A. TIME SPENT THIS WEEK: 4 hours total
Sunday school: 1 hr
Worship Service: 1.5 hr
Youth Parent Meeting: 1.5 hr
B. MY CLASS THIS WEEK:
Mike opened the Sunday school class up a little differently this week. Asking for one good thing and one bad thing that happened during the week, Mike began going around the room from student to student. A common answer came up for the good thing of the week as many students shared their weekend thrills of participating in an all youth ski trip. Kids that were unable to go on the trip enjoyed getting paid, going to a sleepover, and spending time with their friends. The bad things of the week included falling while skiing, fighting with parents, staying home alone, going to the hospital, and losing a basketball game.
Maintaining the question and answer theme, Mike followed his first question with an introductory question to the lesson. I do not think he expected their discussion to take up the rest of the hour, but that is exactly what happened.
Mike’s big Q:
“Are riches ever a sign of God’s favor?”
Class Responses:
What are riches?
Does favor = privilege or blessing?
Is God’s favor earned or is it random?
We can’t comprehend God
- Sometimes
o Reference to the life of Job
o God blesses people in different ways
- No
o Wisdom is a sign of God’s favor, not riches
o Reference to Solomon
- Yes
o If they use the riches for good
o God awards people according to what they can handle
o If you have faith
- Both
o It depends whether you use riches for good or evil
With five minutes left in class, Mike squeezes James 2:5 into the lesson, “God has chosen the poor to be rich in faith and to inherit the Kingdom of God.” Going from this verse, he leaves the youth with a final thought to ponder throughout the week:
- The more wealth we have, the harder it becomes to hear and follow God. -
I think Mike did well at allowing the students to respond. Although he was taken away by the initial confusion with the opening question he was sensitive to the Spirit in permitting the youth to discover the truth. He was finally forced to read some scripture in the final five minutes, dismissing the multiple hands flying in hopes of continuing the discussion.
C. QUESTIONS OF THE WEEK:
1. How should you respond to the Spirit in a highly interactive ministry setting? Is it more important to complete the lesson or to send people away with a questioning soul?
2. As an intern in the Sunday school class, what is the appropriate manner to contribute to the class discussion? I do not want to shut anyone down or kill a time of searching for the truth by blatantly throwing it out there. Is it best to be quiet or speak up? How should I do that?
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
Tyler Klein: Week 2
A. Time Spent this week: 4 hours total (S.S.=1 Worship=1.5 Youth Dinner=1.5)
B. My Class this week:
1. The welcoming and fellowship time of Sunday School. This week was my first week observing the high school Sunday school class, so I met the teacher, Mike, introduced myself, and just watched. During the period of time when everyone in the high school class was filtering in he did a simple question answer time to see how everyone was. It was pretty effective because he would just ask about one good thing that happened in the kid’s life, and one bad thing in the past week. For example, Levi’s response was I got to go skiing, and I hurt myself skiing. It was good because everyone could talk freely with who they wanted, but yet there was something going on that people could engage with and laugh at. Because the setup of the Sunday school time at Brookhaven is to start around 9:15, this greeting time is great because you have a chance to interact with students that show up at 9, all the way until 9:15. The fellowship time of Sunday school can’t be underestimated, and this class shows the benefits, because when the lesson started they weren’t as antsy anymore and were ready to participate.
2. The discussion. Mike simply asked this question, and it expanded beyond my expectations. He asked, “are riches ever a sign of God’s favor?” It was a really tough question for the students, because they couldn’t get any explanation of what “riches” meant. They struggled with whether or not it was money or simply other gifts because of the way the question was asked. Mike used the Socratic method of questioning, slowly giving more and more hints away about what he was trying to get at. This method was simply gold. High schoolers love these deep questions that make them thing out of the box, and you could tell. They were intensely engaged, and so many people wanted to comment that Mike couldn’t get to all their questions. The passage he briefly got to gloss over was James 2:5, which was good, but I was disappointed that he didn’t focus more on it. However, we will be going over this topic again next week, so I assume we will go more into depth with the passage then. Great method though, the question simply drove the kids nuts.
C. My Questions for the week:
1. How can I use this questioning method effectively, and where can I get some resources on how to practice it?
2. I need to ease up a bit maybe, but I really wanted to focus more on what the Bible says in James about how the rich are treated. Is it bad for me to have a predisposition towards more scripture? Because I think the class could have continued much the same way with the questions, just with a mix of scripture put in to solidify some of the youth’s comments.
B. My Class this week:
1. The welcoming and fellowship time of Sunday School. This week was my first week observing the high school Sunday school class, so I met the teacher, Mike, introduced myself, and just watched. During the period of time when everyone in the high school class was filtering in he did a simple question answer time to see how everyone was. It was pretty effective because he would just ask about one good thing that happened in the kid’s life, and one bad thing in the past week. For example, Levi’s response was I got to go skiing, and I hurt myself skiing. It was good because everyone could talk freely with who they wanted, but yet there was something going on that people could engage with and laugh at. Because the setup of the Sunday school time at Brookhaven is to start around 9:15, this greeting time is great because you have a chance to interact with students that show up at 9, all the way until 9:15. The fellowship time of Sunday school can’t be underestimated, and this class shows the benefits, because when the lesson started they weren’t as antsy anymore and were ready to participate.
2. The discussion. Mike simply asked this question, and it expanded beyond my expectations. He asked, “are riches ever a sign of God’s favor?” It was a really tough question for the students, because they couldn’t get any explanation of what “riches” meant. They struggled with whether or not it was money or simply other gifts because of the way the question was asked. Mike used the Socratic method of questioning, slowly giving more and more hints away about what he was trying to get at. This method was simply gold. High schoolers love these deep questions that make them thing out of the box, and you could tell. They were intensely engaged, and so many people wanted to comment that Mike couldn’t get to all their questions. The passage he briefly got to gloss over was James 2:5, which was good, but I was disappointed that he didn’t focus more on it. However, we will be going over this topic again next week, so I assume we will go more into depth with the passage then. Great method though, the question simply drove the kids nuts.
C. My Questions for the week:
1. How can I use this questioning method effectively, and where can I get some resources on how to practice it?
2. I need to ease up a bit maybe, but I really wanted to focus more on what the Bible says in James about how the rich are treated. Is it bad for me to have a predisposition towards more scripture? Because I think the class could have continued much the same way with the questions, just with a mix of scripture put in to solidify some of the youth’s comments.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Tyler Klein : Week 1
SUBSTITUTE ASSIGNMENT. I was unable to do a regular practicum assignment this week because I was serving my home church by co-leading a youth winter retreat to Wisconsin. I crafted this substitute, because I was responsible for the Spiritual Emphasis part of the trip. On the Sunday night of the trip taught and challenged the kids. Therefore I believe you should give at least some credit for it because the challenge I had had more significance than a regular Sunday morning lesson. I was responsible to not only bring understanding and help Spiritual Formation, but I was responsible to share the gospel of Jesus Christ to those on the trip who were unbelievers. Helping on this trip was a great practical learning opportunity. Therefore I believe I have accomplished the purpose of the LCE practicum by teaching at this event and deserve some sort of, if not full credit for this report.
***This is partially a teaching report, and then again it is a sort of hybrid because not everything on the regular teaching report applies to this experience I had in teaching on this trip.
Tyler Klein 1/20/09
Teaching Report 1 (took place 1/18/09)
Time Spent: 1 hour (the spiritual emphasis part of the retreat)
A. My Lesson
For this trip I prepared a challenge form Acts 2:42-47 on the Fellowship of Believers. My purpose was to encourage the unity of the group, by giving them the reason for our fellowship, Jesus Christ and the life he lived and died for us. He did so for us to be able to come to God without any barriers. I encouraged them to be like the body of believers in Acts, not because it is part of our do/don’t list, but because we want to show Christ to others. I hope that they would want to come together in fellowship, and to reach out to others because of Jesus in a new way that would impact their schools and communities.
B. Breakdown of Time
6:00 – 6:15 – Assemble: The kids all got changed from the activity of the day, and assembled in the main room. During this time they had snacks and talked with each other while waiting for everyone to arrive.
6:15 – 6:35 – Challenge: After everyone was there, I prayed for God to work through what he had presented me with to share with them. Then I had one of the youth read the passage and I went on to explain the passage and give the account of Jesus life and what the implications for us were. I challenged them to live for Christ, no one else, and to change the perceptions others have of Christians by becoming more like Christ and by acting like the body of believers in Acts 2:42-47.
6:35 - 6:40 – Prayer: After I had finished I asked them to pray silently and to talk to God about where they were at with him, to let the Spirit lead them where it would.
6:40 – 7:00 – Small Group Split: After everyone was done praying, I had them split up into groups and discuss and write down on bookmarks I had made for them two things.
1. The first was one thing they could do to build fellowship within their own group.
2. The second was one thing they could do to show Christ in a new way to their peers.
C. Response:
There were 16 youth on the trip, and from what I saw and heard the kids responded very well to the lesson. The entire time they were very attentive and respectful, and they looked like they were focused on what I was saying. The all were silent during prayer, and then they split up quickly, and for quite a long time together talking about what I asked them to in their groups. Other sponsors said that they heard the youth talking well of it. One kid said that he was tingly (funny I know), and then I got to speak with my unsaved brother-in-law afterwards on a deeper level than I’ve ever been able to because he hung back with me. So I think the response was good, because they actually responded by saying that it was good and that it made them think. I got that comment from several.
D. Supervising Teacher’s Evaluation:
The youth pastor, Brandon, had asked me to help on this trip and to do this, and as my mentor he thought it was best for my first time teaching in this capacity for him to be out of the room so I wouldn’t feel pressured. I told him that wasn’t necessary, but he insisted. I wish I had feedback from him, but another sponsor, my wife Jena, told me that it went really well except for the fact that when I’m teaching about something serious that my voice goes a certain type of monotone. I wanted Brandon’s feedback because I value his opinion greatly, and I want to improve at sharing Jesus with others. So that was a little disappointing.
E. Things I did well
1. I think I kept their interest by not going too long in the lesson, it enabled better attention.
2. I think they could see I was genuinely concerned about this topic, and they respected that.
3. It seemed like they listened better because I had loved on them for the entire trip, and because of that love they listened. So my witness was in the right place with these kids.
4. I gave them something concrete to do or to take away from the lesson by giving them the bookmark and by having them write goals on the back.
F. Things I could improve on
1. I need to speak more energetically, less monotone.
2. I didn’t like sitting down while doing that type of teaching, it caused too much nervousness and twitching, which caused me to lose my train of thought on one occasion.
3. I didn’t explain what to pray about or for in a specific enough way, they could have just been daydreaming.
4. I said like one key-phrase too many times, even though it was important.
G. Questions
1. What is a good way to engage the youth during the lesson, because if I ask questions there would be a good chance of crickets sometimes?
2. Should I have had the prayer been separate in different areas, or should I have done what I did and kept everyone sitting in the same area praying to themselves?
3. What can I do that is productive when I’m twitching instead of losing my place?
H. Summary:
I believe this was a great experience for me. Not only did I get a chance to teach like we are learning to do in LCE but I got to apply some of the things I’ve learned already by teaching so early in the semester. I will now feel more comfortable when I teach in actual Sunday school, and I have some ideas of how to improve or to refine my technique. I will try to do more active things and have it be less of me talking. I only wish I had had more preparation time for this lesson, but because I was slamming it in with all the homework I had to do to stay on pace with classes it didn’t get as much as I wanted to give it. But I did the best I could with the time I had, and I know God was pleased with my obedience, because this definitely wasn’t an easy thing to do because missing class, having to deal with all kinds of arrangements while I was gone, and trying to get notes from others isn’t something I really enjoy doing. I thank God for this opportunity, and I hope that he continues to mold me into the teacher he wants me to be through experiences, practicum’s, and LCE class.
I am also including a picture of the bookmark that I passed out.
***This is partially a teaching report, and then again it is a sort of hybrid because not everything on the regular teaching report applies to this experience I had in teaching on this trip.
Tyler Klein 1/20/09
Teaching Report 1 (took place 1/18/09)
Time Spent: 1 hour (the spiritual emphasis part of the retreat)
A. My Lesson
For this trip I prepared a challenge form Acts 2:42-47 on the Fellowship of Believers. My purpose was to encourage the unity of the group, by giving them the reason for our fellowship, Jesus Christ and the life he lived and died for us. He did so for us to be able to come to God without any barriers. I encouraged them to be like the body of believers in Acts, not because it is part of our do/don’t list, but because we want to show Christ to others. I hope that they would want to come together in fellowship, and to reach out to others because of Jesus in a new way that would impact their schools and communities.
B. Breakdown of Time
6:00 – 6:15 – Assemble: The kids all got changed from the activity of the day, and assembled in the main room. During this time they had snacks and talked with each other while waiting for everyone to arrive.
6:15 – 6:35 – Challenge: After everyone was there, I prayed for God to work through what he had presented me with to share with them. Then I had one of the youth read the passage and I went on to explain the passage and give the account of Jesus life and what the implications for us were. I challenged them to live for Christ, no one else, and to change the perceptions others have of Christians by becoming more like Christ and by acting like the body of believers in Acts 2:42-47.
6:35 - 6:40 – Prayer: After I had finished I asked them to pray silently and to talk to God about where they were at with him, to let the Spirit lead them where it would.
6:40 – 7:00 – Small Group Split: After everyone was done praying, I had them split up into groups and discuss and write down on bookmarks I had made for them two things.
1. The first was one thing they could do to build fellowship within their own group.
2. The second was one thing they could do to show Christ in a new way to their peers.
C. Response:
There were 16 youth on the trip, and from what I saw and heard the kids responded very well to the lesson. The entire time they were very attentive and respectful, and they looked like they were focused on what I was saying. The all were silent during prayer, and then they split up quickly, and for quite a long time together talking about what I asked them to in their groups. Other sponsors said that they heard the youth talking well of it. One kid said that he was tingly (funny I know), and then I got to speak with my unsaved brother-in-law afterwards on a deeper level than I’ve ever been able to because he hung back with me. So I think the response was good, because they actually responded by saying that it was good and that it made them think. I got that comment from several.
D. Supervising Teacher’s Evaluation:
The youth pastor, Brandon, had asked me to help on this trip and to do this, and as my mentor he thought it was best for my first time teaching in this capacity for him to be out of the room so I wouldn’t feel pressured. I told him that wasn’t necessary, but he insisted. I wish I had feedback from him, but another sponsor, my wife Jena, told me that it went really well except for the fact that when I’m teaching about something serious that my voice goes a certain type of monotone. I wanted Brandon’s feedback because I value his opinion greatly, and I want to improve at sharing Jesus with others. So that was a little disappointing.
E. Things I did well
1. I think I kept their interest by not going too long in the lesson, it enabled better attention.
2. I think they could see I was genuinely concerned about this topic, and they respected that.
3. It seemed like they listened better because I had loved on them for the entire trip, and because of that love they listened. So my witness was in the right place with these kids.
4. I gave them something concrete to do or to take away from the lesson by giving them the bookmark and by having them write goals on the back.
F. Things I could improve on
1. I need to speak more energetically, less monotone.
2. I didn’t like sitting down while doing that type of teaching, it caused too much nervousness and twitching, which caused me to lose my train of thought on one occasion.
3. I didn’t explain what to pray about or for in a specific enough way, they could have just been daydreaming.
4. I said like one key-phrase too many times, even though it was important.
G. Questions
1. What is a good way to engage the youth during the lesson, because if I ask questions there would be a good chance of crickets sometimes?
2. Should I have had the prayer been separate in different areas, or should I have done what I did and kept everyone sitting in the same area praying to themselves?
3. What can I do that is productive when I’m twitching instead of losing my place?
H. Summary:
I believe this was a great experience for me. Not only did I get a chance to teach like we are learning to do in LCE but I got to apply some of the things I’ve learned already by teaching so early in the semester. I will now feel more comfortable when I teach in actual Sunday school, and I have some ideas of how to improve or to refine my technique. I will try to do more active things and have it be less of me talking. I only wish I had had more preparation time for this lesson, but because I was slamming it in with all the homework I had to do to stay on pace with classes it didn’t get as much as I wanted to give it. But I did the best I could with the time I had, and I know God was pleased with my obedience, because this definitely wasn’t an easy thing to do because missing class, having to deal with all kinds of arrangements while I was gone, and trying to get notes from others isn’t something I really enjoy doing. I thank God for this opportunity, and I hope that he continues to mold me into the teacher he wants me to be through experiences, practicum’s, and LCE class.
I am also including a picture of the bookmark that I passed out.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Week 1
Practicum Report #1 Phillip Telfer
A. Time Spent in Class this Week 2.5 hr.
(Sunday School – 1 hr, Worship Service – 1.5 hr)
B. My Class This Week
1. Lesson on Temptation. The Sr. High class has recently begun a detailed discussion of the book of James. Today we read from James 1:13-18, and talked about temptation. Some of the input from the youth included the time temptation regularly occurs (when we are tired à early morning and late evening), and who gets blamed for our temptation (siblings, parents, classes, friends, and God). With this generally accepted view on God the one at fault for our temptation, the Sunday school teacher noted that God does not tempt us. James tells us in chapter one that temptation comes from the evil desires within ourselves. I thought about this for a while. If temptation comes from the evil desires within us, and God does not tempt us, then how was it that Jesus was tempted in the wilderness? Was Jesus not perfect? According to this passage, He must have had evil desires in order to have been tempted. I thought about this question in class, but I waited until after the service was over to pose my question to the Sunday school teacher. He did not have an answer for me, but I know God does.
2. Temptation of distraction. When working with a senior high Sunday school class, one must realize the personal development that is occurring in each of the student’s lives. Both girls and boys are learning to deal with their emotions as hormone banks are overflowing. Mood swings, self-esteem, and relational aspects are typically inconsistent with these young people. Considering this emotional rollercoaster along with added stresses of school, family, and life in general, it can be hard for high schoolers to focus their attention in classroom settings. I saw some of this taking place Sunday morning. Although it was rather minimal, most of the teenagers’ tendencies were to sit in the back row and speak only when spoken to by the teacher. Others were happy to join in the discussion, but their contributions were random and off-target. It was quite interesting to see everyone tried to pay attention to the lesson as they each struggled with the temptation of distraction.
A. Time Spent in Class this Week 2.5 hr.
(Sunday School – 1 hr, Worship Service – 1.5 hr)
B. My Class This Week
1. Lesson on Temptation. The Sr. High class has recently begun a detailed discussion of the book of James. Today we read from James 1:13-18, and talked about temptation. Some of the input from the youth included the time temptation regularly occurs (when we are tired à early morning and late evening), and who gets blamed for our temptation (siblings, parents, classes, friends, and God). With this generally accepted view on God the one at fault for our temptation, the Sunday school teacher noted that God does not tempt us. James tells us in chapter one that temptation comes from the evil desires within ourselves. I thought about this for a while. If temptation comes from the evil desires within us, and God does not tempt us, then how was it that Jesus was tempted in the wilderness? Was Jesus not perfect? According to this passage, He must have had evil desires in order to have been tempted. I thought about this question in class, but I waited until after the service was over to pose my question to the Sunday school teacher. He did not have an answer for me, but I know God does.
2. Temptation of distraction. When working with a senior high Sunday school class, one must realize the personal development that is occurring in each of the student’s lives. Both girls and boys are learning to deal with their emotions as hormone banks are overflowing. Mood swings, self-esteem, and relational aspects are typically inconsistent with these young people. Considering this emotional rollercoaster along with added stresses of school, family, and life in general, it can be hard for high schoolers to focus their attention in classroom settings. I saw some of this taking place Sunday morning. Although it was rather minimal, most of the teenagers’ tendencies were to sit in the back row and speak only when spoken to by the teacher. Others were happy to join in the discussion, but their contributions were random and off-target. It was quite interesting to see everyone tried to pay attention to the lesson as they each struggled with the temptation of distraction.
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