A question that every youth teacher should start with on their first day of class is: “What have you come to the group to do?” Everyone knows that a youth class at church is not attended to obtain a diploma that will help in their high school studies, so these will, in most cases, be second or third on their scale of values. However, the reason a class like this exists is that it seeks to enrich their lives under the Light that created all things. The teacher must focus on contributing to the formation of citizens who are children of God—men and women capable of reasoning with their own minds in His shadow and greatly impacting their society.
This clarification is necessary and must be kept in mind, because society incorrectly leads them to believe that they study to obtain a diploma to be used in the working world, and that this is their true future. The tutor and supervisor, as well as everyone involved, must fight to dismantle this in the mentality of the young person of God.
In the art of teaching and learning, the important thing is not the content goals as such, but the experience had during the process, because that is where the person will be impacted or not. Therefore, the youth teacher’s main ally is not the speed with which each content goal can be achieved, but the time of enjoyment achieved by moving slowly to reach that content.
A great writer once delayed the prologue of his book for six years to argue how important it is to take education calmly. His prologue itself was an argument, a praise of slowness. He said: “This prologue arrives late to a good too. What are five or six years after all? A book like this, a problem like this; it is in no hurry. Furthermore, both my book and I are friends of the slow. Not for nothing have I been a philologist, and perhaps still am—that is, a master of slow reading—and in the end one also writes slowly. Philology is that venerable art that demands above all one thing from those who admire and respect it: to stand aside, to take time, to learn calm and slowness, being the art and knowledge of the word goldsmith, who must perform delicate and careful work, and achieves nothing without slow time.”
This paradigmatic idea of speed in education comes from the need to achieve personal success and economic solvency—that is, a society where utilitarianism pushes haste. The only institution protected from that push and with more time to dedicate to others should be the church. Yet, how sad it is that this mentality has already begun to take hold of it and its pedagogical institutions. The church and its educational programs cannot be managed as educational companies do, because the end of the latter is their own profit. But what is the end of the church if not service to humanity? It is to form individuals, and this is only done by dedicating time to them.
Therefore, a class at Way Up must embody this same principle, which implies forming worshipers; men and women consecrated to God, who demonstrate His holiness, who are critical of themselves and society regarding sin and bad habits, capable of transmitting values and hope to society, and who love with all their hearts for the Father’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.
And this is where the portions play a good role. Because one does not have to cover every topic that can be found, but must go to the main and most suitable one for that moment and audience. And since they form a three-year cycle, as the students’ needs change, they will also go through them again. Therefore, teachers do not have to rush either the content or the method to cover the entire portion, but will only give what is necessary, seeking its complete assimilation.
And this is the perfect opportunity for the teacher to cultivate their relationship with their students. The best way we find to illustrate this relationship is the one that emerges from one of the most famous works of modern literature: The Little Prince. Because it makes us reflect on what it means to develop a human relationship, where the excellence of the relationship lies in the reciprocity between both parties. Why do we think this is useful for the youth teacher? For the simple reason that disciples are at an age where seeing results and utility in their person is very important. The teacher who thinks they are going to a youth class only to give will never fully achieve the effectiveness of their calling toward them.
In this work, the little prince arrives from another planet to the desert and meets a fox. He wants to play with the fox, but she refuses and tells him she has not been “tamed.” This term in French is apprivoiser, which means a mix of two meanings: “to tame” and “to familiarize.” Here is a paradox: “to tame” implies a relationship between an active one who “tames” and a passive one who allows themselves to be “tamed.” However, “to familiarize” implies an action between two active parties where both will be “tamed,” which is what truly happens in the story:
“It was then that the fox appeared:
“Good morning,” said the fox.
“Good morning,” replied the little prince politely, who turned around, but saw no one.
“I am here,” said the voice, “under the apple tree—”
-Who are you? said the little prince. You are very pretty…
“I’m a slut,” said the slut.
“Come and play with me,” the little prince proposed. I’m so sad…
“I can’t play with you,” said the fox. I’m not domesticated.
-Ah! “Excuse me,” said the little prince.
But, after thinking about it, he added:
– What does it mean to “tame”?
“You’re not from here,” said the fox. What are you looking for?
“I am looking for men,” said the little prince. What does it mean to “domesticate”?
“Men,” said the fox, “have guns and hunt. It’s very annoying! They also raise chickens. It’s the only interesting thing. Looking for chickens?
“No,” said the little prince. I’m looking for friends. What does it mean to “domesticate”?
“It’s too forgotten,” said the fox. It means ‘to create ties…’.
– Create ties?
“Sure,” said the fox. To me, you are still nothing more than a child like a hundred thousand other children. And I don’t need you. And you don’t need me either. To you I am nothing more than a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But if you domesticate me, we’ll need each other. You will be unique to me in the world. I will be unique in the world for you…
“I’m beginning to understand,” said the little prince. There is a flower… I think it has tamed me…
“Maybe,” said the fox. On Earth you see all kinds of things…
-Oh! it’s not on Earth,” said the little prince.
The fox looked very intrigued:
– On another planet?
-Yes.
– Are there hunters on that planet?
-No.
– Now that’s interesting! And chickens?
-No.
“There’s nothing perfect,” sighed the fox.
But the fox came back to her idea:
– My life is monotonous. I hunt chickens, men hunt me. All chickens look alike, and all men look alike. That’s why I get a little bored. But, if you domesticate me, it will be as if my life were bathed in sunshine. I will know a sound of footsteps that will be different from all the others. The other steps take me back underground. Yours will call me out of the burrow, like a musician. And besides, look: do you see the wheat fields there? I don’t eat bread. Wheat for me is useless. The wheat fields don’t remind me of anything. And that’s very sad! But you have golden hair. So, when you’ve domesticate me, it’ll be wonderful! The wheat, which is golden, will bring me your memory. And I will like the sound of the wind in the wheat…
The fox was silent and looked at the little prince for a long time:
-¡Please… domesticate me! he said.
“As you wish,” replied the little prince, “but I have not much time.” I have to find friends and learn a lot of things.
“Only things that are tamed are known,” said the fox. Men no longer have time to know anything. They buy ready-made things from vendors. But since there are no salesmen of friends, men no longer have friends. If you want a friend, domesticate me!
– What should be done? said the little prince.
“You have to be very patient,” replied the fox. You’ll start sitting a little bit away from me, like this, on the grass. I’ll look at you out of the corner of my eye and you won’t say anything. Language is a source of misunderstandings. But every day you can sit a little closer…”
After painting the necessary relationship between teachers and youth (and vice versa) in your mind with this story, let’s look at some advice.
Advice for Youth Tutors and Supervisors:
- As we said earlier, teachers cannot be rushed and must seek activities that achieve rapport among the youth and with them; they must learn to tame. This is where you can also get to know them better and create bonds that develop “taming.”
- Youth teachers must set goals for their disciples. The world today is transforming this area by making things easier, because it wants to graduate more students to then receive more funding. This creates a society of people who want things with minimum effort, because they don’t know how to face barriers. Imagine that in the church they don’t even face the minimal barriers or goals; they move from age to age, from program to program, receiving what they “should.” In some congregations, the funds for entertainment, just to keep them happy and make them stay, are greater every day. Without realizing that this way they will leave much faster, because when they have to face the barriers of life and cannot, frustration will take them out of the Christian life.
- Teachers must invest time in preparing for classes, not only regarding content, but also regarding the method and strategy they will use in their next class, as well as getting to know their students.
- They should also dedicate time to activities outside the portion curriculum, such as adventure outings, excursions to places of interest, prayer vigils, recreation, etc.
- One of the mistakes that has been made in history, and which the church fights against today without effectively succeeding, is to stop trying to create Christian “chickens.” Like in a chicken coop, the goal is for every young person to “fatten up” equally, because everyone eats the same “feed.” The youth are rebellious and critical by nature, and will always be against that format. They want a space to come to conclusions on their own and to debate their concerns in an environment where they are not dismissed for their opinions. As someone once said, the church should form “heretics” who love the truth [1]. If the truth is from God, everyone who sincerely seeks it will find it.
- Undeniably, the use of technology among youth can be a very useful resource for their teachers. However, it must be noted that it develops so quickly that investing heavily in it is more disastrous than beneficial. Therefore, it should be used with some care, not in a rigid format, but rather flexibly, as just another tool and not the main one. This is why a teacher who loves what they do and is well-trained will always be the one who can best make free, non-enslaved use of it.
- The teacher must convince their youth that they must work and that they should harvest through the effort they put into what they do. When they follow the teacher in this, they will begin to understand that what happens in the class through their contribution is for a higher objective.
- The teacher is responsible for making every young person love not only being part of the body of Christ in God’s holiness, but also for stimulating the desire to concentrate on a specific area of ministry. It is necessary to convey to today’s generation that the victory of life is not found in the secular success one achieves, but in being useful to the Kingdom of God. It is impossible for someone to say, after growing up in the church, that they have not been called by God to serve Him. The reality is that they have not listened or have not been taught to listen, because God calls all His children to serve Him. The youth teacher must discover the potentials in them and encourage or motivate them to consecrate their lives to the service of God. This does not mean being full-time workers (although that can be an option), but rather showing them that service to God is not an occupation—it is consecration and priority to His affairs. One can be an engineer in a factory and, at the same time, a servant of God consecrated to His work in a specific area, such as visiting the sick, praying for them, and encouraging them.
- Young people often find themselves at crossroads: What should I study? How do I have fun? What do I do with this friend? Will I find a partner? Will I be attractive? The problem is when teachers devalue those questions or want to give them their own opinion on the matter. A youth teacher must teach how to make decisions under the will of God, even while offering their own perspective on the issue. Nothing compares to learning to be free, and even more so when in that freedom one can seek God’s will for being good and perfect.
- The youth teacher must make them see the Bible with passion, so that they desire to search it because it is sweet as honey, refreshing as water, and nourishing as manna. How sad it is to see so many adults today who grew up in the church and only know the Bible stories they heard in childhood; they get excited and proud of that, but it is as if their driving engine for approaching the Scriptures turned off at that time. Some say: I just don’t like reading! I just don’t like studying! The reality is not that they don’t like it; it is that they were not taught the “passion” for the Bible.
- The greatest secret to what must be achieved with young people, and even at any other stage of life, is awakening their curiosity. Because it is the easiest thing; it is innate in every human being. They are like a sponge in a tank of water, which absorbs the water. Therefore, it is not an option; it is the natural form of human existence. Hence, one does not have to motivate curiosity, but discover where it is pointing and what its cause is. Once the teacher has done this, they can provide what is needed to feed that innate curiosity, which makes the young person capture solutions and administer them according to each case.
- In the case of Youth, as with children, the formation of a subgroup, small group, or youth ministry is highly suggested, one that moves as a living organism and gives them the possibility of expressing themselves as they are (young people).
[1] Sermón de Phillips Brooks “El Espíritu del Error”: «El verdadero pecado del error reside en la falta de amor por la verdad. Un hombre que se equivoca por accidente no es un hereje; pero aquel que teme a la verdad, que se encoge de miedo ante la idea de que puede haber algo más de verdad que lo que ya posee, y que conscientemente cierra las puertas de su alma a la luz… ese hombre, aunque sea ortodoxo en cada credo, es el verdadero hereje. Él es el verdadero hereje, pues ha elegido su propia opinión por encima de la verdad de Dios».