Reporting on Sunday School
Several weeks ago, after noting a disturbing pattern developing among some members of my intermediate girls' Sunday School class, I decided to do something to address it. Since the year was about half over, I geared up to have the new plan in place by the time the new CLP quarterlies came out.
First I told the girls that I realize that preparing for Sunday School class is not all they have to do, and that I sympathized with what I know is often a hectic schedule. I urged them to talk to their parents about what should be done if they feel overwhelmed about juggling all they have on their plate. After a reminder that learning how to determine priorities is part of what it takes to feel OK about life, I told them that I would be writing a note to their parents. They may have groaned inside, but they restrained themselves in my presence.
After the letters went home, the most notable change was that one of the students who struggled the most earlier came the first Sunday with everything done. She told me that they're reading the daily passages for family devotions. She has consistently done everything ever since. Today everyone had everything done.
I heard a few rumblings (grumblings?) about school methods being used in Sunday School. I checked my thinking on that subject and returned to something that I settled in my mind years ago when I heard someone say they thought not too many homeschooling methods should be used in school. I found the comment offensive, and determined that if a method facilitates reaching the goals of any endeavor, its most common association should not be considered a prohibition against using it elsewhere. Also, I'm a firm believer in conveying early on to students that school is not the only place where one should demonstrate self-discipline and a sense of responsibility. I resolved though to offer to skip the second phase of the plan for individual students if I heard from their parents a preference that I do so.
What I'm doing in Sunday School is what I'd love to be able to do more often in school--reporting without "labeling." Labeling is the word I'm using for having to assign a letter or percentage grade to students' work. That process adds enormously to the teacher's workload, and while I understand why it is often necessary, I think it is vastly overrated as a true measure of the learning that is actually taking place.
Here's a copy of the letter I put in the parents' church mailboxes (Some of the formatting didn't stay intact in this copy from WordPerfect.) :
To: Parents of Students in Miriam Iwashige’s Sunday School class.
From: Miriam
Subject: Update
Background: Since the beginning of the Sunday School year I have been handing out a photocopy of the material from the quarterly that calls for effort on the students’ part (beyond simply reading the text in the quarterly). This includes three things: 1) A verse to be memorized 2) A daily schedule of Scripture readings 3) Written activities. I have asked for these papers to be handed in each Sunday, and I check over them and make some response to what they have done. For the Bible verse, I look for the initials of the person who has listened to the recitation of the verse. For the Scripture readings, I look for a check mark beside the ones that were read. I also look for whether the blanks have been filled in correctly or appropriately.
The reason for making the photocopy is two-fold: 1) The spaces for writing in the quarterly are very small and not very satisfactory for written answers 2) The paper is more portable than the quarterly since it can be folded and kept in a Bible.
Report: The students’ participation in these voluntary activities varies from “almost always completely done” to “hardly ever handed in” (presumably not done). I’ve noticed also that the students most diligent about preparing are the ones most likely to participate in class discussion. I can’t say whether either or both of these result in better understanding and application of lesson content, but I suspect that might be the case. I keep a record of which students hand in their papers each week.
I understand that preparing for Sunday School is not all that is required of middle teenagers, and I really don’t have the right to demand that it happens. It may well be that they do have other commitments that are more important than Sunday School class preparation and participation. Living well calls for lots of choices, and the right ones are not always obvious or easy.
Last Sunday I urged the students to talk to their parents about their priorities and ask for help if things seem difficult to manage. You will know whether or not this has happened.
Plans: I presume that many of you depend on the students in your family to take initiative for their Sunday School class preparation. That seems appropriate to me. What I want to begin now to do is simply to report on what I know about what has been done. I will base my report on what appears on that paper that the students hand in and what happens in class.
I would love to hear what your goals are for your children, and how you see Sunday School class fitting into those goals. I also would appreciate hearing from you if you have ideas for how things could be improved in any way.
I consider myself an assistant to your training efforts, and want to be responsive to your wishes.
Possibilities: The daily Bible readings are the most time consuming and the least frequently done. Several possible ways of accomplishing this are: 1) The student incorporates it into private devotions. 2) The student incorporates it into the 5-minute Bible reading at the beginning of every period at school. 3) The passage is read in family devotions. 4) The student does it all in one marathon session. 5) The student reads it aloud to someone else, maybe over the phone to someone who needs contact with others or has vision difficulties. 6) The student listens to a younger sibling read it aloud as reading practice.
I have stapled to this sheet a copy of what I expect to put in your church mailbox each Sunday.
***********************
__________________ ____________________
Due Date for Lesson Name
1. Paper handed in? Yes No
2. Memory verse initialed? Yes No
3. Blanks filled in? Yes No
4. Daily readings checked? Yes No
5. Spoke up in class? Yes No
First I told the girls that I realize that preparing for Sunday School class is not all they have to do, and that I sympathized with what I know is often a hectic schedule. I urged them to talk to their parents about what should be done if they feel overwhelmed about juggling all they have on their plate. After a reminder that learning how to determine priorities is part of what it takes to feel OK about life, I told them that I would be writing a note to their parents. They may have groaned inside, but they restrained themselves in my presence.
After the letters went home, the most notable change was that one of the students who struggled the most earlier came the first Sunday with everything done. She told me that they're reading the daily passages for family devotions. She has consistently done everything ever since. Today everyone had everything done.
I heard a few rumblings (grumblings?) about school methods being used in Sunday School. I checked my thinking on that subject and returned to something that I settled in my mind years ago when I heard someone say they thought not too many homeschooling methods should be used in school. I found the comment offensive, and determined that if a method facilitates reaching the goals of any endeavor, its most common association should not be considered a prohibition against using it elsewhere. Also, I'm a firm believer in conveying early on to students that school is not the only place where one should demonstrate self-discipline and a sense of responsibility. I resolved though to offer to skip the second phase of the plan for individual students if I heard from their parents a preference that I do so.
What I'm doing in Sunday School is what I'd love to be able to do more often in school--reporting without "labeling." Labeling is the word I'm using for having to assign a letter or percentage grade to students' work. That process adds enormously to the teacher's workload, and while I understand why it is often necessary, I think it is vastly overrated as a true measure of the learning that is actually taking place.
Here's a copy of the letter I put in the parents' church mailboxes (Some of the formatting didn't stay intact in this copy from WordPerfect.) :
To: Parents of Students in Miriam Iwashige’s Sunday School class.
From: Miriam
Subject: Update
Background: Since the beginning of the Sunday School year I have been handing out a photocopy of the material from the quarterly that calls for effort on the students’ part (beyond simply reading the text in the quarterly). This includes three things: 1) A verse to be memorized 2) A daily schedule of Scripture readings 3) Written activities. I have asked for these papers to be handed in each Sunday, and I check over them and make some response to what they have done. For the Bible verse, I look for the initials of the person who has listened to the recitation of the verse. For the Scripture readings, I look for a check mark beside the ones that were read. I also look for whether the blanks have been filled in correctly or appropriately.
The reason for making the photocopy is two-fold: 1) The spaces for writing in the quarterly are very small and not very satisfactory for written answers 2) The paper is more portable than the quarterly since it can be folded and kept in a Bible.
Report: The students’ participation in these voluntary activities varies from “almost always completely done” to “hardly ever handed in” (presumably not done). I’ve noticed also that the students most diligent about preparing are the ones most likely to participate in class discussion. I can’t say whether either or both of these result in better understanding and application of lesson content, but I suspect that might be the case. I keep a record of which students hand in their papers each week.
I understand that preparing for Sunday School is not all that is required of middle teenagers, and I really don’t have the right to demand that it happens. It may well be that they do have other commitments that are more important than Sunday School class preparation and participation. Living well calls for lots of choices, and the right ones are not always obvious or easy.
Last Sunday I urged the students to talk to their parents about their priorities and ask for help if things seem difficult to manage. You will know whether or not this has happened.
Plans: I presume that many of you depend on the students in your family to take initiative for their Sunday School class preparation. That seems appropriate to me. What I want to begin now to do is simply to report on what I know about what has been done. I will base my report on what appears on that paper that the students hand in and what happens in class.
I would love to hear what your goals are for your children, and how you see Sunday School class fitting into those goals. I also would appreciate hearing from you if you have ideas for how things could be improved in any way.
I consider myself an assistant to your training efforts, and want to be responsive to your wishes.
Possibilities: The daily Bible readings are the most time consuming and the least frequently done. Several possible ways of accomplishing this are: 1) The student incorporates it into private devotions. 2) The student incorporates it into the 5-minute Bible reading at the beginning of every period at school. 3) The passage is read in family devotions. 4) The student does it all in one marathon session. 5) The student reads it aloud to someone else, maybe over the phone to someone who needs contact with others or has vision difficulties. 6) The student listens to a younger sibling read it aloud as reading practice.
I have stapled to this sheet a copy of what I expect to put in your church mailbox each Sunday.
***********************
__________________ ____________________
Due Date for Lesson Name
1. Paper handed in? Yes No
2. Memory verse initialed? Yes No
3. Blanks filled in? Yes No
4. Daily readings checked? Yes No
5. Spoke up in class? Yes No
posted by Mrs. I at
5:56 PM
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