I never wanted to be a teacher. I often walked past the education buildings on my college campus wondering what on earth education majors studied. And, as for homeschoolers, I knew just one. She was an odd duck. Homeschooling never crossed my mind as a viable education alternative.
But the Lord has a sense of humor.
In my employment and volunteer capacities, I found myself often in a teaching role. Then, God blessed us with children. To my great astonishment, we decided to homeschool, and I discovered the unexpected: I loved teaching. A decade passed, and I began teaching at local private Christian schools. Another shock. I didn’t just love teaching my children; I loved teaching other people’s children, too.
As a teacher with an unconventional path, I have often thought longingly about those spurned education buildings. I have needed teaching skills in my own home, in our military communities, in homeschool co-ops, in my employment and in our church. What many on-the-job lessons taught me, whether it be teaching a small group Bible study or giving an academic lecture, I can summarize into one simple statement: Teach others the way I would like to be taught. Put myself in the student’s seat, whether that student be four, fourteen, or forty. How do they best learn? What do they need to learn? How can I reach them right where they are? I found that I teach best when I follow three main principles under that maxim: practice humility, provide structure, and pull students into the learning process.
Practice Humility
Whether in a church or classroom setting, beginning with the right mindset is paramount. My students, regardless of their age, are first and foremost children of God. They are created by him for a reason and bear His image. Though I have authority over them, I must use this authority wisely and with love. When I make mistakes, I need to own them. Students who struggle with behavior or with processing content are my brothers and sisters in Christ, not a problem I need to manage or solve. It is my privilege to discover how to reach and teach them.
Sometimes that involves discipline, accountability and consequences, but it always involves my heart being in the right posture toward them. I should be the most teachable person in the room, honoring students with my words and actions.
Second, whether it be a high school history class, a ladies’ Bible study, or a youth Sunday School lesson, as the teacher, I should be the most prepared person in the room. I need to come armed with a clear learning objective and competent in the subject matter. If I don’t know the answer to a question (and believe me, middle schoolers can ask tough questions), the best course of action is to straight-up admit that I do not have the answer. Children or teenagers should know that I will search that answer out and reconnect to discuss the question in more detail. When students realize that I believe that they, and their time, are valuable and that I have prepared accordingly, they (almost always) respond with interest and motivation to learn.
Provide Structure
Our God is a God of order and beauty. Routines, curriculum and thoughtful rhythms create an environment where students can relax, listen, and learn.
Our beloved youth pastor went on a much-deserved sabbatical this summer, leaving my husband and me in charge (along with a wonderful team). For the past seven years, our pastor has thoughtfully created and maintained a youth group routine. Students begin with games, circle up for worship, have a time of prayer, listen to a message, and close with snacks and fellowship. We put phones away. We require students to participate in all games and listen respectfully during the message.
Week after week, year after year, this is the rhythm—punctuated by the occasional scheduled special events. Even though my husband and I have been a part of this ministry for the past five years, we were nervous to be left in charge. But our leaders and students knew what to expect and how to help. Yes, we will be elated when our pastor returns. Everyone has missed him and it isn’t the same without him. But it was a fruitful summer even with his absence. We succeeded because he did the ground work establishing the structure for a thriving ministry.
As an important side note, students of all ages learn best in an environment that is safe, free from distractions, bullying, and cell phones. As a school teacher, I learned quickly that students who were disruptive or rebellious needed correction. Sometimes they needed to be asked to leave. It is not loving to the offender or the other students in the class to allow a student to continue poor behavior. In one of our communities, the young adults’ group had several young men that were overly aggressive in their pursuit of young women in the group. Left unchecked, the predictable occurred: women stopped attending. If students do not feel safe in the environment or find good use for their time, they will stop coming.
Pull Students Into the Learning Process
God gave us all different kinds of smarts as well as different ways that we learn best. This principle applies in the homeschool classroom, school classroom, Bible studies, Sunday schools, youth group, and general teaching. As a teacher, I finally learned to involve students as much as possible in the learning process. I learned to vary my teaching style, even during the same lesson, so I could reach as many students as possible. I have so many options. Have students read passages aloud. Put students in groups to summarize. Walk around the room. Have students act out stories. Pause to have students brainstorm the answer to a question with a classmate. Create a songwriting competition on a teaching objective. The list of creative ideas goes on and on.
Children and youth learn best not when we talk at them, but when they put in the effort to learn for themselves. Students also learn best when they know a teacher cares about them—and when the teacher is interesting! Props, pranks, songs, activities, competitions, field trips, jokes…there are so many ways to help students enjoy learning.
If I teach a child or teenager as I would want someone to teach me, my desires are re-ordered to seek the student’s best interest, not my own. This has practical implications. It means that I do not feel threatened if students change schools or churches or Bible study groups. My goal is not my success, but theirs. If they are growing better spiritually in another environment, then praise God! Likewise, when I make mistakes, I can openly admit them, knowing that Christ covers all my sins and shortcomings with his blood.
My goal is for students to know Christ more—and if that be through my own failings, so be it. Teaching human beings made in God’s image is a weighty task, as James reminds us in his epistle (James 3:1). That weight, though, is balanced with the beautiful buoyancy of God’s unfailing love toward his children. My shortcomings as a teacher will never constrict the power of God in a child or teenager’s life. My job is to teach on: practicing humility, providing structure, and pulling the students God brings me into the learning process.
Christ, the Perfect Teacher, has all things under his reign, and I can trust him with the outcome.
If you’re looking for a new way to teach children about the gospel in your church, check out our newest curriculum: Gospel Basics.
