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In more recent years I have come to some new understandings about this wonderful and mysterious and yet quite ordinary process called teaching and learning. Some have come from being associated with people whose ministry involves the power of announcing God’s presence and blessing. In particular these have been Jacqueline Nowak and Leanne Hadley in their blessing based ministries. Trust We came to the realization that our students were reacting with some shock and then appreciation when we trusted them. It seems that much of the educational system, formal and informal is based on not trusting students. They are not trusted to Know what they need to learn Know what is the best way to learn that To put in the effort that makes the learning possible. When we have said to them, “You are in fact quite wise about such things and we invite you to learn within this arena of concerted effort – you and us working together.” Some have viewed our stance with suspicion. Isn’t that sad? Talk about a self-fulfilling prophecy – distrust breeds distrust. But the opposite is true too – for many students (not all for some seem addicted to “just getting by” patterns of behavior) can be trusted and will become trustworthy in their learning behavior – and in their relationship with God. Children, young children, teens and adults do have a wisdom about what it is they need to know and know they can learn that and will jump into the “conversation” with new enthusiasm. Calmness We now begin our sessions with a time of quiet, singing, prayer, and scripture. This too seems strange to students at first and some think of it as a waste of time. “Let’s get going with the lesson!” Later they realize we have gotten going with the lesson – the lesson being that we learn things of the faith with a consciousness of God’s presence. At first we thought of this as a way of creating sacred space in which to learn – or to work through a personal pressing life issue – but then we realized, “ We do not create the sacredness of a space – God does that – we recognize a space as sacred.” We light a candle, acknowledging God’s presence in our midst.. In a similar fashion we watch the time so that sessions are over at the advertised time - there’s nothing like keeping faith with the time contract for encouraging respect – and see that we end with a similar reflective time – prayer, announcing God’s blessing. This “God’s presence known at the beginning and the end” changes the quality of our time together and sharpens our sense of priorities. After all, some of us pop into the classroom from lives that are burdened with cares and need to know someone else is helping to carry those so that we are freed to learn. Less is More If you put this idea together with the ones above you can find yourself in an ironic situation – less external demands can turn into greater internal demands! Our students say, “Less was required so I learned more. Thank you!” Perhaps it isn‘t that less is required but that the location of the requiring is changed when you create a rich environment with easily accessed resources and then invite students to the feast. Frankly, some students have come to see excessive requirements as a multiplication of busy work based on a deep seated distrust. Since learner motivation is key how much better it is to shift that motivation from obligation and subservience (leading to ingenious devices of subterfuge) to delighting in learning – the characteristic so evident in the unspoiled young child. So we change the pace saying, “We have too much to do to be in a hurry,” introduce a calm sabbath like opportunity to relax into God’s caring presence, sit up straight as people respected and trusted – and watch learning bloom. The Value of the Wise Saying There are times when we consciously aspire to teach like Jesus taught; turning away from excessive explanation and to the wise saying, the story without the moralizing or the theologizing. Students respond in kind. Some of their sayings appear in the article A Tree of Wisdom, on the Articles of Interest page of this website. |
