Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Teaching Christian Perspective - What it's not Part 2

Let me tell you a story about a squirrel.



In the churches that I go to, just before the children leave for their Sunday school lessons we often have all of them gather at the front for a story, a song, or a blessing. 

One day the pastor had all the children gathered around him at the front and he was asking them to guess what he was describing, "It's small, climbs trees, has a bushy tail, and likes nuts."

A forest of hands sprung up as children eagerly clamored to be chosen. The young girl chosen to answer burst out, "It sounds like a squirrel to me, but this is church, so the answer is Jesus!"

...

Just because we put Jesus name in our work, or add the phrase, "and God made it", or "and God loves you", or any of a number of other platitudes doesn't mean we've really done a good job of Christian perspective. 

Next time - "Teaching Christian Perspective - What it's not Part 3"

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Teaching Christian Perspective - What it's not Part 1

Being a Christian means far more than going to church on Sundays. God's call on our lives encompasses the whole of our lives, not just one part. How do we go about teaching this to our children?

This is a key part of the calling of our Christian Schools, and in the community I live and work in we call this teaching Christian Perspective.

But how is this done well? In this series of posts I hope to share with you some of my experiences and efforts in teaching Christian Perspective. But let's begin with what it is not.

1) Tack on a Bible verse.
  • To some people Christian schooling just means that you have devotions, sing some songs, and teach a few morals. 
  • A science project studying Tornadoes and they have the Bible verse from Psalms about God controlling the wind on their project.
  • A speech that ends with a Bible verse even though none of the rest of it shows any understanding of Christian faith.

There are times and places that it is important to include Scripture in your work, but just because you have included Scripture doesn't mean that you have a rich understanding of Christian Perspective.

Monday, September 2, 2013

Courageous Feedback

Just the other day I googled myself. I was a little surprised to see ratemyteacher back on the top page. It meant that someone had posted a new comment. Which on that website is never a good thing. Here's what this unknown person had to say:

"With all the online teaching one wonders what happens during the day. Seems like someone doesn't like to make lesson plans" Check it out here.

 This post bothers me quite a bit for a number of reasons.

  1. It is clearly not a student I have taught. It is a parent or possibly a fellow teacher. 
  2. I work and live in a Christian community and yet this person is unwilling to come to me and speak to me directly. 
  3. This person clearly has no idea what I do in the classroom and yet feels it necessary to anonymously post about my teaching.
Let me address this persons concerns.

About what goes on in my room:

You wonder what happens in my room? So, come visit my classroom! Or ask a student who has actually been in it. Or ask me about it. I am more than happy to help explain it. I even have a 20 minute video I'll share with you if you really want to understand it well.

About Lesson Plans:

I have spent more time creating lesson plans now than I ever did before. (And I did lots of lesson plans before!) Teaching the way I do requires that you know your curriculum inside out and upside down and have it planned days, weeks, and months ahead. You don't do less lesson planning, you do more!

I know that I am doing unusual and even, dare I say it, innovative things in my classroom. For many this can be scary. I also know that what I am doing is not perfect, that it has room for growth.

So, come give me some courageous feedback! I'd love to speak with you about it and put your fears to rest. For any other parents or teachers out there who wonder about what I'm doing, come talk to me. I won't bite, I promise!