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Sounds like they’ve grown up watching television. That’s always a bad idea. The idiot’s lantern… I think youngsters should be forced to spend a few weeks without any technology. They might even start thinking for themselves.
SamBee wrote:I think youngsters should be forced to spend a few weeks without any technology.
mercyngrace wrote:I wonder if they have touch of affluenza.
Interesting comments.
In my experience, the kids are the reflection of the parents (there are lots and lots of exceptions to this…but the point is worth considering). We could take away their i-pods or smart phones or TV/Internet access, but are the parents willing to deal with the kids if they do? Sometimes we think it is the kids that are lazy, watching TV, but perhaps it is the parents that are too lazy to give them chores or healthy activities, so they just resort to what is easiest, and of course, the kids want that too.
Its the spider man-effect … give them power
(insert: technology), and with it comes great responsibility. Boy, have I been there. One of the worst kids in my class ( and I taught 8-9 year olds) in Primary was the Primary presidents son. All, he did was pretend to be ‘farting’ in class and I had to get his mom. I felt like chocking him! My brother in law taught teens in Sunday school once where there were a couple of bad apples. He told them to stay after class to talk to them. They just got up and ignored him and started walking out. He told them to stop and they just laughed at him. He grapped both boys and shoved them against the wall (my brother in law was strong and big) and told them off. I guess it scared them and they behaved from them on. My brother in law was lucky they did not report him. Problem is that kids are used to getting away with bad behavior and act out even worse then. My best success class with the 8-9 year olds was when I gave each of them empty baby food jars with large plain labels. I had them draw a picture of an angel on one jar and a devil on the other one (they loved drawing the devil best). Then I gave them each 20 pennies. I told them that every action and word they speak either helps them to become more like Heavenly Father or more like the Devil. I told them to be aware of their actions and have an accountablilty partner to put a penny in the appropriate jar when they were good or bad and see who they were becoming like by the end of the week. I told them that if they repented of something they could take the penny out of the devil jar and put it in the angel/Jesus jar. Visual aids do help.
bridget_night wrote:My best success class with the 8-9 year olds was when I gave each of them empty baby food jars with large plain labels. I had them draw a picture of an angel on one jar and a devil on the other one (they loved drawing the devil best). Then I gave them each 20 pennies. I told them that every action and word they speak either helps them to become more like Heavenly Father or more like the Devil. I told them to be aware of their actions and have an accountablilty partner to put a penny in the appropriate jar when they were good or bad and see who they were becoming like by the end of the week. I told them that if they repented of something they could take the penny out of the devil jar and put it in the angel/Jesus jar. Visual aids do help.
What a great idea! I can actually make this work with Sunday’s lesson! Now… to collect some jars in the next 40 hours….
Let me know how it goes. It’s always gone great Every time I have used it. Start out with a question or two like “Who Are You becoming Like?’ or questions like “if you lie all the time, do you become a liar? We are all becoming all the time. i taught primary years ago and I had one girl who would always act out. The kids in the class must have been about 7. i finally figured out this girl, Margaret, acted out to get my attention. Knowing this one Sunday morning in my class of 7 years old I decided to give attention to those being well behaved. One by one I spoke to each one and thanked them for being so good in class. Wouldn’t you know, Margaret was very quiet and sat still in her chair as I did this exercise of praise with kids in my class as she waited for her turn to be praised. I don’t know if this would help your class but give it a try. Focus on those who are well behaved and compliment them. You might be surprised by the results !
BLC
Today was my first day filling in and it went fine. The same youngsters who are always a handful were their normal selves but I brought bribes, a fun activity, and made the class sit boy-girl-boy-girl. All in all, it went better than expected based on the last few times I subbed. I used a modified version of the “Whose voice are you heeding?” activity and that went over well but the most cynical of the students dropped everythingin the garbage can as he was walking out of the classroom. Nice, huh?
Oh well, win some, lose some.
mercyngrace wrote:win some, lose some
yes, and as long as you’re winning some…its worth it.
thanks for sharing your example.
Today was my last week with the youngsters and we had a couple of visiting students so it was a little chaotic but much better than expected. Overall, a very pleasant experience. I was able to spend some time helping out with cub scouts so the boys who are normally a handful were much tamer after that. I knew you would find a way to make it successful. I see that nature in your posts all the time. It is a gift. They may not know it now, but they were blessed to have you these past weeks. Thanks for including us in it. I hope you have a wonderful summer.
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