VIII
THE ASSOCIATE AND DEPARTMENT SUPERINTENDENTS
1. The Necessity. In every Sunday school there is need of an officer to aid the superintendent and to take his place when absent. Even in a small school the supervision can be more thorough and the teaching more efficient, if some one is at hand with authority to relieve the superintendent of minor details, and give him freedom for the general management. And in a large school assistants to the superintendent are an absolute necessity, for each department becomes in itself a school. There is need, therefore, of a general assistant to be the chief of staff to the superintendent, and, in a large and well-organized school, of a special assistant in each department.
2. Titles. Until recently, the assistant superintendent in most Sunday schools was merely one of the teachers named to take the place of the superintendent when absent, but with no duties when the head of the school was present. In the complete organization that is now becoming general, the office has been renamed, and its functions distinctly assigned. The chief assistant to the superintendent is now generally called the Associate Superintendent, a higher title for his important and regular duties. The chief of each department in the Sunday school is generally called Department Superintendent, that is, Primary Department Superintendent, Senior Department Superintendent; and each department superintendent has the same relation to his department that the associate superintendent holds to the school.
3. Appointment. The associate superintendent should be nominated by the superintendent and confirmed by the board of teachers and officers. When two candidates are nominated for the office of superintendent, and one obtains a majority, it is not wise to elect the minority candidate as associate superintendent, unless he is entirely acceptable to the newly chosen superintendent. The chief executive of the school should not be compelled to find next to him a rival, who may be an uncongenial worker, to carry out plans with which the latter may not be in accord. In order to possess freedom in his policy the superintendent should choose his own chief helper; but he should receive the confirmation of his choice from his fellow workers in the school. The same plan of nomination and confirmation should be followed in the choice of the department superintendents. The associate and the department superintendents should constitute the superintendent's cabinet, to be called together often for consultation upon the interests of the school.
4. Duties of the Associate Superintendent. (1) Not a Teacher. Unless the school be small, with less than a hundred members, the associate superintendent should not at the same time be the regular teacher of a class. He will find other work to occupy his time, both before and during the session of the school. He may, however, hold himself ready to act as substitute for an absent teacher.
(2) Deputy Superintendent. If for any reason the superintendent is absent, his place should be taken promptly by the associate superintendent. It should also be understood that if at the moment of opening the school, or at any point in the general service, the superintendent is not on the platform, the associate shall act as his representative, without the slightest reflection upon the superintendent's administration, the two being regarded in their work as one.
(3) Providing Substitutes. One definite duty of the associate superintendent should be to provide substitutes for absent teachers, relieving entirely the superintendent from that burdensome and perplexing task. The teachers should permit no ordinary hindrance to keep them from their classes, for no one can fully supply the place of a true teacher in the regard of the scholars. But when a teacher finds it necessary to be absent he should make strenuous endeavor to find a substitute; and if unable to secure one, should notify, not the superintendent, but the associate; and before the lesson period the associate should have a supply ready.
If the school has been properly graded it will include a Teacher-training Class; but under no circumstances should the associate take one of its members as a supply teacher, even for one Sunday. This class should remain untouched by the demand for teachers until its members have completed the prescribed course. If there is a Reserve Class, substitutes should be called from it in some order, preferably alphabetical, so that the same members will not be taken too frequently.
Where the Sunday school is held in the afternoon or at noon, the associate can generally provide for needy classes by watching at the morning service for possible teachers. If he is compelled to look for them in the Adult or Senior classes of the school, he should be present early, and if possible obtain his supplies before the opening of the school. If the associate superintendent has done his work, when the lesson begins, every class will have a teacher seated before it, ready for the Bible study. He should never wait until the time for opening the lesson to see what classes need teachers, and then undertake to obtain them by interrupting the teaching in three or four classes and calling for volunteers, while the classes without teachers are listlessly waiting, and valuable time is lost from the half-hour of the lesson period. All this work should be done before the lesson, and, if possible, before the opening of the school.
(4) Assignment of New Scholars. Another duty of the associate superintendent is to meet new scholars and assign them to classes. For this work he should be present early, meet the scholars as they come, learn who the new scholars are, write down names, places of residence, ages, parents' names, why they come; and prepare material for the card catalogue under the secretary's care. Scholars bringing new members, and teachers into whose classes they may come, should introduce them to the associate superintendent, who should at once take charge of them. No new scholar below the grade of Senior should choose his own class, although his desire to be with friends should be considered, so far as it will not interfere with the established system of classification. Some large graded schools have a temporary class to which new pupils in the Intermediate and Junior grades are assigned for a few sessions until their permanent place can be fixed.
(5) Detailed Supervision. There are also minor duties wherein the associate superintendent can be of great service. While the superintendent is at the desk directing the general exercises, his associate may be upon the floor, quietly observing the condition and needs of the school. He can note where Bibles, song books, or lesson quarterlies are needed, and can see that they are distributed without interrupting the service. He can also give quiet attention to the order of the school, calling to their duty boisterous, talking, or inattentive scholars. For the superintendent to stop in announcing a hymn or reading the Scripture, to rebuke some disorderly or thoughtless pupil, breaks into the service and mars its dignity. The associate superintendent can accomplish the desired result at the right moment by a light step and a gentle word.
(6) Chief of Staff. In a word, the associate superintendent should be the chief of staff to the executive head of the school, his eyes, ears, and hand; possessing full acquaintance and accord with his plans, and carrying them out in his name; informing and advising him, yet careful of criticism; avoiding all that would hinder, and aiding in all that would make his management successful. He can divide the labor, and relieve his chief of some of the most perplexing and trying details, leaving him free to watch over the general interests of the school. Whoever can fulfill such a service is an invaluable worker, and should be held in high honor.
Many of the duties named above may be in the sphere of the department superintendent, who should be in his section what the associate superintendent is to the school.