Christian Education

One of the most controversial books in my library is one by Grace Llewellyn called “The Teenage Liberation Handbook: How to Quit School and Get a Real Life and Education”. Written by a former middle school teacher, the book lists the following problems with schools:

· Schools require passivity.
· Schools cram you too full too fast.
· School people care more about appearances than about learning.
· School isn’t challenging enough if you are academically inclined.
· Schools present learning backwards, emphasizing answers instead of questions.
· School asks you to get stressed-out attaining mediocrity in six or so subjects rather than be amazed at one or two you love.

I am not listing her argument here to make the case that your children or grandchildren should rethink returning to school next fall. Rather, I want our church to consider the extent to which our own efforts at education stumble on these same pitfalls. Notice the list does not indict teachers whose love for students and passion and knowledge about the subjects they teach are generally beyond question. The list attacks the overall system.

I am a product of Sunday School, I took classes in Christian Education in College, I worked in my grad school’s Religious Education Curriculum Library—evaluating every single piece of curriculum created by every denomination from 1990 to 1993, and I have seen both active Sunday School and the results of Sunday School in seven United Methodist churches. I’ve seen lots of theory and many different models. On the other hand I have heard from a lot of worn-out teachers, bored children and confused parents. And I am aware that Sunday School attendance has decreased in all churches by at least 70 percent since the 1970s. It continues to decrease here at FUMC too. Yes, there is now more competition for a student’s time and Church often falls below sports, but why is that so?

Every curriculum that I have seen in action has had a certain “cookie-cutter” quality. They have to, because they are written by committee for hundreds of churches to be used by thousands of teachers who, because their lives are complicated enough, need straightforward teaching helps. The curriculum is getting more and more high-tech and uses cooler and cooler ways to communicate the Gospel, but I can’t help wondering if the reason we lose school age children (and the reason churches have lost so many adult products of Sunday School) is because Sunday School has been:

· too passive (unlike soccer),
· too full--too fast (curriculum correctly identifies the variety of learning styles among children but then forces teachers to hit all six styles to address seven lesson points all within 45 minutes…too much!)
· answering questions students are not asking

Sunday, May 23rd at 9:30 I am planning to meet with Sunday School leaders and their children to talk about a new model for education called the “Rotation Model”. I would like for us to adopt this innovative, LIBERATING model next fall. If you care about this, I hope you will join the conversation. And that leads to my final point here.

There is no magic curriculum or educational formula that can turn the ship around. The difference takes place when we all take seriously the third bullet point problem in the Liberation list above: caring more about appearances than about learning. This is not an issue among our teachers who DO attend to the learning. It is an issue for all of us parents and fellow Christians who do not reinforce what has been shared, who are not aware of the direction the curriculum is going and cannot adequately explain to our young people why Sunday School is really important. Everyone knows why soccer is good—it is fun, physical and teaches teamwork. What about Sunday School?

This Sunday we celebrate Sunday School. This year it invited our children to live their belief in God by cultivating trust in God’s love and responsibility for God’s church and creation. Let us give thanks for these students and their teachers and then let’s work together to make a good thing better for next year!

Pastor Doug