4. State where supplementary material can be obtained to aid in teaching the classic.
5. Answer questions.
At the conclusion of the year the general expression of the English teachers was that the meetings held were among the most profitable professional gatherings that they had ever attended. The same definite plan could well be followed with other subjects.
There is still another type of meeting of even greater importance to the superintendent and teachers. That meeting is the personal talk that the superintendent should have with each teacher, as often as possible, to enable him to learn how her work is getting on and the difficulties she is meeting, and to welcome any suggestions she has to make. Such talks will give a superintendent a key to the real school situation, and the teacher will appreciate his close, personal interest as shown by his suggestions and encouragement.
MEETING WITH THE SCHOOL BOARD
A few days previous to the opening of school at ——, a member of the school board dropped in one morning to see me. In the course of the conversation he said that the board would meet the second evening after the opening of school, and invited me to be present, if I cared to come. I thanked him for the invitation and assured him that I should be glad to attend the meeting.
At the teachers’ meeting on the Saturday before the school opened, I gave each teacher a blank, and asked for a report at the close of the first day of school, somewhat as follows:
1. Number of pupils enrolled.
2. Number of boys and number of girls and their respective ages.
3. Number of pupils who were attending school for the first time.