(a revised repost from last year)
Sheila Sims Iding
There’s a fine line in teaching. There’s a fine line in most professions but it’s not the professional fine line I worry about. That line is pretty definitive. I won’t cross it. Ever.
The other fine line of teaching is the “teaching” part. The actual lesson. The fine line comes in presenting a lesson that is age appropriate while not selling them short by giving them a watered down version. This fine line is there for every grade…every age…but it seems the younger the student the finer the line. How do you present a powerful lesson that will make a difference without losing them? How do you teach Holy Week to 1st graders with amazing Christian hearts absorbing your every word, while their little 1st grade minds are enthralled with a visit from the Easter Bunny?
You have to be very careful for sure. The story of Holy Week is difficult for grown ups to grasp so how to you put it within the reach of a 7 year old?
How do you guard against over-teaching such a grown-up lesson? The Easter Bunny is a special part of childhood and nurturing that magic of the imagination can’t be under-taught. You have to be careful not to over-teach one while under-teaching another. There is the line. There is blur.
How do you help a 7 year old “egg-cited” about the magic of the Easter bunny on Sunday morning understand the special power of God’s love on that Good Friday?
How do you answer “How does the Easter bunny get to all the houses in one night?” the same time someone is asking “How did the nails hold Him on the cross?”
How do explain that God’s gift of eternal life last longer than that grass from the Easter basket that seems to linger in the family room past summer?
It’s easy to put the holiday of Easter into each lesson but how do you put the Holy-Day of Easter? You can write a fun, silly story about the Easter bunny with your pen pal; but how do you help 1st graders understand the most powerful story in the Bible?
They understand when you giggle with them at Junie B. Jones’ antic’s in “The Dumb Bunny” but how do you get them to understand your tears at the 4th Station of the Cross when Jesus sees His mother?
That Easter bunny you make for art becomes the perfect tool for your measuring unit in math. How long are those moveable arms? How many inches are his whiskers? And just how tall are those long ears? But how do you help them measure the faith of Mary, the courage of Veronica and the weight of that cross?
Teaching the science of new life is fun this time of year. The fragile buds, the beautiful flowers, the baby chicks. How do you teach the very essence of new life in the resurrection on Easter morning?
The most holy week of the year in a Catholic School comes with so many teachable moments, so many opportunities to empower their faith, so many chances to help their Christian hearts on this Lenten Journey. But the line is blurred because it also comes with kids who should be thrilled about an Easter bunny, who should be excited about getting a basketful of candy and who love to write that story about a silly bunny as much as they love to write "Jesus takes up His cross." for the 2nd Station of their Station of the Cross book.
Does the Easter Bunny really hide all the eggs?
Did the crown of thorns really hurt?
If I go away on spring break how will the Easter Bunny find me?
Why was John the only disciple found at the foot of the cross?
That is the line I speak of and that is the cross over. That is the blur.
That is the importance of teaching this Holy Week and getting it right all the while remembering they are just little kids. So I pray that God is with me a I teach. And I hope that when they hold that new Easter toy, at some point they will remember how Mary held Jesus after He died. I hope as they enjoy Easter dinner they will remember what we learned about the Last Supper. I hope as they forgive their mom for dipping into their Easter candy (I always take the Hershey eggs) that they remember how Jesus forgave others because “they know not what they do.” And mostly, I hope that as they carry their Easter basket full of candy and treasures just for them, that there is a moment when they remember that Jesus carried that cross and it was just for them too.