It dawned on me this afternoon how strange it seemed that seminary and college professors, some of whom have been teaching for decades, found it both fun and informative to banter on a blog about a book entitled What the Best College Teachers Do, by Ken Bain. I realized that most likely, a good majority of them were practicing many of the tips outlined in the book already and that at least one, a former professor of mine, had mastered many of the skills outlined in the book.
What intrigued me most was that here are men and woman, practitioners of their craft for years, who were finding insight and helpful direction in this book. Then it dawned on me – when was the last time you heard about a Sunday School teacher getting excited about learning how to be a better communicator and teacher? When was the last time your church, or any church for that matter, took teaching SS seriously enough to offer on-going education for their teachers?
Now I’ve known some pretty good Sunday School teachers and have had the privilege of sitting under their direction. However, the line up of mediocre teachers my wife and I have endured far outweighs the number of good ones. I find something intimately disturbing about that.
Now it could be that the thought is, if they’ve been “called” to teach and have the “gift” they don’t need additional training. Right! Apply that logic to your pastor! Or, in the case of some churches who view the Sunday School hour as a “fellowship building” exercise, then any warm body will do – after all the emphasis is not on teaching it’s on making people feel good, feel welcomed and feel accepted. What is really needed is a social worker not a Bible teacher.
I don’t recall the location of the quote so I’ll paraphrase, but Rick Warren, the megachurch pastor of Saddleback Church in California, made the observation that many people believe big means shallow. His comeback was basically this…I’ll take any five hundred of my people and put them up against anyone anywhere when it comes to understanding a biblical worldview and being able to articulate it. Uhm…I suspect you might have to search far and wide to find another five hundred Christians who even know what a “worldview” is, let alone articulate it. (Smirk)
Yes, it is mostly true that a biblical worldview should be shaped in the pulpit. However, it should be reinforced with good biblical teaching in the classroom or small group. You don’t just feed people a worldview, you help them understand it and wrap their arms around it, whatever it is. That requires skilled teachers.
To quote Ken Bain’s overview of his book -”What makes a great teacher great? The short answer is – it’s not what teachers do, its what they understand. Lesson plans and lecture notes matter less than the special way teachers comprehend the subject and value human learning….Most of all, they believe two things fervently; that teaching matters and that students can learn.”
No doubt great observations for professors and teachers. But, by no means, out of reach for the Sunday School teacher who has a passion for his/her role in advancing the Kingdom in the context of the class.
As a school teacher, I not only had to be trained in my chosen subject (which is history, by the way) but also in educational psychology, developmental psychology, and so forth. Educators must have ongoing training throughout their career that teaches them HOW to teach. I’ve never heard of training for Sunday School teachers happening anywhere by anyone. I once read a book called the Sunday School Manuel by Jack Hines, but it was about building your Sunday School program, uping the numbers, even supporting your teachers, but nothing was said about training those men and women to BE good teachers. The general assumption has always been that if you know the Bible you can teach the Bible. If you don’t know the Bible, or can’t teach, we’ll get you some good literature or a quarterly and you’ll be all set.
Clark, your observations are much appreciated.
Even “knowing he Bible” can be suspect in many situations. For some churches we’ve attended it seems that “having a heart for the Lord” is the only requirement. In addition, a one-size fits all approach leaves many, who would love the challenge of a deeper study, left standing or sitting until they decide to move on to a church that offers continued growth opportunities. Even Hybel’s church learned that lesson.
Thanks again for your comments.