A survey of the educational system of the Philippine islands by the Board of educational survey, created under acts 3162 and 3196 of the Philippine Legislature.

GENERAL ADMINISTRATION

551

In addition to these, he must prepare his annual budget-no small
task in itself-and must make requisitions for all materials needed in his
district and distribute them when received.
This work is done ordinarily in the evenings-and on Saturdays
and Sundays-for all school hours are set aside for supervisory work.
To accomplish his field administrative tasks, the supervising teacher
must travel from place to place over his district. He does administrative and supervisory work on these same journeys. How much of his
time is taken in travel may be judged from Table 22. This field
administration consists largely of dealing with public bodies-municipal
councils and citizen organizations-and with parents of pupils. In each
municipality the supervisor attends the meetings of the council at which
school affairs are to be discussed. This means a meeting in each
municipality every month, for school affairs are the most important business handled by most municipal governments. In many barrios are
school committees, volunteer bodies appointed by citizen groups who are
carrying on some project for school betterment, ordinarily a drive to
secure a school site or to raise money and secure material and labor
for constructing a school building. The supervisor must meet with these
committees, review their work and advise about farther activities.
Where such a committee is not organized and there is some pressing
school need, he must work with the people to bring about such an
organization. Out of this sort of work come the voluntary contributions
which form no inconsiderable part of the total amounts devoted to education in the Islands.
The supervising teacher must meet parents who have grievances and
must make such adjustments as are possible. The problems presented
are endless in variety, and time-consuming in their number. The
supervisor is responsible for keeping schools open. He sees to it that
teachers are in the schools; making temporary appointments to fill
unexpected vacancies and recommending for permanent appointments.
The training and experience of the men who carry on these heavy
and important tasks are shown in Table 21. And it must be borne
in mind that these administrative duties ought to be the smaller part of
the work done by these men. Their principal work should be supervision.
SCHOOL PRINCIPALS AS ADMINISTRATORS
Principals of schools have much clerical but little truly administrative
work. Their activities are described in other sections, those of elementary
schools in the section on elementary education; those of high-school
principals, in the chapter on secondary education.