Repetition
Repetition plays an essential part in the learning program of the Almighty. The Law provided an annual cycle of events which repeated year by year. The rituals of the tabernacle and the personal devotions of the faithful Israelite were repeated day after day. Jesus often made the same points in his teaching, illustrated in different ways. The weekly Breaking of Bread is needed to constantly remind us of the basis of our salvation. The apostles were given the Holy Spirit to help them remember and repeat what the Lord had taught.
The rituals of Sunday school are an important part of repeated patterns of learning: the Superintendent’s opening, the hymn, the prayer, the weekly repetition of memorized Bible passages. The learning disabled child will feel secure with these rituals. They will need to feel part of them — even to having a proof like the others, adapted where necessary and learned with the support of parents.
Success is vital. We all make progress when rewarded by success. The dolphins and whales at Sea World know they will get a bucketful of fish and a lot of fuss from their trainers as soon as they have performed well. Human beings are no different. So the tasks we set must be within the capability of the child. Their successful performance needs positive reinforcement with smiles, congratulations, the accolade of the rest of the class, sometimes even a small gift.
Every little thing the disabled child has learned to do will need to be repeated again and again, and with constant encouragement — like all of us need! Stories learned, facts mastered, proofs memorized — all will need to be reinforced again and again. “Catch them doing it well” is a good motto for progress in learning as well as behavior. But we must not be discouraged by limited progress. We shall learn to be pleased by even the smallest achievement. And don’t forget to tell the parents. They, too, need every bit of encouragement.
Visual aids and activities
The Bible reveals to us how extensively visual aids feature in the education of God’s people. Pictures, models, reference to the students’ everyday experience, will all bring alive the printed word of the Bible and make it the living Word of God. Some teachers have a marvelous gift for dreaming up simple models that can easily be cut out and assembled in the short time available in the lesson. Many of us depend on the activity sheets and suggestions accompanying some of the best Christadelphian Sunday school programs.
Our experience is that these give a great sense of achievement and pleasure to children with limited capability and provide a means of recalling the lesson and reinforcing it in the home.
I do and I remember
Our own disabled child, Amy, recalls more easily almost than any other Bible stories those she has acted. Of course, many Sunday school classes meet in cramped space where acting is difficult, but it is surprising what can be done in a simple way with many Bible stories. She also responds well to music and enjoys greatly listening to taped Sunday school hymns.
Often Sunday schools will put on a small play for a special occasion. These involve a lot of time and effort, but how well they are remembered, particularly by all who take part. This serves to emphasize the value of choosing good scripturally based plays. All children can get a great deal out of being given a part in a larger enterprise, not least one which involves understanding and supporting those with special needs. In a practical way they will learn about family responsibility, about grace in action.
And they may come to understand that we are all needing to be helped to cope with our imperfections. Sometimes in our family we wonder if Amy isn’t managing this better than any of us! We often think she has taught us more than we have taught her!
So it is that through those experiences and opportunities we least look for, the Lord develops in us the qualities and skills needed for his Kingdom.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One