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Group Learning

Teaching the Constitution Early

September 13, 2018 by Ben

The Constitution of the United States
Recent surveys show that many Americans don’t know much about their own nation’s governing document. In our homeschool, one of our main objectives is to teach our children about the US Constitution. As believers, we want our children to exercise godly stewardship when it comes to voting (in the future). In order to help them understand the Constitution, we have decided to start early.

Framework

It’s important to provide children with an overview of the framework of the Constitution. A helpful place to begin is with the three branches our Constitution divides the duties of government into. Since our family is using BJU Press heritage studies textbooks, we introduce this concept in first grade. Every year, we repeat it—with more detail added each time. This might seem basic, but only one in four American adults can identify these branches, and even fewer can identify the duties of each. When children understand that the Constitution dictates who makes, enforces, and settles the laws, they have a solid working knowledge of what the it does.

If you’re wondering if your little ones are ready for something as big as the Constitution, remember that this is just an introduction. Also, you can teach them with hands-on-activities. I found that even our verbal learner was helped by doing an activity. You can read how we used Legos® to learn about the Constitution .

Narrative

One thing that often makes studying government documents dull is a narrow focus on the mechanics of governing. The learning is more engaging if you place the Constitution within a narrative context. The Constitution arose out of a certain set of historical events, such as Shays’ Rebellion. Studying the document within its historical context provides interest and understanding.

Narrative also helps us understand one especially critical part of the Constitution—the Bill of Rights. Throughout our history as a nation, various people, groups, and movements have attacked our liberties . For example, even our second president, John Adams, threatened our First Amendment right to free speech. Exploring these historical events can help children understand what their rights are under the Constitution and how they’ve often been threatened in the past.

Capstone

Even though we lay a framework and expand understanding, we need to pull it all together in a single course. When I was in high school, I joined another group of homeschool seniors and juniors for an in-depth study of American government. That class brought together the various threads of the Constitution I had learned through the American history I had studied over the years.

Teaching the Constitution enables our children to engage wisely. But if we try to pack it all into the final year of homeschooling, they’ll likely find it overwhelming and dull. Instead, we should attempt to give our children a foundation that they can build on all through the early years.

 

Filed Under: Devotions, Events, Group Learning, JourneyForth, Shaping Worldview, Simplified Homeschool, Successful Learning

It’s About Relationships

August 7, 2014 by Eileen

Natalie, a high school senior, recently shared some unsolicited thoughts with me about the kind of teacher she admires. Natalie has been educated in two different Christian schools, at home, in a homeschool co-op, and at a community college. She has pretty well “seen it all.” But in each setting, a certain kind of teacher stood out above the rest.

“I respect teachers who know their subject, teach well, and keep order in class,” she said. “But I really like teachers who are also willing to be your friend.” She quickly clarified. “Not that they get too buddy-buddy in a way that downplays their authority. But just that they show you they care about you as a person, not just as a student.”

 

Natalie summed up one of the most important things I’ve learned as a teacher. Teaching is not just about imparting information. Teaching is about relationships.

In a world where the word relationship is fraught with ambiguities, Natalie understands that the way a teacher relates to a student must be guided by wisdom and a sense of appropriateness. With that in mind, here are a few ways we can relate to our students as a friend who cares about them personally.

1) Pray for them. Keeping track of their prayer requests is one of the best ways to learn what’s important to them. Ask them for updates from time to time, and don’t just say you’ll pray, but really do it!

2) Take an interest in their families, hobbies, and pursuits outside of school. Converse with them about family members and pets. Ask them what they did over the weekend. Attend some of their recitals, plays, or sporting events if possible. Send them birthday cards.

3) Be willing to share. Students respond to transparency. As appropriate, mention your own prayer requests, relate a family story, or share something God taught you in His Word that morning.

Christ Himself is a wonderful model in this area. While on earth He chose and trained twelve men who, with one exception, would lead His church after His return to His Father. He took a deep personal interest in each of these men. He traveled with them, ate with them, prayed with them, worked with them, and conversed one-on-one with them when they had questions or needed guidance. He called them His friends (John 15:13-15). Shouldn’t we who name Him as Lord follow His example?

Filed Under: Group Learning Tagged With: Christian school, relationships

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