Substitute Practicum: I was unable to attend my regular practicum this week as a result of Easter break. This week I attended the college group Sunday school class at my home church. There were a lot of students there, and it was a great time of fellowship. I believe that I should receive some credit for this substitute practicum because I was able to observe a college age Sunday school class taught by a veteran teacher, as well as receive input from students in the class about their Sunday school experience.
From: Rachael Mulder
Subject: Practicum Report #8
Time Spent This Week: 3 hours (1 ½ hours for Sunday school class, 1 ½ hours for church service)
Class this Week:
This week there were 19 college students in attendance for the Sunday school time. This is a pretty high number for our group due mostly to the Easter holiday. Class began pretty late as we waited quite a while for students to trickle in. The teachers of the class are a middle aged couple with two girls who are in the college group. However, usually their two daughters are not in attendance. We began class by getting updates from people in the group. To me, it seemed that we were getting updates about their daughter’s lives (one is engaged and one has a boyfriend). While we did focus on others in the room, most of the focus was on their family. Then we moved on to prayer requests. The teacher did ask for updates about the prayer requests for specific situations. This showed me that he had at least taken the time to right the requests down, and had prayed for them during the week. A few people shared their requests, and then the teacher asked if anyone wanted to pray. After an awkward silence, he went ahead and prayed by himself for us.
Then we moved into the lesson. I was told that they are going to be working out of a book. There were a few people in the group that actually had the book, and when asked who had read the assigned reading there wasn’t a single person that had. So, the teacher pulled heavily from the passage which was Romans 12. He passed out notecards and had each of us write down one thing that kept people from pursuing holiness. Then he collected them and read through them. It was interesting to see the similarities and differences in people’s answers. There was a wide variety of responses. The responses also indicated the wide variety of people in the room. We have a range from new believers to people studying to enter the ministry and the answers seemed to reflect that.
The lesson consisted of asking questions based on the main passage, and looking at several other passages that related to seeking holiness. While the topic was good, the content seemed pretty dry. The teacher did not act excited about what he was teaching. It was obvious that he cared about the topic, but it was not obvious that he was excited or passionate about it. That made it hard for anyone else in the room to be excited about the topic. The discussion pretty much consisted of me, him and his wife dialoguing back and forth. Class ended with prayer and people were dismissed.
That night I got together with a couple of girls from the Sunday school class. In our conversation the topic of Sunday school came up. I asked them if it was like this every week with this teaching couple (we have a rotating schedule for teachers). They replied that it was always like this and the only reason they came was for the fellowship. While they really like the other couple that teaches, they did not have much positive to say about the current teaching couple. They were frustrated that the teaching was coming out of a book, as most of them are college students and to read one or more chapters a week did not seem possible. They also struggled with the lack of excited and joy from the teachers. They were discouraged when comparing the methods of both teaching couples.
Questions this Week:
#1... What do you do in a situation like this? Our college age group has gotten neglected at our church. We have had two couples in the church really step up, and they have developed an amazing Bible study group, but the Sunday school program needs work. How do you begin to make aware the need for change?
#2... Is it bad that in a group of college students there is no one that volunteers to pray? Personally I do not mind praying, but I find that I am one of the few that contributes to discussion so I want to provide other people the opportunity to become involved.
#3… Is a series from a book a good idea for a college group in which students are always coming in and out due to school, work, jobs, etc? Is there a better curriculum that could be used for this group?
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2 comments:
RE: Question 1 about responding to a situation such as this college age SS: Rachael, just like you I attended my SS class at home. I was disappointed because I did not really learn from the lesson. They are still continuing a book study of the book of Acts. Even though it may be easier to follow with a reading schedule for the Bible when those who are coming in and out, I forget about it and then show up on the Sunday’s I’m there and cannot follow along and very confused. My church has lost sight of the college students in the sense of fellowship and community. Maybe one way of getting the church more aware of the college age group would be to have a College Sunday such as a Youth Sunday. This may be best during the summer, but could also be accomplished during the school year. If the college group is big enough, it can be pulled off and I believe the congregation would like it. Another suggestion would be to have an announcement in the bulletin about the College SS. I know at my home church, nobody really knows that this class exists. We could also ask for host families for the college students to meet at either during the summer on a weekly basis, or once a month during the school year. This will get people more involved and seeing that there actually is a functioning college group.
RE: Question 2 about praying: I think asking for people to pray and not getting a response is normal for any age group. Even being a ministry major myself, I struggle with praying in front of groups. Prayer is a very intimate time between you and God. Sometimes, people may be afraid of what they might say (such as something personal they have entrusted with only a few certain people and God) may slip out. With the high school age it seems like they are afraid people will think they are “uncool”. This could still be the thoughts of some college students. Is it bad, I don’t think so. I think teachers must be comfortable with silence too. Maybe instead of praying out load we could break off into pairs or even as individuals and pray, or you could all pray at once outloud. These may help people become more comfortable with praying.
RE: Question 3 about book series: I think it is very difficult to do a book study with a college group. Attendance fluctuates every week especially during the school year. I would find a curriculum more beneficial. I think that a book study would be good during the summer though.
Hey, Rachael! I'm Leah from class and I'm gonna comment on your post because these are questions I've had on my heart, too! I feel a lot less alone in these thoughts after reading this. Can I brainstorm answers with you? Here are my ramblings:
I had crummy SS teachers during most of high school and hated having a rotation. We felt like our teachers didn't really want to be there and were never prepared. I think that SS teacher recruiter/organizers/whatever should only allow people who really want to teach do the teaching. If someone is not doing a good job he/she/they should be approached, trained, or replaced. Perhaps that person/those people will serve better in another capacity. It is almost better to not have the class at all than to give SS a bad reputation.
As far as curriculum goes, here are my thoughts:
Yes, it's true that the last thing we want to do is read more books! What we need in college is support and guidance and to hear the truth spoken in love. An ideal situation would be a college class taught by a couple who had somewhat of a group mentoring focus. Not the same as a small group--with more of a learning emphasis--but perhaps with more of a scriptural emphasis and the asking of leading questions to bring the students to their own conclusions. Maybe even asking the students about what topics they would like to discuss and challenges they face personally as college students. Then the teachers can delve into scripture and find answers to their questions and insight into their issues. They can share and have a good discussion with the class because the students will actually be interested and have an investment in the topic. I realize that this takes time and effort--more than doing a book study--but it is worth the growth.
As far as having people pray--totally just pick someone if no one readily volunteers! I may not pick a newcomer or someone I know is extremely uncomfortable with praying out loud (if the group is large, at least), but I would pick anyone I knew was capable and just say, "Hey, ________, will you please pray for the group?" If there are a lot of prayer requests, I like divvying them up amongst the group. That's great because it maximizes involvement.
Those are just my unorganized thoughts. Idealistic, sure, but we have to start somewhere!!!
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