families of the congregation who are too young to attend the school.
Their names, in large lettering, in plain print rather than script,
should be recorded upon a list, framed and hung upon the wall in the
Primary room. A separate card catalogue should be kept of the names
alphabetically arranged, with ages, birthdays, parents' names, and the
street address of each family. Every effort should be made to keep the
list complete; children should inform their teachers of new little
brothers and sisters for the Cradle Roll; the pastor in his visitation
should take their names and report them; and the teacher or conductor in
charge of the Cradle Roll should occasionally visit every family on the
list. Whenever gifts are made to the pupils of the school, as at
Christmas or on birthdays, toys and dolls for the little ones of the
Cradle Roll should not be forgotten. In a small school the care of the
roll and the visiting of the families may be assigned to the Primary
superintendent; but in a large Sunday school it will call for a special
conductor, and recognition as a separate department. Let no one suppose
that this is an unimportant, sentimental matter. The Cradle Roll,
maintained as it should be, will awaken interest in every family having
a name inscribed upon it, and in due time will lead many little feet to
the Sunday school.
2. =The Beginners Department.= At about three years of age the little
children should be brought to the school, and be regularly enrolled as
attending members, their names being now taken from the Cradle Roll.
They should remain in the Beginners Department from the age of three to
that of six years--the Kindergarten period in the public school. Here
they should be told simple Bible and nature stories, without effort to
place the stories in chronological order; for children of this age have
only a faint conception of the sequence of events. They may be taught
simple songs, marching exercises, etc. It is a mistake, however, to give
them much, if any lessons, to tax the memory, beyond a few short
sentences of the Bible and verses of children's songs. If they can meet
in a room by themselves, with their own teacher, it will be better than
to have them in the Primary room; for the work in this grade should be
constantly varied, and the stories very brief, in order not to weary the
little ones. If they must meet in the room with the Primary children,
they should sit by themselves as a separate section, and not with their
older brothers and sisters.
3. =The Primary Department.= This department should be the home of
little children between six and eight or nine years of age. They should
remain in it until in the day school they have begun to read. Boys and
girls may be placed in the same classes, which should be for those six
years old, seven years old, and eight years old, respectively. With each
year their seats should be changed, indicating their promotion from the
lower to the higher classes. In this department the simpler stories of
the Bible and other helpful stories adapted to the grade should not only
be told but taught, and the children expected not only to learn but also
to tell them. The Twenty-third Psalm, the Lord's Prayer, the Ten
Commandments, a few other selected passages of Scripture, and some
standard hymns of the Church should be memorized.
In many well-organized Sunday schools both the Cradle Roll and the
Beginners class are recognized as subdivisions of the Primary
Department, and are under the direction of the Primary superintendent.
4. =The Junior Department.= This department will care for the children
from the ages of eight or nine until the full age of twelve; except that
boys or girls who are especially advanced in intelligence may be
promoted upon examination at eleven years. In a very small Sunday school
all the pupils of this department may form one class, provided they can
have a room by themselves. If they must meet with the rest of the
school, they may be organized either in two classes, one of boys, the
other of girls. If, however, the number of scholars will admit, it is
far better to place the pupils in separate classes for boys and girls,
with different classes for each year of the period. To scholars of the
Junior grade the great characters and events of Bible history should be
taught in their order; also the most important facts about the Bible,
and in a simple form the lands and localities of the Bible. In churches
which use a catechism this should constitute a part of the teaching in
the Junior Department, for at this period the child's verbal memory
attains its greatest strength.
5. =The Intermediate Department.= Here the pupils are from twelve to
sixteen years of age. The classes should be small, generally of six boys
or girls, never more than eight. This period in life is known as early
adolescence, and calls for careful direction by wise teachers. In the
Intermediate Department the great biographies of the Bible should be
studied, either as the regular or the supplemental lessons; also the
heroic lives of leaders in the history of the Church, of foreign
missionaries, and of men and women who have labored in the home fields.
Boys and girls in this stage of life are instinctively hero-worshipers,
and before them should be set high ideals of character and service.
Special effort should be made in leading the scholars to personal
consecration to Christ and to union with the Church; for if the great
decision be not made before the age of sixteen is reached, there is
great danger that it will never be reached. But that decision should
include more than a formal profession. It should embrace a full
surrender to the will of Christ, an inward, conscious spiritual life, an
aim for completeness of Christian character, and especially a
willingness to work for God and humanity. Youth is a season of ardor and
of energy, a period of lofty ideals and noble endeavor. All those active
powers of the youthful nature should be guided into channels of
usefulness. The true twentieth century disciple of Christ is not one who
lives alone feasting his soul on God, but one who stands among his
fellow-men, eager to aid in the world's betterment.
6. =The Senior Department.= This is the preferable title, although some
organized schools call it the Young People's Department, and restrict
the word Senior to the classes of fully adult age. Still others call it
the Assembly, and give it an organization independent of the Sunday
school.[7] The age of entrance should be sixteen, except with some who
in stature and mind are mature beyond their years. It is imperative, as
we have already seen, that at the door of this department the young
people should leave their former teachers, and should not form new
Senior classes, but as individuals enter classes already established.
This department includes the members of the school between sixteen and
twenty years of age; not that members of classes must necessarily leave
them at twenty, but that men or women above that age entering the school
should rather join the Adult Department. The classes may be as large as
the arrangement of rooms will allow; larger where each class can have a
separate room, which is the ideal plan. Generally, young men and young
women should be in separate classes. The teacher of a young men's class
should be a man whose character will inspire the respect and win the
fellowship of his class. The teacher of the young women's class will
generally be a lady, although often men have been successful teachers of
young women.
In this department the classes should be organized, each with its own
officers, chosen by the members; and the class should be consulted when
a teacher is to be appointed, although the voice of the class in the
decision should be advisory and not mandatory. Especial attention should
be given to the social activities of this department. Each class should
have its own gatherings, classes of young men and women should meet
together occasionally, and a Senior Reception should be held at least
annually to promote acquaintance among the members. The interest of the
young people should also be enlisted in some definite form of service
for the church or the community.
7. =The Teacher-Training Department.= The most promising young people,
both men and women, should be selected at sixteen years of age--the time
of promotion into the Senior Department--and should be organized as the
Teacher-training or Normal Class. The best teacher obtainable should be
assigned to this department. Often in the high school or some near-by
college, a scholarly, Bible-loving instructor may be found who is
willing to give a part of his time to the equipment of teachers for the
coming generation. A text-book should be chosen from among those
approved by the International Teacher-training Committee. No person
should be admitted to this class who is not willing to give some time
during the week to the study of the course. While the rest of the school
may be studying the regular lessons, whether graded or uniform, this
class should be at work with the teacher-training text-books. There
should be thorough instruction with examinations looking toward a
certificate of work done, such as the International Teacher-training
diploma.[8] The course may cover two, three, or four years; and new
members may be placed in the class at the opening of each year, to begin
at the point where the class is studying, and to remain until they shall
have completed the entire course. In a properly graded school after a
few years there will be a class graduating from and a class entering the
Teacher-training Department each year.
This department should also include a Reserve Class, consisting of those
who are ready to act as substitutes for absent teachers. If the uniform
lessons are followed, the Reserve Class should study the lesson a week
in advance of the school. Into this class the graduates of the
Teacher-training Class should be placed, to remain until classes are
ready for them in the school.
In some schools the Teacher-training and Reserve Classes do not form a
separate department, but are two classes in the Senior Department. But
it is the better plan in a large school to establish the
Teacher-training Department, with its own officers, thereby adding to
its prestige in the school.
8. =The Adult Department.= This will include all who are above the age
of twenty years. It is the judgment of advanced leaders in Sunday-school
work that at twenty years those who have belonged to Young People's
classes in the Senior Department should leave them for the Adult
Department. Otherwise, the Senior Department in a few years will cease
to be a place where young people of sixteen and eighteen years feel at
home. In the Adult Department men and women may meet together as members
of the same class, unless there arise a demand for separate classes and
the numbers enrolled justify the division. In conducting these classes
two forms of instruction have been found to be successful: (1) the
colloquial method of teaching, the class studying and discussing the
lesson together under the guidance of the leader; and (2) the lecture
method, the teacher being the principal speaker, but always admitting
questions and answers on the subject suggested by the lesson. Classes in
this department may be allowed to choose their own courses of study,
provided (1) that the subjects and methods are in line with the general
aim of religious education, and not merely secular science or history;
(2) that the courses of successive years have some sequence, and are not
chosen in a haphazard, accidental manner. The Adult Department under
wise direction should promote a large, intelligent, broad-minded,
philanthropic type of Christian character in the church and the
community.
9. =The Home Department.= This department, like the Cradle Roll at the
other extreme of the Sunday-school constituency, is composed of people,
both young and old, who cannot be present at its sessions, but are
interested in its work, and willing to give some time to its studies. In
every community there are such people--aged or infirm men and women,
invalids, mothers unable to leave their offspring, commercial travelers,
and people who live too far from the school to attend it. These are
organized into the Home Department, furnished with the literature of the
school, study its text-books, make their report of work done, and send
their contributions to its support through the Home Department
superintendent or visitor.[9]
FOOTNOTES:
[6] This department is now named in Sunday schools of the Protestant
Episcopal Church, and some others, the Font Roll, or Baptismal Roll.
[7] Suggested by Dr. J. H. Vincent.
[8] For full information concerning Teacher-training, courses,
examinations, and diplomas, write to the State Secretary of Sunday
School Work, or to the office of the International Sunday School
Association, No. 140 Dearborn Street, Chicago.
[9] For plans of the Home Department, address the Secretary of the State
Sunday School Association, or Dr. W. A. Duncan, Syracuse, New York, who
is recognized as the founder of this system.
VI
THE SUPERINTENDENT
1. =His Importance.= Several years ago, the president of the New York
Central Railway was called upon by a legislative committee to explain
the system of signals employed upon the railroad for the protection of
passengers. He gave a detailed statement, answered every question, and
then made this remark: "However perfect the system may seem to be, there
must always be a man to work it; and in the final analysis more depends
on the man than on the plan."
That which is true in every human organization is especially true in the
Sunday school: its success depends not on a constitution, whether
written or unwritten, but upon a man. In the Sunday school that man is
the superintendent, who not only works the plan, but also generally
plans the work. Given an efficient superintendent, an efficient school
will usually be developed; for the able man will call forth or will
train up able workers. Hence the first and greatest requisite for a
successful Sunday school is that the right man be chosen as
superintendent.
2. =His Appointment.= The selection of the superintendent should be the
task not only of the officers and teachers in the Sunday school, but of
the entire church, for every family in the congregation has an interest
in his appointment. The pastor should be consulted, and should give
diligent attention and time to the search for a superintendent, not
merely because he may be presumed to know his constituency, but more
especially because out of all the church the superintendent is to be his
most important helper. The election of the superintendent should be made
by the workers in the school, its board of teachers and officers, and
its action should be formally confirmed by the ruling board of the local
church. No man should hold the office of a superintendent who fails to
receive the approval of the church of which the school is a part. He
should know that in his appointment the school, the church, and the
pastor all unite.
3. =His Term of Office.= He should be chosen for a term of one year; but
may be reelected for as many terms as appear expedient. Frequent changes
in the management of the school will tend to destroy the efficiency of
its work. But whenever the great interests involved in the religious
education of an entire church or community require a new superintendent
the change should be made, even though sympathy be felt for the one set
aside. The institution must not be sacrificed to save the feelings of
the man.
4. =His Qualifications.= It is important to consider the qualifications
of an ideal superintendent, remembering, however, that all these
qualities are rarely to be found in one man. We must set before us high
ideals, not expecting that they will always be fully realized, yet ever
seeking to attain them as far as may be possible in this imperfect
world. The following are the most important qualifications for a
superintendent; some of them are essential, all are desirable:
(1) _Moral Character._ The Sunday school undertakes to train the young
in character; therefore he who stands as its responsible head must
possess a character worthy of admiration and imitation. His life must
honor, and not dishonor, his profession. It is possible for a man whose
work for an hour on Sunday is in behalf of the gospel so to live in his
family, in business, and in society as to work for six days against the
gospel, and more than undo all his efforts for good. The leader in such
an uplifting movement as the Sunday school must have clean hands and a
pure heart. What Saint Paul wrote of a bishop he would have written of a
Sunday school superintendent: he must have "a good report." In the
well-known painting of the Emancipation Proclamation may be seen
standing at the right hand of President Lincoln the Secretary of the
Treasury, Salmon P. Chase, who once said, "A man in my position must not
only seem right, but be right; and not only be right, but seem right."
So will every one say of the Sunday-school superintendent.
(2) _A Devout Believer._ The superintendent's character should be
irradiated with the fine glow of a Christian faith. He should be one who
has seen the heavenly vision and unto it has not been disobedient; one
whose spirit has been kindled by the Divine Spirit burning like a fire
within; one who is himself a Christian man, longing to lead other men
into fellowship with the Father through Jesus Christ the Son.
(3) _A Working Church Member._ We have already learned that the Sunday
school is not a society or an institution standing alone. It is a
branch of the church, and one of the most important branches. The normal
growth of the church depends in large measure upon the Sunday school,
and the support of the Sunday school comes, or should come, from the
church. The superintendent who endeavors to do his duty to his scholars
will strive to lead them to Christ and into active membership and
service in the church. Therefore, he himself must be a professed, loyal,
and effective member of the church. His name should not only stand upon
its roll, but his heart should also be enlisted in its behalf.
(4) _A Bible Student._ The Sunday school is the school with one
preeminent text-book; and of that Book the superintendent should be a
diligent student. His work is executive and not instructional; yet he
must supervise the teaching, and this supervision he cannot rightly give
unless he is familiar with the course of study. He should study the
lesson of each department, perhaps not as thoroughly as the teachers in
the department, but sufficiently to maintain acquaintance with their
work. And he should master not only the specific lessons of the
immediate course before his school, but also the Book as a whole.
One successful superintendent gave as a secret of his power to make his
school, both teachers and scholars, willing to do whatever he asked, "I
never expect my teachers or scholars to do anything that I am not ready
to do myself. Before I ask them to bring their Bibles I bring mine. When
I asked my school to be ready on the following Sunday to repeat in
concert the Nineteenth Psalm, I committed it to memory during the week,
and when the time came spoke the words with the school." Only that
superintendent who himself loves the Bible, and studies it, can have a
true Bible school.
(5) _An Able Executive._ The Sunday school is like that vision seen by
the prophet Ezekiel, a system of wheels within wheels, all endowed with
life; and the master of the mechanism directing its motion is the
superintendent. Moreover, each of these living wheels in the
Sunday-school machine is a volunteer worker, who may at any moment drop
out of his orbit. To hold together these varied elements, to combine
their movements, to guide each in his own sphere, to compass the common
purpose through all the forces working as one, requires a wise brain and
a skillful hand. The superintendent should have a plan for the school,
with details throughout for every emergency; he should be ready to
assign to every worker the task for which he is best fitted; he should
be able to work with others, not merely to command others; and he should
be a leader whom others will follow, not by the might of an
overmastering will, but by the magnetism of an attractive personality.
He should never forget that with others as well as with himself service
in the Sunday school is not compulsory but voluntary, that his
associates lay on the altar their free-hearted, unpaid labor; and that
such workers cannot be commanded, although by tact and wise generalship
they may be led to accomplish the most difficult tasks.
(6) _Sympathy with Youth._ The superintendent's office will bring him
into relations with youth during all its stages, from early childhood
through the entire adolescent period. He must be able to see life and
the world through the eyes of a little child, of a growing boy, and of a
young man. The sympathy which he needs is not a compassionate feeling
_for_ youth, but a feeling _with_ youth, an ability to put himself in
its place; to feel as young people feel, and to understand why they act
as they sometimes do. This sympathy will impart a love for young people,
such a love as will enable him to be patient with their foibles and
faults, to exert a powerful influence over them, and to keep before them
noble ideals of character and service.
(7) _Teachable Spirit._ No matter how much the superintendent knows, or
thinks he knows, he should hold his mind open to new knowledge. He
should be on the alert for new ideas, from the periodicals, from books,
and from his fellow workers, in conversation, at conventions and
institutes; not that he may inflict every new method upon his school,
but that out of many methods he may select the best. When Michael Angelo
was past eighty-five years old, and almost blind, he was found one day
beside an antique torso which had recently been dug out of the ground,
bending over it, and carefully pressing his fingers upon its surface.
When asked what he was doing, he answered, "I am learning"! The masters
in every department of work are never too wise nor too old to learn.
If a man can be found who possesses all these seven traits of character
and temperament, the school which can secure him for its superintendent
will be fortunate indeed. And the superintendent who thoughtfully reads
the catalogue of qualifications, and feels that in some of them he is
lacking, may by divine grace and his own will working together make
progress toward the goal of becoming an ideal superintendent.
VII
THE SUPERINTENDENT'S DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The superintendent has been found, has been chosen, and is in his
place--what are the prerogatives and the duties of his office? These may
be considered under three classes: (1) His general duties. (2) His
duties during the week. (3) His duties in the session of the school.
1. =General.= (1) _Supervision._ It is his right to supervise and direct
the work of the school without interference as to details from the
teachers, the officers of the church, or the pastor. The pastor may be
the admiral of the fleet, directing the general movements of the sea
campaign; but the superintendent is the captain of the ship, through
whom orders are to be given to all on board.
(2) _Selection of Teachers._ He should have the chief word in the choice
and appointment of teachers, but in the choice he should obtain the
concurrence of his pastor; and their election should be made upon the
superintendent's nomination by the teachers and officers.
(3) _Assignment of Scholars._ He should possess the final authority in
the assignment of scholars to classes, in any changes from class to
class, and in promotions from lower to higher departments. In these
responsibilities he may be greatly aided by an associate superintendent,
to whom his authority may be delegated.
(4) _Program of Services._ It is the superintendent's prerogative to
plan and direct the services of the school session. It may be the part
of wisdom for him to consult with the musical director or organist in
the selection of hymns, but it is the superintendent's right to choose
and to announce them, in common with all parts of the program.
(5) _Support._ He is entitled to a loyal support from all his fellow
workers; but if he is tactful he will take them into his confidence,
will present his plans for their consideration, and will not attempt
important reforms or changes without their concurrence.
2. =Week-day Work.= He is the superintendent of the Sunday school for
seven days in every week; and will find much work to be done between the
sessions. His week-day duties will include some that have already been
mentioned.