Part 4 (1/2)

(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 the hi all that would hinder, and aiding in all that would ement successful He can divide the labor, and relieve his chief of so hieneral 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

IX

THE SECRETARY OF THE SUNDAY SCHOOL

1 =Importance= The secretary of the Sunday school is an officer of far greater ienerally supposed In too many schools some youth in the adolescent period is made secretary, merely to keep him in the school, without consideration of his capacity and adaptedness to the office As a result of an unsuitable appoints are incolected, and the true condition of the school cannot be ascertained

If by any good fortune or by a more careful choice an able and faithful secretary takes his place, at once a new impulse is felt by the school

The superintendent, the teachers, and even the scholars will realize that energy, accuracy, and thoroughness count for much in the work of this department They will appreciate faithful service, and will themselves respond to its influence

2 =Qualifications= The ideal secretary of a Sunday school should possess the following characteristics:

(1) _A Business Man_ He should possess the instincts of ato work, systeh in care of details

(2) _Regular in Attendance_ He should make the Sunday school his business on Sunday, with a fidelity equal to that which he ularity should also e in advance of the hour; forof the service

(3) _Good Writer_ He should be able to write legibly, and possess skill in fra them plainly, without unnecessary flourishes

(4) _Quick Mental Action_ His mental processes should be sufficiently rapid for him to set down an ordinaryit to be repeated or written out by the mover An able recorder will promptly express in the minutes the forand much space in the report

(5) _Quiet Manner_ The secretary should watch the progra it He should never appear a of Scripture, or while a speaker is addressing the school Only under urgent necessity should he come to a class in the lesson period, and in that case only at its beginning

During intervals in the service, or during the singing, hethe classes; but he should do this necessary work quietly, without distracting the attention of the school

(6) _Courteous Conduct_ His bearing should always be that of a gentlehtful of others and patient toward all; ahim to win the friendly aid of every teacher, upon whom the accuracy of the class record must depend

Whoever can be found, in the school or the co them, should be chosen as secretary of the Sunday school, whether h the week to business methods, becomes an efficient secretary of the Sunday school

3 =Appointment= The secretary should be elected by the board of officers and teachers As he is not merely an assistant to the superintendent, but an officer of the school, it is not necessary that he should receive a nomination from the superintendent His term of office should be one year, with as ood of the service

4 =assistants= In almost any school the secretary will need an assistant, whom he should nominate, subject to confirmation by the board of teachers and officers

5 =Departraded Sunday school there should be an assistant secretary for each department, who rades, one of the scholars He should take the records of the classes in the department and transmit them to the secretary of the school But the secretary is responsible for the records of the entire school, and should see personally that the record of each department is complete

6 =Duties= The work of the secretary s_ As secretary of the board of teachers and officers, he should be present at all business s and make a careful record Every motion should be stated clearly, with the names of its mover and its seconder, and the action taken A stateiven of every committee appointed, its purpose, and the names of its members All committees should be expected to present written reports, however brief A concise sule clause, should appear in theat which the report is presented; and the report itself should be filed for reference in case it should be needed A conored nor forgotten until its report has been presented and adopted, and the coed

For example, it is not sufficient for the committee on the Christmas entertainment to hold the entertainment; it must afterward report that the entertainment was held on a certain date; e It should be the duty of the secretary from time to time to call for reports of cos, to insist that a report be rendered, and that some action be taken upon it

(2) _Record of the School_ In every well-ordered Sunday school the secretary su the attendance in each department, the total attendance, the number of new scholars, and other ite the weather, which may sometimes account for a small attendance; also a comparison with the record of the same Sunday last year This report should be read to the school by the secretary at the call of the superintendent, or posted before the school; and it should also be recorded in a book which will contain the statistics of the school through a term of years

(3) _Records of Classes_ The secretary and his assistants should prepare the books in which the class record of attendance is recorded