The cry has been heard loud and long as people express their concern that the new Mission handbooks for T&T are too difficult. It is the same outcry that was heard when T&T was first introduced in 2002, yet those books are now seen as the standard to fall back on because we are familiar with those handbooks.
I will acknowledge that some of the verses in the new (and the old) handbooks can be challenging for some children, but I wonder if we as leaders are feeding into that and discouraging children from memorizing and learning. Recently there was a blog post entitled “The Memorization Debate“. In that post is this quote…
Why don’t they understand the words of a verse? If we’re teaching children a verse that they don’t understand, shouldn’t our first response be to help them understand, rather than giving up? If our child comes home with a failing math grade, we start helping with homework or get a tutor to explain the concept. Yet, when it comes to Scripture, we say “This is too hard. He can’t learn what he can’t understand.”
Guess what? That’s not the child’s problem, that’s our problem. We’re the adult and the one who does know the meaning of the words.
I have always stated two things:
- If we maintain low standards, or expectations, then the child will begin to feel that the goal is unachievable and will seek to do even less as time goes on.
If we “raise the bar” and expect more, encouraging the child, then they will seek to meet or exceed that expectation.
We have a great impact on the child and the goals they believe that they can reach.
- Whenever handbooks are revised by Awana, there are leaders who feel out of place and deem the books as “hard” because they are no longer familiar with the material and have to re-learn the books.
Could it be that many are struggling with the new T&T handbooks because they are unfamiliar with the material? They no longer have familiarity with the verses and since they have difficulty with them then the child must as well. Or is it simply a feeling of being ill-equipped to explain the verse to the child?
I believe that it is time that we stopped the blame game.
- It is the parent’s responsibility to be the spiritual influence and disciple their own child, not the church’s, so it must be the parent’s fault.
- The child should be self-motivated, after all, they know all of the tips to playing Minecraft and other games so they should be able to work in the books and come prepared.
- My Awana Ministry Director (Commander) did not train me properly. It is their fault that I don’t know the material and can’t teach the clubber properly.
- Awana HQ has lost touch with the local church. It is their fault that the material is so difficult and the verses so hard.
I suggest that we stop the blame game and take a look in the mirror. What are we personally doing to learn and understand the Awana material? Are we taking the small group guide and preparing for the evening? Are we seeking the answers in the Bible as we expect the clubbers to do, or are we just looking at the answers in the side panels of the leader guide? Are we personally trying to memorize and understand the verse, or is the first time we look at it when the child gives us their handbook to recite the verse?
We as leaders need to be comfortable with the material and that is achieved when we are intentional about looking at the verse and the material.
I have seen great success with the new handbooks, and I have seen great failure. The curriculum is the same for all, the variable is the human factor and how the material is perceived. Are we content to complain and blame others, or are we seeking to understand and teach it to the best of our ability? The choice is yours.
Please feel free to share your success stories below to encourage others. If you are struggling, feel fre to share that as well so that we, as a community, can offer support, encouragement, and ideas to help you succeed as well.
I would be interested to know the grade/reading level of the books for comparison.
The original T&T books were designed as a single entry point and so I believe that they would have been geared to the corresponding grade originally (Ultimate Adventure Books 1 – 4). When they were revised to Ultimate Adventure and Ultimate Challenge, they may have been at a median point for each group.
With the way the new “mission” books are designed to be used by 3rd – 6th grade and written at a median level, it is conceivable that 3rd graders would have more difficulty than a 6th grader.
I have been a 3-6 grade leader since the fall of 2000. I have been a leader, secretary and director. Now I am co-commander with my husband/T&T Director. I have been through all 3 styles. Its a learning experience, the Ultumate Adventure/Challange books were a bit easier to adjust to, however I love these new books, now. We had a bit of a hard time adjusting the first year. (my husband is a stickler for the rules and guidlines, where I on the otherhand find what works and still accomplishes the same goal) At the end of the year, we sat down with my leaders (who are fabulous, by the way) and admitted that the year could have gome better and got all their input on what we could do different.
We started this year out all wanting to make this work for the kids and us. We split the boys and girls for small group and brought them back together for large group. The leaders were able to become more of a mentor then just someone to listen to sections. Then what really took off was when we decided to teach/do large group on the next weeks lesson/section. It gave the kids something ro think about and a starting point to do their sections ahead of time. Plus we gave “bucks” to those who came prepared. I have all but 2 finish their books, out of a group of 15 on average. And those 2, just didnt have the commitment to be there. We love the helps/answers/discussion questiins the new books have and the bible study feel small group has now.
Is this just a cop out for awana so they do not have to evaluate objectively by “blaming” the hardworking volunteer leaders for the failure of the material ?
I do not speak for Awana in this post. These are my personal thoughts and observations as I interact with hundreds of Awana leaders across the country.
Awana does listen and implement revisions based on comments from the clubs as seen in the differences between the original Grace in Action handbook and the release of the Evidence of Grace book. Sadly, even when Awana responds to suggestions from the local club, Awana is chastised by people who disapprove of the change for varying reasons.
I have worked for years as the Awana secretary. We have not moved to the latest books for for 3rd & 4th simply because we are not impressed with the format. Also, what we hear through conferences is that the clubs are struggling with the new format, so we are holding off as long as we can.
What I can say is that our leaders are not playing a blame game! They care about the clubbers and do the best they can. There are plenty of other challenges and I would not dream of making light of their struggles and concerns.
Many clubs are postponing their switch to the new Mission books for various reasons. I do not address that in my post as there may be several reasons to delay the switch; like being good stewards of resources and utilizing handbooks in stock at the church and/or discounted pricing from Awana and availability from other clubs.
You wrote,
My questions would be:
1) What does not impress you with the new format?
2) As you go to conferences, how are clubs struggling with the new Mission series? What reasons do they give for struggling?
I am not making light of struggles and concerns of others, but I see history being repeated as I mentioned in what I wrote back in 2016 before the first book in the Mission series was released and clubs actually saw the curriculum. People are resistant to change and will find reasons to resist that change. As I interact with hundreds of leaders, I generally find that the issues are due to a lack of understanding/knowledge of how to use the new material or willingness to change. I am addressing some of these issues/concerns in my next blog post.
My children were the first to see the 3rd grade books in our club and they did struggle at first but with determination they didn’t only get through it they also learned more from each section. This past year in 4th grade things went a lot smoother despite the snow days. I’m currently the director of 5th/6th grade boys and am excited to work with this year’s new book. Thank you Commander Bill!