Categories
teaching

The worst advice I’ve ever heard about teaching in church

Over the years, I’ve searched for all kinds of advice on how to teach effectively. But the worst advice I’ve ever heard about teaching in church has actually been the most helpful for me.

Have you ever found it hard to get the attention of a room full of kids? It can be a loud place. However, if you have the class on a Sunday morning, it can also be a quiet place that would make a crypt sound like an ideal place for a party.

How do you keep the kids engaged, whether the kids are rowdy, or just waking up after a rowdy weekend night? One piece of advice I have heard over the years was actually the worst thing I could have tried. What is it?

Be formal, show little emotion and take yourself very seriously. Don’t be a clown! This is church, after all!

Did I hear those exact words? Not exactly. But it was something I believed. for some time. When I first got into children’s ministry. I tried it for a while with disastrous results!

This just doesn’t work for me. And I would dare say it won’t work for anyone who is teaching elementary-age kids.

Cartoon of a boy and a teacher. The student says, "You're goofy, Mr. Schmeltzer! I like that in a teacher."
Categories
motivation teaching

Teaching to Learn

 

Photo of mountain landscape with the following quote, "When one teaches, two learn." Robert Half

I love this quote from Robert Half because that is essentially why I wanted to make blogging a regular practice. I have learned several lessons as I have taught over the years.

  • The preparation to teach is almost as important as the lesson.
  • If I can’t adequately explain it to someone (especially a nine-year-old), I probably don’t adequately understand it myself.
  • It is okay to veer from a lesson plan. It isn’t the Gospel.
  • All learning needs a little entertainment. If I am boring, I am not really teaching.
  • I can learn much more from teaching elementary than adults.
    • Grown-ups will hide if they are not engaged.
    • I child will have no problem telling me if I am boring
  • No matter how much I know about the subject, there is always something more to learn.
    • New discoveries make learning fun for the teacher and the student.

I am taking a hiatus from teaching elementary kids and I am already missing it. I get so much from teaching and engaging with others. If you have never tried to teach another, I would encourage you to give it a try.

Categories
School Cartoons

Complementing a child goes a long way

Cartoon of a teacher saying to a student, "This is a great story. You should copyright it!"
(c) kevin@kevinspear.com

Cartoon of a happy teacher and student. The teacher says, “This is a great story. You should copyright it.”

It breaks my heart when I hear about an author who almost didn’t take up his craft because an English teacher once told her that she was a terrible writer. But it is inspiring to hear of those who heard that discouragement, yet overcame it and are authors today.

It is a shame when discouragement comes out of our mouths. I am as guilty as anyone else of spewing criticism to others. Unfortunately, it is too easy to do that in this world.

But a complement goes a long way. My fourth grade teacher encouraged me to consider drawing when complemented my part in a poster. I didn’t think of myself as an artist until that moment.

Be sure to give a sincere complement to a child when you have a chance. You never know how it will change his life.

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