Thy will be done.. trying to shape my formation

Discussion in 'Faith, Devotion & Formation' started by Roly, May 10, 2015.

  1. Roly

    Roly New Member

    Posts:
    9
    Likes Received:
    5
    Country:
    Canada
    Religion:
    Anglican
    Is there any other form of education you folks endorse whose bottom line is not comprehension?

    Is comprehension not what it's all about?
    If, for instance.....a kid comes home from school and says..."mom, I don't understand why red and green make yellow".

    What would you do as a parent?
    Would you respond differently if the child says..."mom....thy will be done doesn't make sense to me"?

    thanks
     
  2. Lowly Layman

    Lowly Layman Well-Known Member

    Posts:
    2,722
    Likes Received:
    2,488
    I think you misunderstand us Roly. No one here thinks you shouldn't teach comprehension. I think we all realize though the limits of a child's capacity. Depending on the mental and physical age of a child, one must tailor the content of a lessson so that what can be grasped by the young student is grasped. I don't think that means rewriting or streamlining the content but rather laying a good foundation for future lessons when the child is older. In this way it's much like teaching math. My own children memorized their times tables long before they understood the underlying principles of multiplication behind them. But without having memorized those tables, it would have been much harder for them move forward. They laid the foundation upon which future comprehension could be attained.
     
  3. anglican74

    anglican74 Well-Known Member Anglican

    Posts:
    1,833
    Likes Received:
    1,340
    Country:
    USA
    Religion:
    Anglican (ACNA)
    @Lowly Layman has already explained it well... It isn't a matter of endorsing non-comprehension but rather, a question of how to teach long and complicated sequences of thought to a child. Your solution is not to teach them at all because he won't grasp it until much later. The solution employed by the church for centuries in catechesis says that the child learns this sequence of thoughts even prior to understanding it, in order to already have it at their grasp when they come to reason.

    Not all things in life fall under this paradigm, namely individual concepts or isolated ideas. Like color, you either get it or you don't. The child either learns it or doesn't. There is no long series of thoughts they need to understand to understand color. There isn't a pressure to learn about colors as soon as possible to save their life.
     
    highchurchman likes this.
  4. Roly

    Roly New Member

    Posts:
    9
    Likes Received:
    5
    Country:
    Canada
    Religion:
    Anglican
    Thanks again for your replies folks.

    Does anyone here think that the established teaching methods can be improved?
     
  5. highchurchman

    highchurchman Well-Known Member Anglican

    Posts:
    683
    Likes Received:
    539
    Country:
    Britain
    Religion:
    Anglican/Catholic
    I should imagine it is not only possible that contemporary methods of teaching can be improved, but highly likely or necessary.! However, It hasn't happened yet! Certainly not in our Religion.
    Improvement must of necessity be improvements in imparting knowledge, not simply skill in methods. In my experience we have seen in the past years much emphasis on methods or technique, but little on the faith.
    I've taught within the Church for many years and I think with some success, I've always tried to know my subject and have tried to teach the Faith with Confidence!
    I must have had some success, because when I was a parish priest, we used to get Anglicans from all over i.e. 30 miles radius at most meeting.When I mentioned the trouble taken to listen to what was Church History with Theology, one lady said Father, we all look upon it as going on pilgrimage! They were keen and faithful and full of hope!
    We taught the things we discuss on this board, I should discribe it as ,"Anglicanism" within the parameters of the Church in England. If that makes sense. We should get the faith taught clearly and consisely ,without pressure, but steady application.
     
    Lowly Layman likes this.