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In the last issue of Good News, we talked about the Law of the Learner: The learner must be interested in the truth to be learned. But, the question is: How?
We're teaching students who often see the Bible as a musty, dusty, old relic that doesn't speak to their modern lives. They are given ideas and information in school that seem to contradict the Bible. On top of that, some of us teach in a classroom setting that is less than perfect (too small, too big, too drab, too hot, too cold, too empty). And then, add to that a group of students who have an MTV-trained attention span, and who received all of their early learning from a big yellow bird on television!
It can be a little intimidating (a phrase similar to the one used by Custer just before he charged the Indians at Little Big Horn). But, it isn't impossible. Here is a quick look at some of the difficulties you might face, and some practical suggestions that may help to fire up your teaching.
Problem: Geography. The Bible is a book of names and places. It's like a trail guide in that the book makes a lot more sense if you have some idea of what the map looks like. Obviously, a map of the Holy Land will be a very useful teaching aid. But don't stop there.
Use software, videos, or slides to help kids get a sense of what these places look like. Help them to see that there really is a place called Jericho, and there really is a wall in Jerusalem. Remember, these are MTV kids. They are used to watching what they hear.
You might even find it helpful to make an impromptu human map in your classroom, using signs to label certain kids as one country so that your students can see how Israel moved from one place to the next. I know one youth worker who actually had a huge map of the Holy Land painted on the church parking lot so she could literally walk her students from one country to the next (the oil stain under the church bus was affectionately identified as Sodom and Gomorrah).
Problem: Names. Unfortunately, the names in the Bible are not going to be familiar to the average teenager. Most of these names are about six syllables longer than any name they ever heard in school. And realistically, how many girls do you meet named Gomer (Hosea 1:3)?
Sometimes a little creativity can help make a name stick. Pharaoh is easy to remember because he was so "unfair-oh" to Israel. Saul, the first king of Israel, was a big man, tall, dark and handsome, but once you've seen him on the outside, you've seen it all. "S'all" there is to the guy. He had no heart.
Role play can also help kids identify names and actions. Labeled hats, robes, shields, badges, and sashes can make a conversation between little-known Bible characters a bit more concrete and memorable. For some really fun ways to do this, check out a resource some friends and I wrote a few years ago, Spontaneous Melodramas (two volumes, Zondervan/Youth Specialties).
Use abbreviations when possible. Why call a mean king Nebuchadnezzar, when you could just call him "Butch"? Let your students give the characters nicknames based on what they observe in the text.
Problem: Culture/History. The culture of Scripture is foreign to us. Kings, sacrifices, prophets, idols, satraps, parbars, ephods-the average junior higher can sometimes go weeks without using any of these terms. I strongly suggest that you gain access to a good Bible handbook as you work through this material. Sometimes understanding the story behind a custom or the history behind an incident changes a passage from black and white to technicolor. Take time to set the stage and explain the setting so that the students can really understand the action once the drama starts.
Problem: Too much stuff. One of the greatest problems with most Sunday school lessons or Bible studies is that we try to cover too much material. It's easy to get bogged down. One English Puritan of the late 1600s preached on the Book of Job for eight years! While you've got to appreciate the guy for being thorough, you have to figure he wasn't drawing a large young teen crowd. You'll want to be careful not to get bogged down by details (e.g. "Okay kids, let's try it again till we get it: 'The sons of Eliphaz the first-born of Esau: the chiefs Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz.'").
Don't allow yourself to be controlled by a curriculum. Remember the curriculum is a tool to serve you. It is better to cover only half of the lesson and have students learn, than cover everything but have the students remember nothing.
In the next issue of Good News, we'll explore the third Law of Teaching: The Law of Language.
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