Teach Less, Teach it Well

The first thing I notice about Sunday school curriculums is the vast amount of information in the teacher’s guide. I marvel at the multitude of activities. I’m astounded by the preparation time. I’m flustered by the endless points and suggestions. Not that I can’t fulfill all of the guided requirements, I’m a professional teacher after all, but I must ask why would they want me to teach so much? I only have a short time with these students. I already want to spend some of my hour getting to know them and building a Christian relationship. It is also important to me to pray with my kids, and ask for prayer requests. So, what’s the rush? Why do I have to cram so much information into these little people? Why must it all be taught in one session?
I’ve always struggled with this because the core Christian principal is the same: God loves you. He sent his son Jesus for you to die on a cross to save you from your sins. He wants a relationship with you and you can have this by asking him into your life. All the rest is frosting on this marvelous cake! So why are we so desperately determined to pummel children with endless lists, and facts, and non-related stories? Can’t we just relax and enjoy the experience knowing that if you remind your students weekly of that core principal, no matter what was taught that day, they will still understand their place in the great scheme of God’s vision.
Instead of buying into the overwhelming (and dare I say ineffective) Sunday school experience, I suggest and encourage you to try something different. Teach less, and teach it very well.
There is a lot to learn about Christianity. Indeed most of us that have been Christians for a long time admit that we are still learning about our Christian faith. We understand that core principal, but the details of the Be Attitudes, the names of Joseph’s brothers, the exact lineage of Noah, and the duties of the four horsemen are not always completely crystallized. As adults we weekly soak up information but don’t ever expect to know everything, the system wasn’t designed to be finite.
Our children really need to understand that core principal of God’s love for them, then instead of rushing through endless material, just pick one or two concepts you want to teach, and teach it well. Spend a month teaching the story of Ester. Spend two months teaching about Joseph. Spend three teaching about Moses. Spend ten weeks teaching the Ten Commandments. There’s no rush here. These are big, meaty stories with several different angles you can take to teach concepts. Take your time to really explore these learning stories.
For example, Ester was a queen who saved her people. The first week, read the story then teach that God uses his believers for a greater good. The next week, read the story again and teach that Ester was scared to confront evil, and it is o.k. to be scared. The next week review the story then teach that Ester trusted in God even when it was hard. The last week teach that Ester is a good example of our faith in action. Over a month you have really taught your students the story of Ester in a relatable manner. Now they know the story and they understand what it means to be like Ester.
Or work conceptually. Take a month to teach about prayer. Take two months to teach about creation. Take three months to teach about Sin and Forgiveness. Use the Bible stories to reinforce what you are trying to teach your students.
For example, for prayer, the first week teach them why we pray using the example of Moses. The second week, teach them how to pray using the example of the Lord ’s Prayer. The next week teach them when to pray using the example of Daniel. The last week teach them that God listens when we pray using the example of the Joshua. Over four Sundays you have taught your students the elements of prayer that will enable them to establish a good prayer habit full of meaning and connectedness.
You can teach these smaller concepts in a whole variety of ways. One Sunday you might read, explore, and discuss, then next week you can creatively recreate a Bible scene. One week you may use props or puppets, the next week make inferences and predictions. I do not believe in reinventing the wheel, I just know that teaching less is more effective. Use your extensive teacher’s guide to give you ideas for bringing your concept to life and then of course, follow your passion.
Do you prefer teaching through music or drama? Do you enjoy building or creating things? Are you crafty or do you love science experiments? Whatever your passion, use this, and the ideas provided to you, to make your teaching effective. Remember you are teacher, not a babysitter; it is your job to teach your students thoroughly using the talents God has given you.
Once you have decided on a clear concept to teach, and the method you will use to relay it, you will need to add one more element: making it relevant. No concept, no matter how important, will remain with a child if it does not relate to their life in some manner. You can teach a child about Ester, but if you don’t make Ester’s life and lessons somehow applicable to the child, then she becomes nothing more than an interesting ‘story’ that may or may not have happened long ago.
Every lesson in the Bible, every character, every verse has a reason for being there. God himself ordained every word in that book, and when teaching it you must consider the purpose. What does God want to teach us from Paul’s journeys? What are we supposed to understand about Jesus from the recount of him calming the seas? Why are we told about Job’s struggles? Every verse is a teaching moment, but you have to be able to relate it to your students’ lives.
Paul had a hard life, your students may have a hard life. Jesus calmed the seas proving once again he is God- the God that loves your students and wants a relationship with them. Job struggled, but God renewed his life, God will never leave you even when he seems far away. Everything in the Bible can and does relate to the lives of your students, and you need to be the one to make these connections with them.
Now a word about Bible verses. It is important to memorize Bible verses. God uses these verses to remind you of truths, comfort you in times or trouble, direct you in paths he has chosen. However, the concept of teaching less, but teaching it well also applies to verses. I understand that I am now treading on hallowed ground, yet any child development specialist will tell you that repetition, particularly in the early grades, is the most effective way to teach a child. Reading a reciting a verse a week, with no repetition or reinforcement outside of the classroom is fruitless. The verse is applied to a short term memory category in the brain, and is never transferred to the long term memory storage. I guarantee you that if you expect your students to memorize a verse a week, your result will be dismal. If you decide to teach less, but teach it well, then pick a relevant verse, and repeat it over several weeks, a few times each Sunday.
Some parents will take the verse home and make their children memorize it, but this phenomenon is becoming less regular with busy schedules and overburdened workloads. I encourage you to take up the cause of memorizing verses, and take your time doing it. A child who leaves the Children’s program with 20 solid verses over a few years is much more equipped than a child who leaves with none. There is no verse memory quota in the Bible.
So, choose some verses that relate to the concept you are trying to teach, and those that speak to you. Talk about them and what they mean with your students. Memorize them with your students and repeat them often. Post them, one at a time, on your classroom wall, then revisit them often when you have moved onto the next verse. Remind students that it is important to memorize the word of God and remain positive, even if you don’t care for the practice.
You will undoubtedly be met with resistance to teach less, but teach it well. That will be frustrating, but in several years when these children leave your care, you want them to understand the core principal of Christianity: Jesus loves them and wants to be part of their lives. Your success is not measured on how many facts and figures they can recite, but on how well they understand their role in the grand plan God has for their lives. Their love for God and eagerness to learn more about their faith should be your priority, and the priority of your church. It certainly is the priority of God, who is the ultimate judge.