Dismissing common metaphors for the school such as the "knowledge factory" or the "cure for the disease of ignorance," the author makes preliminary observations leading toward some sort of new metaphor that would better describe the school as a collection of autonomous and self-regulated individuals. He presents what he calls four "notions" that might generate researchable problems linking these notions to coordination, control, and facilitation of instruction in schools. The first notion concerns the official and private "secrets" that school administrators are privy to because of their unique positions. The second notion revolves around the "seasons" or the repeated, unvarying progression of events in schools that provides regularity and shared rituals. The third notion examined is that of "administrative morality," which the author defines as the "use of secrets to good ends." The final notion is that of administrator "coldness," or the distance that administrators must maintain from others. The author closes by tying these notions to the concepts of school governance, vertical coordination, and horizontal coordination. (JM)