Sunday school class, Manzanar Relocation Center, California / photograph by Ansel Adams.
Pity the poor Primary teachers.
I mean, the new schedule is good for them in many ways: they only have to keep kids’ attention for 20 minutes, and, at two hours total, the kids will be a lot less exhausted from sitting still.
But, at the same time, the church has introduced a new Primary manual. As in, one. This manual is supposed to be the basis of lessons for 3-year-olds and for 11-year-olds. Now, in theory, that’s not a bad idea. The same concepts can be pitched at different levels.
But in practice? Well, as friend of the blog Mette Harrison points out, it’s not quite so simple.
And it’s not quite so simple for one main reason: most of us aren’t trained in early (and, for that matter, mid-) childhood pedagogy. Sure, many of us have kids, and have muddled through raising them. But if you’re anything like me, you don’t actually know what developmental milestones occur when, what skills and abilities kids should have at what age, how to manage a classroom at various ages, and all of the other stuff that goes into teaching.[fn1]
The thing is, there are best practices, and pedagogical techniques, that would improve our Primary teaching and our lesson design. Whole courses of study exist to prepare people for teaching young children![fn2]
For a whole bunch of valid reasons, the church can’t solely call professional teachers of young children to teach Primary. But I’m hoping that BCC can provide some resources that will help our amateur teachers be more confident and effective in teaching.
There’s just one problem: like me, few, if any, of our bloggers have degrees in anything related to early childhood teaching.
But!
I’m sure some of you do. And I’d love to get your expertise. I’d love to have a professor of elementary education write a guest post about teaching four-year-olds. A special education teacher write about how to teach a class that includes special needs students. A preschool teacher write about engaging 3-year-olds. A dance teacher write about integrating movement as part of an academic lesson. A music teacher write about how you can teach a song to 3-year-olds and 11-year-olds at the same time without losing either group. Somebody write about classroom management for various ages.
Or, frankly, whatever else could benefit teachers as they attempt to teach.
Look, I know we’re supposed to use the Spirit to guide us, and let’s assume that Primary teachers do that. I’m more interested in a toolbox that Primary teachers can go to as they prepare to teach our children.[fn3] What I envision is different from the #BCCSundaySchool2019 posts. Instead of helping with content, I’d love to get some help with technique.
If you have the expertise and interest, I’d love to have you ping me, ideally at this form, but if you don’t trust Google Forms, you’re welcome to reach out to me on Twitter or by email. Or even in the comments, as long as I can get in touch with you.
Thanks for your help! I’m excited to learn about #TeachingPrimaryCFM![fn4]
[fn1] I mean, I teach professionally. But, like most law professors, I don’t have formal pedagogical training. And I teach graduate students, who are generally self-motivated and old enough to sit still and listen (or, at least, pretend convincingly).
[fn2] My wife, for instance, has a Masters in dance education from NYU; her focus was on teaching academic subjects to elementary school-aged children through dance. So I know the training exists.
[fn3] Yes, I understand the critical importance of teaching the Gospel by the Spirit. And I think most Primary teachers do. The thing is, while the Spirit will help us communicate to our students, it doesn’t substitute for understanding what we’re doing, or for preparation. We don’t, for example, assume that somebody who can’t read music or play a musical instrument will be able to play the organ in Sacrament meeting by the Spirit. Perhaps the Spirit will help her play to her full capacity, but we want our organists to have studied music (formally or informally), to have learned the mechanics of playing, and to have practiced. Teaching, like music, is a skill, and teachers should have a similar chance to learn the techniques of teaching.
[fn4] The “CFM” is for “Come, Follow Me,” the title of the new manual.