Sharpening Our Teaching Skills

Despite our best efforts, we simply cannot control everything in our teaching efforts. Classroom settings, student backgrounds, student interest, student experience, technology for the classroom, research in the topic, whatever the variable, it will likely change from one teaching experience to the next. Even from one week to another your life, your students ? lives, and the world can change drastically. For these reasons, we must always be sharpening our teaching skills.

Fortunately, the one thing that doesn ?t change is God. As Bible teachers, whether for children, teens, or adults, whether in a formal classroom, in a small group setting, or in a one-time event, regardless of who the students are and in what setting they are learning, we can be certain that God ?s Word never changes. Unfortunately, because of sin and the consequences of sin, the understanding of God ?s Word and the application of it seem to change from individual to individual.

No longer can we count on everyone in a given classroom having even a basic understanding of God, Jesus, the Bible, or the church. No longer can we count on the ?tried and true ? methods of teaching to reach every student in the same way for the same results.

The best way to keep a tool sharp is to use it correctly. So, we must continue to use correctly the tools that we have. Occasionally, we will find that even with consistent, correct usage, our tools become dull and need to be sharpened. Occasionally, we will find ourselves in situations where the tools we have are not the tools needed for the job at hand; then we have to improvise and maybe use the tools we possess in ways that they were not intended to be used. Sometimes that works; other times it does not. Either way, we tuck that information away for future use. We can look for new tools to do that job better, or we can be prepared to use what we have when we need it.