Teaching Tips for Sunday School (cont.)
2. Embrace every unique learner.
I don’t mean you must physically embrace each student every day. Hugs, given in the right way and at the right time, can be effective. Trust me, I hug constantly. Students know they cannot get past me without one.
A teacher can get away with not hugging, of course. What they can’t get away with is ignoring this simple fact: Not every student learns the same way. So you must learn to embrace every unique learner.
Corollary: Not every student learns the way you do. I’ve been passionate about the topic of learning styles. I believe in it strongly, and here’s why:
You can love the students, know your craft, and have complete control over your classroom environment. But if you aren’t varying your teaching style to accommodate the intricacies of every student, you won’t illuminate or reach your students to the degree you desire.
A good teacher who ignores this fact is like a great athlete who doesn’t care for their body. Eventually, the body will break down. Regardless of work ethic and talent, the athlete will no longer perform at their highest level.
You must begin with knowing your craft. A lesson plan full of only love just won’t cut it. After that, you must tailor that plan to meet the learning-style needs of each student.
This can feel uncomfortable, because most teachers were good students themselves who teach in their preferred learning style. Yet just as you must continue to challenge yourself to know your discipline better, you must challenge yourself to understand your students better.
3. Cultivate the climate.
Bad teachers fail because they never learn their craft. Good teachers come up short when they neglect to alter their teaching style to meet the variety of learning styles in a classroom. But all teachers can fail if they don’t have mastery over the classroom climate.
The great ones? This is where they excel. Just spend five minutes in a class to know whether the teacher is in charge and leading everyone in learning. Just as two restaurants can be identical in food, in the same neighborhood, and in the same price range, you may consistently choose one over the other. Why? The environment.
A treasured teacher understands how to cultivate the classroom climate to be a rich learning culture. Cultivating the climate you want is both the foot of the hill and the mountaintop.
A lack of control can undermine even the best, most prepared, most caring teacher. But a classroom that reflects discipline and order while using the entire environment to ignite creativity and joy in learning? That’s a class where illumination is happening.
