Teacher Meetings

Many of us hate meetings, myself sometimes included. Many we sit through seem to have no real purpose, and we wonder whether these folks have never heard of e-mails or memos or what. When it comes to church school however, they are vital. The only way a church school staff (be it two or three, or a hundred) can effectively work together as a team is not only by communicating with each other (e-mails are great for this), but also, by actually sitting down together and hashing through problems, and planning together for the future. Often, we then find that others have had our very experiences, and may indeed, have the solutions we are searching for. Also, we find that our weaknesses are another’s strengths, and we can take advantage of this. Needless to say, face-to-face meetings help to minimize discontent, misunderstandings and unhappiness within the ranks as well.

I believe teachers’ meetings should take place not less than three times during the year- a number of weeks before church school is to start, during the Christmas break, and at the end of the school term. (Do this fairly soon after, while everything is fresh in everyone’s minds.) I suggest you make this fun- perhaps combine with a pot-luck or a barbecue. (People are happier with food!) Make sure the time is convenient for all of your teachers, and do not finalize the date until you have all committed to it. Give lots of notice, of course.

Review successes and failures, and discuss. Ask for feedback on how the teachers feel about the curriculum, and respond in concrete ways to their comments. You may need to rethink what you are using, if it doesn’t seem to be working well, even with your help. You may need to find more resources to supplement. Ask for suggestions. People come up with wonderful ideas when planning together, and the church school director does not need to come up with all of the ideas, nor should she/he.

If you are the director, be sure to thank your teachers, and tell them (honestly) how you plan to support them and give them training during the coming period. If your parish has never done so, ask the Department to come and do a training for your teachers. This costs you nothing, and you can get your teachers certified by the Church in this way. (It is also a good way to meet teachers from other nearby Orthodox parishes, whom you will of course, invite.)
A good bit of your planning time will need to be spent thinking of how the material you have can be adjusted for use by a wider age range. You may wish to break up into groups of about four or five and work together on this. Do not try to cover the entire year, but focus on the few months coming up. That will be enough work for you!