Effective ways of bringing out the best in our
learners.
I
often find it easier to get the most out of a good learner. You know, the
learner who listens, the learner who goes out of their way to be good. But what
about the learner who doesn't know how to be good? Don't they need support?
Don't they need someone to encourage them to be good? Allllllll learners need
encouragement; every learner needs support from us, their teacher. As difficult
as it may be at times, we must bring out the best in our learners.
I
remember when I first worked with the congregation I am currently working with.
When I offered to assist in the kids' ministry, I was told how ill-disciplined
and troublesome some of the kids there were, and there was this one particular
boy who went out of his way to be troublesome, and he drove a lot of teachers
out of the kids' ministry.
Effective ways of bringing out the best in our
learners:
1. Communication: Encourage them, tell them how good you think they are, and don't
remind them of their mistakes. Remember how powerful words are? They can build
or destroy. Use yours to build your learners. Communicate the importance of
high expectations, why they must seek to be the best, and how that benefits
them.
2. Identify
their strengths and weaknesses: Make them
feel special and encourage them to keep up the good work in whatever area of
their strength. Convey support in their area of weakness so that they may not
see it as a challenge but rather as a growth area.
3. Be
consistent: I can never stress this
enough; children appreciate consistency. Consistency in our behaviour: so that
they can feel secure, we need to be consistently loving, kind, compassionate,
excellent listeners, and their friend if and when they need one.
4. Create
a safe space: Creating a
safe space and a secure environment in the classroom works wonders. It makes
them feel secure and comfortable in the classroom and with you as their
teacher.
5. Make
learning fun: If your
class and lessons are boring, learners will not be motivated to attend class at
all. Why should they? What do they get from attending class? Make sure the
lesson and activities are fun and that you, as the teacher, have fun as well.
We lead by example, remember?
6. Praise
them: Whenever
they do something right, no matter how small, praise them; this encourages them
and gives them the idea that they are good. Let their parents or guardians know
too; let them know how good little Simmy is in class. It might give him a chip
on his shoulder, but hey, it does the trick.
Long
story short, I decided to give the kids' in our congregation the benefit of the
doubt. I decided to work with them, regardless of the feedback and report I
received. Oooh, yes, some of them were troublesome fooooor sure. I remember
teaching Sunday school for the first time; only two had attended the first
class. Following Sunday, we had 6 or 8, a few months later, we grew to 15, and
then we grew to 22, and then we grew to 32. For a time, I had 44 kids' in the
kids ministry. I don’t have the struggles I had with them being troublesome
anymore.
Teacher,
play your part and let God do the rest. Be consistent in your efforts and
intentional about being the best teacher you can always be. Love them no matter
how challenging it may be on that day. Be the Sunday school teacher you wish
you had. Essentially, God wants us to bring the best out of these little lambs
in order that they may be the best at shining their light for God's glory. As
tough as it may be, believe in them and encourage them to be the best they can
be; all they need is you.
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