Yesterday I posed the thought…. what if Awana® stopped offering handbook awards?
As expected, responses varied. There were two responses that I believe sum up the issue well.
Of course the awards are not the center or purpose of Awana, but they work as an incentive and motivation for the kids. There is nothing wrong with that. For some kids they do not work. There are kids that work extremely slowly in their book, but they are there and still learn something. The awards are part of a bigger undertaking, along with council time, handbook time, and game time. This gives the kids an environment in which to learn the Truth.
So the question need to be what will foster an environment in which clubbers can thrive and learn God’s truth. – Brit
Awards are neither good or evil. It is how we view them. We can place a great emphasis on them making the award more important than teaching them about Jesus. They can also be minimized when they can have some benefit. I like how Brit ended which is the heart of the matter, “What will foster an environment in which clubbers can thrive and learn God’s truth?” The goal should not be the award, rather knowing God’s Truth.
The other response from Nathan sums up my thoughts well,
I find it interesting how society including Christians can take a neutral thing and attribute to it greater weight. Obviously, you can be so pro-award that God’s word is lost. However, you can be so anti-award that a tool that even God uses (word search crowns in the Bible) is ignored to help motivate. I think it is about balance and how a club communicates with the clubbers. Awards are things that are neither good or bad in and of themselves.
As we look at curriculum we opt to use, Awana® or another, our goal should be the same, teaching children the things of God. Awards are one tool that can be utilized. Yet there are times that the structure and view of others is that a lack of handbook awards earned reflects failure (see my post from 2 years ago entitled “End of the Year Evaluation – Did I Fail?”
Growing up I was a Boy Scout and I worked my way through the leadership ranks. As I progressed through scouts, I received awards, merit badges. The badges indicated that I had completed a task, that I had learned something new. The awards that Awana offers do not necessarily show that the child completed a new skill, it does reflect that they have learned more about God. Which would be preferred, presenting a child with an award for learning more about God, or for winning a game? (though that could be noteworthy as well).
Whether Awana® selects to end using awards or not should not be an issue. Our goal, whatever tools we use, should be to do whatever we can to reach children and youth so they can come to know, love, and serve the Lord Jesus Christ. Let that be our focus.
May we use the tools that Awana® provides well to accomplish that goal.
(NOTE: I am not aware of any plans by Awana® to eliminate awards. The purpose of these posts is to generate dialogue and to express that our focus should not over-emphasize awards, rather the main focus should be teaching children about Jesus. The awards are a nice byproduct and a tool to help accomplish that goal.)
