Respect

In their book, “The Discipline Guide For Children’s Ministry” Jody Capehart and Gordon and Becky West

comment, “Respecting children is the first step toward creating a positive classroom and minimizing

discipline issues.” Too often when working with children we react negatively when they do not exhibit

the kind of behavior we expect. Our negativity is shown through our attitude and the words we use.

Through the use of demeaning words and comments we can easily destroy a child’s self- image,

however we show our respect for children when we correct them with carefully chosen words and when

we encourage good behavior. As adults we desire to be respected by others and how much more do our

children need our respect as well.

We show our respect for our students by speaking words of acceptance and approval. In Mark 10:14

Jesus said, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.”

While we may not approve of their behaviour, responding to them as Jesus did will give them a sense of

worth and when we do so the child’s behaviour will begin to change in response.

Meet your student’s needs

Even as adults, life has a way of challenging us, leading to discouragement and frustration, how much

more will life impact the emotions of our students. Studies have shown that when children are happy

they are more likely to be patient with themselves and others and deal with the struggles of life just a

little bit better. Children need to know they are loved and cared for and when they do they are less

likely to react with anger when they encounter life’s difficult circumstances.

Among the needs that children need to be met are boundaries that set limits on their behavior and an

understanding that there are consequences for breaking those boundaries.

Follow the rules yourself

How many times have we as adults been in situations where we are trying to pay attention to a speaker

when there are others who stand in the back of the room and talk as if nothing is going on. When we

establish classroom rules we need to honour those rules just as we expect our students to do. Students

are frequently more observant that we give them credit for and we can be certain that if we as teachers

do not follow the rules they will not see the need to do so either. As adults and teachers, we are to be

examples to those we teach and lead.

Offer choices

As adults we like choices. We like choices in the food we eat, the clothes we buy the music we listen to.

We have a saying “variety is the spice of life.” It is the same with children. While it’s not always

convenient to offer choices but when it is possible to let children choose they will be more comfortable

which will ultimately help them be happier and lead to better behavior. Providing choices does not

require us to provide a multiplicity of activities. It may be as simple as letting the child chose between

markers, crayons or coloured pencils for a particular activity.

Helping children understand the consequences of poor choices is also an opportunity for learning.

Give each child your attention.

Help your students take flight

Babies and toddlers are very dependent on parents and teachers and that is how it should be but when

children reach the ages of 4 and 5 our role begins to change. We need recognize that children begin to

mature we need to step back and give them room to make their own choices and fail every once and a

while. By letting children make choices and experience the accompanying risks we help them develop

their relationship with God. While it is difficult to watch a child make a bad choice and have to deal with

the consequences it is much more difficult to watch and hear of young people making poor and life

changing choices because they did not have the opportunity to make choices when they were young.

As our children grow we as teachers change our role from being an authority figure to becoming a guide.

We need to be prepared to give our children their wings as they grow, learn and mature. As we step

back and let our children learn to make their way we can become mentors that will develop lifetime

relationships with our student.

Let yourself experience joy

One of my favourite movies is the original “A Christmas Carol” starring Alistair Sim as Scrooge. As the

movie draws to a close and Scrooge is experiencing the joy of Christmas he says to himself, “I shouldn’t

be so happy”. Too often as teachers we seem to feel the same way but instead we need to take joy in

the progress of our students. We need to take joy as we begin to see the behavior of a troublesome

student begin to change and they accept discipline without protest. We need to take joy when our

students begin to understand the principles that are taught and not just the facts. Take joy when you

begin to see your students begin to know, love and obey God. We need to say with the Psalmist, “For

you, O LORD, have made me glad by your work; at the works of your hands I sing for joy.” (Psalm 92:4,

ESV).

The Goal of Bible Centered Ministries ministry is “to see that every boy and girl in Canada has the opportunity to hear about Jesus.” One of the ways we accomplish this goal is to provide training for children’s ministry volunteers. We want to help you reach the children that live in the community around your church. Give us a call at 1-877-272-9262 or email training@bcmintl.ca.