“Does Satan Throw Babies into Fire?” and other tricky moments
On Wednesday mornings, at around 11:35, I’m in the K/1 classroom at Mt Keira Primary School telling children; yes you may have a drink, come in and sit down quietly, touch your knees, touch your head and touch your elbows. What happens next has a bit more variation. At the moment we are doing a unit on why Jesus is King; I’m still working on how to clarify that there is only one King, and that king is Jesus and God.
Last week, after we had prayed together (a positive new addition to the lesson plan), I told a story about a shepherd who loves his sheep and is prepared to give his life to protect them. I said that Jesus tells us that he is like our shepherd. I then asked if anyone from last year’s class could remember the big way Jesus shows he cares about us. No one from last year raised their hand, but one of the new kindies raised his hand and told me that he had a sheep experience from God when a sheep chased him. Moving on, I told them that Jesus paid for all the things we’ve done wrong with his own life, and they all agreed that they didn’t get it. I said ok, we will learn more about this in the next couple of weeks, and then we began our craft: cotton wool 3D sheep. I had meant to put a verse on the back of the craft for when they took it home, but I forgot. The quick finishers sang 10, 9, 8…God is Great with me on the floor, which worked surprisingly well.
Teaching Scripture takes me about two hours per week: half an hour with the class, and about an hour and a half thinking about and planning the lesson. In the six months that I have been a Scripture teacher there have been some moments. There was the time I left planning really late and spent an hour of my limited time thinking about how I could implement behaviour management strategies. The time I pulled out the puppet and realized I hadn’t considered what kind of personality or voice she would have. The time we making a book (a great idea) as we were working through the gospel, and as I was walking around the classroom I came across one girl drawing Jesus on the cross completely naked, and two other girls arguing about weather Satan throws babies into the fire. I’ve had one boy put his hand up as we learnt about Genesis to say “I don’t really understand, how does God make the world when there is nothing?”, and another girl tell me that she’s half a Christian because she believes in God and evolution. These moments, when they aren’t of a lack of preparation, are actually some highlights. When a lesson goes well I really enjoy teaching scripture. It’s a terrifying job, because it’s so important. I worry that the few lessons I’ve taught them will have to sustain them until they are old enough to read the bible for themselves. I worry that weeks they’ve spent with me will need to equip them, so that the world won’t deceive them. In all this, though, I am thankful for the assurance I have that God is in control. Even if a child is pulled out of the class, I am under-prepared one week or I forget to put the verse on the back of the craft, God has it under control. I am thankful that in teaching Scripture I can be sure that it is God who gives understanding, and who holds us in the palm of his hand.
What you mightn’t know about Scripture:
•Primary and Secondary Schools in NSW offer time to religious organizations to come in and teach children about their particular beliefs.
•Christianity is often people’s ‘default’ position, so many children are enrolled in Christian scripture by non-Christian parents.
•As a teacher, you are provided with a book containing units and lesson plans, which you can choose to use or adjust.
•There are many classes in need of a teacher, ask at your church if you would like to teach scripture.
Annaleise Reithmuller
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