CHAPTER XVII
THE TEACHER IN RELATION TO SUPERVISION

Teachers are generally responsible in some measure to one or more supervisory officers. Those who control the schools believe that better work will be done because of the supervision which is provided. It may not be out of place, therefore, in a book devoted to the problems of the teacher to consider the relation to supervision and to those who supervise her work.

The fundamental purpose of supervision, whether of schools or of other activities, is increased efficiency of all who participate in the work. Supervisors are worthy of the name only when they do their best to increase the efficiency of every teacher with whom they come in contact. Happily, this attitude of helpfulness characterizes most of those who are known as principals, primary or grammar-grade supervisors, subject supervisors, assistant and associate superintendents, and superintendents of schools. It may be that because of the great number of teachers employed in a system of schools some of these officers can have little direct relationship with individual teachers; but in the organization of the schools, by means of regulations, courses of study and the like, or through those who come directly in contact with teachers, these men and women seek to help each teacher to do better work. It is important that all teachers realize clearly the significance of the supervisor’s work, and that she avail herself of the help and coöperation which is thus provided.

One of the functions of the supervisor is to criticize the work which is being done by individual teachers. It is especially difficult for some teachers to appreciate the purpose of such criticism, or to avail themselves of the aid which is offered in this form. Let us examine the different kinds of criticism which one may expect to receive, and try to discover how to get the most out of this instrument of supervision.

There are supervisors whose criticism is occasionally purely negative. They come into the room, observe some of the work, and remark, either at the time or later, that the work was good, or that it was poor. It does not help one much, except in a feeling of good will toward the supervisor, when told that work is well done; nor is it very significant for future work that one’s efforts have been condemned. When the supervisor indulges in this type of criticism, the teacher has a right to ask him for the reasons which lead him to praise or to condemn. If excellent work is to be repeated, then the elements which have made for success should be pointed out. One may try to repeat good work and fail miserably because the elements in the excellent work which made for success have been overlooked in the second effort. Likewise failure may occur, even though it has been stamped as poor work, because the teacher fails to see the essential weakness of her effort.

Most supervisors are able to find strength of some sort in the work of every teacher. It may be worth while for the teacher at times to ask for a discussion of the strong points in her work. This constructive appreciative criticism may help her to receive with open mind the destructive criticism which may be needed to bring about the elimination of weakness. Any teacher should welcome the criticism which frankly points out the deficiencies of her work and suggests the remedies which should be applied. We all want to do our best work. Unfortunately we cannot always see our teaching in true perspective. The supervisor who comes in from the outside, as it were, with a wide range of experience in teaching and in observing teachers can often give the suggestion which will make work, not only more efficient, but also more pleasant.

It is a good rule for both supervisor and teacher to wait until the end of the day or even for two or three days after the visit before the criticism is given. Snap judgments are apt to be wrong on both sides. The supervisor needs time to analyze the situation carefully in order to pick out the elements in the situation which are most significant and to overlook that which is trivial. The teacher will often be able to analyze her own work and to point out its defects, if time is given her to think it over. If the teacher can discover her own inefficiency, and if she is willing to talk frankly with the supervisor concerning these difficulties, the work of criticism will give satisfaction to both. A teacher has a right to ask for an appointment with a supervisor for the discussion of her work. Supervisors are, as a rule, only too willing to grant such a request.

Criticism has not fulfilled its mission, if it stops with discovering to the teacher her strength and her weakness together with the analysis of the situation which enables her to repeat successes and avoid failures. A wide-awake teacher will be looking and asking for suggestions concerning new kinds of work. Suggestive criticism opens up the way for growth by giving the teacher the encouragement and help which are needed to undertake the new or unusual type of work. Many of the best teachers might have remained in the less efficient group, had it not been for the help and inspiration which was imparted by a wise supervisor.

School exhibits are another means sometimes employed by the supervisory force to increase school efficiency. Here, again, the teacher should realize that the purpose of the supervisor is not to burden her with work, but rather to offer the help which may come from an exchange of experiences. The school exhibit which is most worth while does not require any special preparation of material on the part of the teacher. The work regularly done by children without corrections or refinement constitutes a true exhibit of the results secured. Any other kind of an exhibit is merely a test of the teacher’s ingenuity, her skill in masquerading under the names of her children.

When a genuine exhibit of children’s work is brought together, it affords to teachers and supervisors alike a wealth of suggestion and help. The writer remembers visiting an exhibit of drawing and constructive work in one of our large cities. The supervisors of this work were in charge at regular hours each week. A very large number of teachers came to see what was being done by other teachers in their grade. A special feature of the exhibit was an abundance of suggestions for the work of the next week provided by the supervisors and taken from the work of previous years. The consultation between supervisors and teachers concerning the work exhibited, and with reference to the work both past and yet to be done, was free from restraint and often lasted ten, fifteen, or even twenty minutes. Needless to say, the results achieved in drawing and constructive work in this city were far above the average. Similar exhibits of work in English composition, arithmetic, some phases of the work in literature, nature study, history, and geography are possible and cannot fail to help the teacher who is anxious to improve her work.

Visiting the work of other teachers has one advantage not possessed by the exhibit: it is possible to see not only the result but also the methods which are employed in securing the product. A good supervisor should be able to tell teachers where to go to see the kind of work which is most helpful. Any teacher should welcome the opportunity to see the work of a teacher who is strong where she is weak. Random visiting is not worth much. What counts is a visit to a teacher who has some help to offer, in order to satisfy a real need. Often the most profitable visiting can be done within the system in which the teacher works. Not infrequently the greatest help can be secured from another teacher in the same building. Whenever or wherever a teacher visits, the important thing is to look for the strong points in the work. The teacher who goes for help will not be disappointed; the one who looks for defects, who is hypercritical, will not profit by the time used.

After a visit to a teacher whose work is known by the supervisor, a conference may be held, or a report given by the visiting teacher. If the visit is worth making, it is worth some further consideration. It will help the teacher to talk over the visit with the supervisor with particular reference to her own work. The elements of strength in the work of the teacher visited can thus be determined, and the modifications in the work of the visitor desired by the supervisor be made definite.

Examinations have from time immemorial been used by supervisors to determine the success of school work. Teachers not infrequently seem to feel that they are an unnecessary hardship imposed without sufficient justification, whether teacher or pupils are considered. Let us inquire what examinations should mean to the teacher. First of all, it may be worth while to remember that the command of some knowledge, and the ability to use it when demanded, should form a part of the equipment of children who are being educated. It is well at times to stop and discover how much children know, and what facility they show in using their knowledge. It is a shock sometimes to discover that a room full of enthusiastic, well-behaved children do not know their multiplication tables, cannot add, subtract, or divide without making many mistakes, cannot write an acceptable paragraph because of mistakes in form which they should have mastered long ago, do not know on which side of the Ohio River to locate the state of Ohio; but that is just what is apt to happen in a school where examinations are never given.

Success or failure in an examination should not be all-important to children, nor should it lead to undue praise or condemnation of teachers. The wise teacher will try to find in the results of the examination evidence of the deficiencies of her teaching. In the light of the work done by the children she can tell where she can depend upon their knowledge, what part of the work needs to be reviewed, which children need special help. An examination should be a taking of stock which will enable teacher and pupil to do more and better work, because each is acquainted with the needs of the situation better than before.

Teachers’ meetings are worth just about what each individual teacher is willing to put into them. The teacher who comes to a meeting with her problems, willing to acknowledge that she needs help, and anxious to get it will not find these gatherings dull or uninteresting. If the meeting is organized for study, as is done in connection with reading circle work, the meeting can be transformed from a perfunctory recitation of the ideas of the book into a live professional discussion, by the activity of two or three earnest teachers. If the meetings are not good, individuals are at fault; if these teachers become active, if they try to make the most out of these discussions, their attitude will change.

One of the best types of teachers’ meetings is centered round the actual teaching of children by a member of the group, to be followed by discussion of the work done. There is no more certain way to grow professionally than to be willing to demonstrate your theory by practice, or to discuss the work which is done by other members of the group. In several of our cities these lessons, taught sometimes by the supervisors and at other times by the teachers themselves, have become a regular feature of the year’s work. The teacher who is most anxious to grow will be the first to avail herself of the opportunity to teach such a lesson. Supervisors sometimes hesitate to suggest this kind of a program for teachers’ meetings, because teachers are so unwilling to do their part in making the work a success. It is a poor professional spirit which is not strong enough to lead a teacher to accept the criticism of her fellow teachers, when she knows that therein lies the possibility of growth. Any group of teachers who will voluntarily participate in such work will find that the teachers’ meeting, instead of being a bore, will come to be looked upon as the brightest spot in the whole week, because of the help and inspiration which is derived from the hour’s work.

Institutes were once looked upon as places where teachers came to be entertained, or, possibly, to be inspired. There was a time when the best institutes were conducted on the “pouring in” plan. A lecturer, or several lecturers, dispensed the truth, and teachers sat in their places, supposedly drinking deep draughts from these fountains of wisdom. It is strange that all of the theory of teaching which was dispensed did not suggest that the manner of conducting the institute was wrong. In our best institutes to-day teachers participate in discussion, study and recite from books, undertake the revision or organization of courses of study in coöperation with their supervisors; in short, the institute has become a school for professional study. In such an institute, as in teachers’ meetings, those who come with real problems, anxious to get help, find the week or two all too short. A group of teachers anxious to grow professionally can, in most cases, secure the coöperation of supervisors in transforming an institute which is organized on the old basis.

If a teacher’s supervisors are not helping her, it may be well to inquire whose fault it is. The teacher who meets the supervisor halfway, the one who invites criticism, who avails herself of the help and suggestion which may come from exhibits, visiting, teachers’ meetings, and institutes will, in all probability, grow strong enough to help others. She may in her turn be called upon to accept the responsibilities, the trials, and the joys of a supervisor.[29]