Testimonies

Testimonies, Tips and Tidbits Classroom Challenges It's Too Much Like School

by Robin Ulbredtch
06/16/17
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It’s Too Much Like School

One year, while teaching a Sunday School class of fourth through sixth graders, I had the daughter of our young pastor in class. She was well behaved but she continually complained that Sunday School was “too much like school.”

This young girl attended a local Christian school during the week. She was well education about a lot of Biblical subjects. Her classes at this Christian school may have been similar to our class. So I can understand why she became bored at time and wanted more fun and games, even though we already did some of those things in class.

I considered her request, but for the sake of the students who attended public school or got now Biblical training at home, I could not grant it without compromising the lesson and hindering the learning of the other students. In addition, our class lasted only 45 minutes and I was challenged when it came to covering the lesson plan in this time period.

As I stated is some of my previous writings, “learning Bible should be exciting, not boring.” However, entertainment, fun and games, cannot be allowed to regularly take the place of our Bible teachings. After all, learning about God, His word, and His kingdom is the main reason for having Sunday School.

As teachers, we have a responsibility before God to try our best to teach our students. Our task is not “babysitting detail” or “entertaining.” We need to guard our hearts and be careful not to fall into these traps set by our adversary, Satan and his allies. Our enemies would love it if we got distracted and failed to teach our students about God and the principles in His word.

As teachers we need to make sure our time is used appropriately—for the benefit of all our students. However we may have challenges from individuals that we cannot give in to because doing so will compromise the rest of the students in our class. We need to teach our students to focus on learning about the things of God. We should also teach our students to keep focused on Jesus, especially during times of suffering, trial and temptation. Our lesson and educational activities should be structured with the intention of attaining that goal.

If you have a student who repeatedly complains about Sunday School being “too much like school,” remind them that Sunday School is “school.” The main purpose of it is for teaching and learning about God, His kingdom, and His word. If the problem persists—and you’ve done all that you can to fix it without compromising the teaching of other students—you may need to speak to the church leadership about the situation. Perhaps they can speak with the parents about the issue. But be of good cheer because God promises to deliver us from all of our troubles.