Sunday School Class

I love our Sunday School class and will be sorry to see us having to reshuffle in September.  Irene Y. and Rachel Y.  are dividing teaching duties this year, and they each do an outstanding job.  We have young people (Norma M., Rachel M., Sheila G.), one young mom (Arlene M.), two moms of children in elementary school and beyond, with none married (Violet N., Jolene Y.), a bunch of Grandmas (me, Mae Y., Cora N., Edith Y., Virginia C.), and one mother of unmarried children beyond high school (Judith N.).

This group includes one college student, one nurse's aide, several teachers, a professional counselor, and a number of homemakers.  Three of the homemakers are wives of farmers or farm workers, one is a pastor's wife, one is the wife of a man who owns a computer business, one is married to a man who works in a good-sized family-owned refuse disposal business, one is married to someone who works in the mini-barn business, and one is a retired widow--good folks--one and all.  Today we prayed about the two ballots that were due in church today, and we prayed for those left behind in Lott, Texas when a 53-year old minister and father died very unexpectedly during the night.   Often we pray for each other, and, first and foremost, we really help each other learn from Scripture.

Sunday School classes can be a wonderful microcosm of the body of Christ.  Learning from the Spirit of God in company with others, learning from each other, supporting each other, challenging each other, uniting in prayer for the work of God elsewhere and for people in need elsewhere are all things that should and do happen in the larger church body also.  In Sunday school, though, these things happen in an "up-close-and-personal" way, and it makes the experience extra-special.

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I once heard a former Sunday School superintendent puzzle over what can be done to help people learn to teach well, even if their past experience did not include such preparation.  I've also heard a teacher who never went to high school comment on how much she thinks having a high school education helps younger people feel comfortable with teaching.  In general, I'm guessing that more experience with study and presentation equals more comfort with teaching, but I hasten to add that formal schooling is not the only way to gain experience in study and presentation.

Going back to high school isn't an option for most people beyond high school age.  Some people have learning barriers that make study really laborious.  I'm sure some of these people would just rather be skipped when teachers are assigned.  Yet, I'm not sure that this is best for everyone.  Those who are willing and able are subject to burnout if they have no relief.

I wonder how this would work:

1.  Before any teacher assignments are made, the superintendents make arrangements with some experienced teacher(s) to assist beginning or inexperienced teachers (or superintendents might decide to take on the job themselves).   Any who hesitate to take an assignment because of a lack of experience would immediately receive an offer of assistance, coupled with a presumption of acceptance from the teacher being recruited.

2.  Superintendents facilitate contact between the "trainer of teachers" and those who need help, perhaps by setting up a meeting initially to determine what the needs are and how best to meet the needs.  I can imagine that the needs could be divided into the following categories:

A.  Access to materials
B.  Knowledge of Bible study methods
C.  Mechanics of note taking
D.  Organizing material for presentation
C.  Conducting the class

3.    The superintendent sticks around and stays involved until some schedule or plan of interaction between trainer and teachers is in place.

4.  Trainers and teachers work together as long as it takes for teachers to feel prepared to continue on their own.  Superintendents stay in contact with everyone involved throughout the process.

Outside of an intentional program to train teachers, individuals who want to improve their skills probably can improve  a great deal through their own effort.  They can begin by noting carefully how their current teacher teaches, and identifying the teacher's methods that are worth copying.  Also, diligent study as a SS class student can generalize to preparation for teaching.  Almost always, a teacher has at least a little time between learning of an assignment and having to begin teaching.  If they study each time in the interval as though they had to teach the class, they will be well prepared to observe the current teacher carefully and can learn by the effort.

I think it could be helpful too to arrange with a student in the class to provide helpful feedback each Sunday, especially at the beginning.  Sometimes even a small change in seating arrangement or formatting of notes, for example, can make a difference in how smoothly things work during class.  Being able to keep track of time is a skill I'm still working on, but I've learned that sitting where I can see a clock is a good help here.

I feel a great deal of sympathy for SS superintendents who face a lot of unwilling recruits.  Yet, I have on a very few occasions turned down a teaching request, for what I still consider legitimate reasons, so I understand that people say no for a variety of reasons.  My interest here is to find a way to work through one of the barriers to SS superintendents finding good, well-equipped teachers promptly.  If we have more people who know how to teach, the jobs can be passed out more equitably.