Educating Backward

I think that in many cases education happens backward, that is, people are taught to emulate results rather than taught the fundamentals which lead to said results.  In my own experience, I have seen this in elementary schools, in the teaching of music and sports, and also in education that happens at church.  I suspect it that it applies to other realms of education as well.

As a student of education, I have recently taken a course in math education from a constructivist point of view, that dramatically altered my thinking on how math ought to be taught to elementary students.  I have become convinced through research and proven statistics that when children are taught a formula for multiplying 2 digit numbers, for example, their minds, in a sense, turn off, and they go through the motions of carrying and borrowing, and arrive at a result that is hopefully to the teacher’s liking.  The student, however, could never explain why those particular steps were employed, and could certainly never do the multiplying without a pencil and paper.  They are able to produce the results, however, and so all parties are happy.  This repeated ignorant computation in all variety of math problems, however, invariably leads to the child becoming one of thousands upon thousands who truly believe they are “bad at math.”  They are bad at math only because they were never given the opportunity to really learn it.

When taking piano lessons students are taught that particular symbols correspond to particular keys, and they learn through memorization and lots and lots of practice to be able to see a conglomeration of notes and spontaneously press each of the represented keys on the piano, followed by more and more of these sequences making up an entire musical piece.  Often, however, the student is not taught why those particular notes show up together so often, or why certain notes never show up in a particular piece of music.  They simply see symbols, and press corresponding keys, like any competent robot would.  If, however, the student is taught the whys of it all, then they may be able to do more than simply see and regurgitate, but they may be able to create.  They may be able to improvise.  They may be able to embellish. 

When I was in middle school I joined a girls basketball team and along with the onslaught of drama that accompanies all activities with middle school girls, I was shortly introduced to “plays.”  We had a play for this and a play for that.  When the other team had an exceptionally accurate 3-point shooter we would run one play and when the score was close we had another.  When there was a fast point guard we would run these plays and when there was a tall center we would run those.  The problem was, and I see this clearly now in hind sight, that the point of the game became sticking to those plays.  We focused more on keeping to the code of the play than on getting the ball in the net.  Our team did not do very well, and it was not for lack of effort.  We didn’t have the fundamentals of the game.

We like results and we like to get them fast.  We take shortcuts, and end up with results that are fake and meaningless.  I believe we do this in teaching Christianity to children as well.  We teach our children that a good Christian spends time doing these things and not those, dresses this way and not that, goes to that place and not this, says this word and not that one, and keeps company with these people and avoids those.  Now, we may say that it is because we love God and want to please Him that we do these things, but do we teach children to fall in love with God?  Do we honestly love Him ourselves?  Or are we just accomplished actors?

We like results and convince ourselves that they must be evidence of something true, something authentic, but how often are we merely artists using a “paint by number” canvas?  If the fruit we produce is the point of it all, then at some point we will realize that it is empty and pointless, and certainly not fun.  And we will probably leave the church – or we’ll stay and be miserable.

So how do we teach the fundamentals?  What even are the fundamentals of the faith, and can they even be taught?  How does a child of God disciple another child of God? 

I deeply desire to grow in my knowledge of these things.  I think the answer probably lies in the study of Jesus’ earthly ministry.  Jesus was a teacher, and He was perfect.  How did Jesus teach?

·       Jesus shared His life with his pupils spending every waking moment with them, building relationships with them.  I have to ask myself as a teacher, do I share my life with my students, or are they only receivers of information to me?  Do they know about the experiences in my life that have led me to the convictions I now share with them?  Or do they assume I tell it to them merely because it was told to me?  Maybe I do.

·      Jesus taught by example.  He used every opportunity to show them truth and live it before them.  It’s one thing, as a teacher, to say what you have rehearsed at home and written in your lesson plan, but do I live it out when pandemonium erupts in the classroom? 

·      Jesus used stories.  I think we underestimate the value of a story in western culture.  Stories represent life, and can tie concepts to reality in a way that no other form of pedagogy can.  I think we tend to be very good at using Bible stories to teach children lessons, (a very good thing!), but how often do we use stories from our own lives?  I think children benefit immensely from knowing about the inner struggles and joys that authentic Christians experience as they walk through life, and they only get this if we tell them our stories.

·      He used scripture constantly.  Do relevant verses roll off my tongue when a child tells me something that causes them fear or sadness?  What about when children are arguing, or when I am frustrated with the class for not listening?  The word of God is powerful and transformative, and I know that I all but completely neglect it’s usefulness for teaching.

I want to think some more on this, definitely study the teaching of Christ more closely.  As I think about teaching my own children someday, I want to grow in understanding of how to foster love in my children, rather than to merely require loving actions.