Different Students Different Needs Presenter Israel Steinmetz This

Different Students, Different Needs Presenter: Israel Steinmetz This presentation adapted in part from Christian Education Leadership, ed. Bernard M. Spooner.

Presentation Outline Introduction Pre-School Children Youth Young Adults Median Adults Senior Adults Persons with Disabilities Conclusion

Introduction Can’t we use the same approach with every group? What are some of the key issues to consider when developing scope and sequence for different groups? Identifying the participants- who are the students? Identifying the objectives- what do we want them to do? Identifying the methods- how will we go about teaching? Identifying the teachers/leaders- who is qualified to teach? In this presentation we’ll focus on the first item…identifying our participants. We’ll also think broadly in terms of goals for each group.

Pre-School Identifying the participants: Age/Developmental Considerations Birth to Kindergarten Learning to crawl, walk, talk, relate, perceive Life/Faith Challenges Developing trust Taking initiative Goals Equip parents to be primary ministers Build relationships of trust through loving provision Teach concrete/objective information and the most basic concepts through care, play, group activities and other developmentally appropriate methods Discover opportunities for mutual edification with the Body at large

Children Identifying the participants: Age/Developmental Considerations 1 st through 5 th grade (6 -12 years) Learning to read, critically analyze, reciprocate relationally, internalize faith and values Increasingly, older students in this group are entering puberty Life/Faith Challenges What faith/values will be internalized? Major influencers = home/media/school/church. What role will relationships play in faith formation? Education outside the church Exposure to realities of sin and death

Children Goals Equip parents to be primary ministers Deepen relationships of trust through increased reciprocity Teach basic concrete material and gradually introduce more abstract concepts through care, group activities, reading/writing, discrete use of multi-media Communicate truth in a way that can withstand analysis Discover opportunities for mutual edification with the Body at large

Youth Identifying the participants: Age/Developmental Considerations 6 th-12 th grade (13 -18 years) Entering puberty Learning to think critically, discriminate and synthesize Relationships (esp. peer relationships) become increasingly significant Developing personal autonomy in terms of faith/values and beginning to articulate one’s own views, understood as independent of others Life/Faith Challenges Re-evaluation of internalized faith/values Personal embrace and baptism OR Personal disillusionment/rejection OR Apathy and/or hypocrisy/immaturity Increased significance of influence from non-family members (esp. peers) Developing a sense of self and relationship to the world

Youth Goals Equip parents to be primary ministers Deepen relationships of trust through shared life outside classroom Teach increasingly complex concrete truths and skills alongside more abstract concepts through care, group activities, reading/writing, appropriate media use Honestly communicate (and most importantly, model) truth in a way that can withstand doubt, emotional turmoil, harsh realities of sin and death, peer ambivalence Emphasize significance of personal embrace of faith and practice in addition to inheritance of faith (or non-faith) and practice from parents Gradually discover opportunities for mutual edification with the Body at large. These possibilities increase dramatically during this stage…don’t miss this opportunity!

Young Adults Identifying the participants: Age/Developmental Considerations Post high-school to college/early career (19 -35 years) Transitioning---often slowly!---from adolescence to adulthood (hormones, emotions, thought processes, independence) Increasing external autonomy Life/Faith Challenges Independence and faith As youth, faith choices were internal and not necessarily consistent with practice As young adults, internal faith choices are re-evaluated and revealed in practice Discovering purpose/calling College Entering the workforce Life-shaping relationship choices (family of origin, church, marriage/kids, college, career)

Young Adults Goals For those living at home, continue to equip parents as primary ministers while transitioning to adult inter-dependence on Body. Teaching can increasingly adopt collegiate methodologies, but must maintain strong relational/practical focus. Teaching methodologies should not be limited to traditional lecture/classroom settings or reading/writing based curriculum. Lean heavily on informal “shared life” settings over formal “educational” settings. Provide guidance and SUPPORT in navigating early adult choices and facing early adult challenges: Relational Ideological Vocational Engage fully in ministry within the Body by identifying and cultivating spiritual gifts.

Median Adults Identifying the participants: Age/Developmental Considerations Established families/singleness, long-term careers (35 -65 years) “Verbal memory, vocabulary, inductive reasoning and spatial orientation peak during median adulthood. ” Spooner, 214 Life/Faith Challenges Increased stability, affection, “grounded-ness” Encounter with reality of death…desire to leave a legacy Re-evaluating perceived purpose in light of performance Goals Create learning environments in which disagreement, debate, and collaborative thinking are the norm…share meat, don’t spoon-feed milk! Deepen relationships to provide support and direction for increasingly complex life situations (aging children, siblings and parents, marital and career transitions, approaching retirement) Engage fully in leadership of the Body, leveraging this stage of balance between wisdom/experience and energy/drive

Senior Adults Identifying the participants: Age/Developmental Considerations Difficult to define… 65 is rather arbitrary starting date Age range has changed due to delayed retirement and increased longevity Age is less significant in identifying senior adults than is lifestyle/developmental change. Life/Faith Challenges These vary and relate more directly to developmental stage than age Consider challenges posed by various stages…

“A Framework for Describing Developmental Change Among Adults” by James Fisher, cited in Spooner, 231 Stage Actions & Characteristics Continuity with Middle Age • Retirement plans pursued • Middle-age lifestyle continued • Other activities substituted for work Early transition • Involuntary transitional events (e. g. onset of ill health, death of spouse) • Voluntary transitional events (e. g. moving, retirement) Revised lifestyle • Adaptation to changes of early transition • Stable lifestyle appropriate to older adulthood • Socialization realized through age-group affiliation Later transition • Loss of health and mobility • Need for assistance and/or care • Loss of autonomy Final period • Adaptation to changes of later transition • Stable lifestyle appropriate to level of dependency • Sense of finitude, mortality

Senior Adults Goals Emphasize increased respect and care in relationships Create learning environments in which senior adults recognize the possibility and necessity of “lifelong learning” Focus on practical skills relative to various developmental challenges Create learning environments in which the senior adult functions as both learner of new things and conveyor of acquired wisdom Maximize contribution to the Body by increasingly specialized use of gifts Utilize methodologies that are sensitive to decreasing capacity as well as increasing perspective and wisdom

Persons with Disabilities Identifying the participants: Whosever will may come? Defining “disability” “Persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual, and or sensory impairments that in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. ” Terry A. De. Young & Mark Stephenson, cited in Spooner, 239. More common than you might think… 2010 census information indicates 20% of American population has some form of disability (Spooner, 238) The breadth of this definition and the pervasiveness of persons with disabilities demands more of local churches than the setting aside of space or resources to address the need. Rather, a holistic approach is indicated, in which persons with disabilities become fully integrated participants in the life and ministry of the church.

Key Components of Including Persons with Disabilities Barbara Newman in Spooner, 240 -241 “Inform and engage church leaders and the congregation as a whole in understanding the importance of including persons with disabilities. Get to know the gifts, needs, and stories of individuals in your congregations who are impacted in some way by a disability. Put together an individualized plan for the person with the disability. Highlight a plan for the congregation and peers so that individuals can best be received into community. ”

Conclusion Review: Different students/different needs Identifying participants and thinking broadly in terms of goals