. Uneasy lies
the head that wears the crown" The
troubles of the executive are many
and perplexing. He has difficulties
with his machinery and with his
power and his raw materials. The in
capable workman is omnipresent and
must be taught efficiency or be re-
moved. Those twin demons of human
organizations, jealousy and inertia,
must be supplanted by cooperation
and enthusiasm. And, then, after the
organization is built so that the arti-
Gle can be manufactured, come the
problems of selling. of collecting and
providing against disaster.
There is necessity for the cultiva-
ton of public esteem and friendship
and the guarding of his organization
against tie oduS ny his
All this must be done with an eye on
the purse strings and often with a
board of directors not wholly in sym
pathy with his plans or methods.
Representing Huge Stock Company
AS / have tried to picture the woes
| il a business executive those of you
| who are, or have been superinten-
dents of schools must have felt sort
| of kinship. l cannot imagine a man
ufacturing organization in which all
Of the customers or the buyers of the
articles which it makes, are also
stockholders in the institution, and as
such often feel perfectly free to offer
advice and criticism.
And yet this is necessary to com
plete the parallel which I shall try tc
draw. because school, city or town
is really a stock company and each
taxpayer is stakeholder and the
particular business of this particular
stock company is to manufacture the
frivolous untaught youth of the com
munity into the men and women who
will become citizens tomorrow and on
whom must fall the burden of carry.
ing on the civilization of our time.
1t is perfectly simple when you
think of it merely as a process OF
turning raw material into a finished
product. But 1t is rather appalling
when you think OF the tremendous
Importance of the finished product
and the solemn responsibility which
rests on those who must direct the
process of manufacture. think
may be permitted to say that there is
no other industry in the whole world
that can compare with this factory
which makes fathers and mothers OF
the next generation.
And, 1 might add, there are many
| other industries in the world where
the skilled workmen are more highly
regarded and more thoroughly re-
warded than those who train the chill.
dren OF the nation into its citizens,
and to our shame be it said.
But, that is another story" and
We must go back to our stock com.
pany. The citizen stockholders in
this education factory select their
board of directors either by election
or appointment. and these directors
serving as the board of education are
expected to get the best results with
the least possible expenditure.
The Process Of Manufacture
But law and custom both require
that the manufacturing process must
begin. The children of the commun-
ity must be kept off the streets for
m tofv 80 A. M
ers must be relieved of their care for
awhile. The fathers expect them to
be taught in the rudiments of the