Plan Ahead When Facing RE Classroom Challenges

Anyone who has spent time in a church classroom on Sunday morning  has confronted the problem. A room of angelic, eager-to-learn children-plus one who is bent on doing whatever he or she ought not.

Such children make it difficult for others to learn. In severe cases they can even drive other children-and their parents-out of the church. But many of our congregations have figured out ways to deal with it. Jane McKeel and Cheryl Gibbs Binkley of the UU Church of Arlington, VA (870 members), have written a book, Classroom Management in the RE Classroom, a Handbook for Dynamic Teaching. 

They recommend:

• Set class rules early, and have students participate. Limit the rules to five so they aren't forgotten. Post them and refer to them. Send a copy home. 
• Decide ahead of time what the procedures are for inappropriate behavior, including when to send a child out of the classroom and when to call in parents. Consequences should be appropriate and not too punitive. Recognize the need for students to continue in the class with dignity when the event is over.
• Many disruptions occur when classes are unstructured or in transition. Plan ahead and give problem-prone students tasks such as handing out materials.
• Sit between two overly talkative students. 
• Reward good behavior.

Emily Green, RE director at First UU Church, Nashville, TN (317), says, "I haven't had a child who was extremely disruptive, although I had a class where none of the teachers set limits and the kids ran amuck." Her solution: put a good disciplinarian into the teaching team.

In one class she rewarded good behavior with stickers which students accumulated for donated video or ice cream coupons. "Students who had been complaining found themselves anxious to come to class," says Green. 

If disruptive behavior cannot be resolved by the teachers or RE director, ask a parent to attend class, Green says.

At First UU Church, San Diego, CA (808), behavior guidelines, based on UU Principles, are signed by child and parent. Teachers are trained in classroom management. Classes are encouraged to create a classroom covenant. 

Disruptions are handled with redirection, gentle reminders, and finally, time-outs, says RE director Elizabeth Jones. A child having a bad day is brought to the RE office where she or he may read, draw, or talk to the adults there. For on-going problems an experienced public school teacher is recruited to observe and offer suggestions.

Be prepared for U-turns, says Davenport, recalling the Sunday she taught a sixth- and seventh-grade class of boys. Given clay for a biblical art project, one boy  amused his friends with under-the-table figures with exaggerated body parts. Davenport invited the boys to talk about sex "since that's what they seemed to be interested in," she says.  At first embarrassed, the boys warmed to the topic and had a lively discussion, including about sexism in the Bible, that filled the hour.