The Final Edition

I'll admit it. I am an imperfect Sunday School curriculum editor.

Partly, that's because I'm an imperfect human being, sinful by nature. However, that is also the reality of my work. The Sunday School lessons I create as a curriculum editor are not a final, perfect edition. And that's a good thing!

I create lessons for average children, of an average number, with average interests and abilities, taught by an average teacher, who has average skills, in an average classroom. Oh, it won't be a bad lesson, God willing. I, and many others---fellow editors who "second edit" my work, my senior editor who "reads behind" all the work of those of us she supervises, the anonymous doctrinal reviewer who checks my work for heresy and theological inaccuracy, the copyeditor (who checks my grammar, spelling, and punctuation, verifies Bible references and other facts, and makes sure what is written makes sense), the designer who creates a pleasing layout and images for the material, and the proofreader who follows behind for a final check---have created a lesson that does the basics---teaches the Bible text and shares the Gospel clearly and in a winsome manner. But it still is an average lesson.

But the children you teach are not average. They have specific skills and abilities. They have names and faces. You know their number, their parents, and the activities they enjoy. (I don't.)

The classroom in which you teach is not average. It has specifics good points and, no doubt, specific limitations. You know what activities can take place there. (I don't.)

And you are not an average teacher. You know specific things about the Bible and, no doubt, don't know many other things (me, too). You have favorite styles of instruction, special routines and traditions in your classroom, ways of saying things, and great new ideas about how to teach the children who come each week to hear God's Word.

So, in a real way, you have that harder job. You must, each week, take the average lesson I provide and adapt it for your students. "That activity will never work," you say; "What I need to do is . . . ." "Mr. Smith teaching on the other side of the partition will hate me if I try that, but I can . . . ." "My kids really don't like drama; instead I'll . . . ." "My students don't know very much about that concept, so first I will . . . ." "I could illustrate that better with what happened to me last week, when . . . ."

And there it is! The Final Edition! Yours! Better than mine, because it incorporates information that I didn't have when I edited the original. Thanks for taking the time each week to adapt and polish to create a lesson that truly teaches God's children His Word. I hoped that I helped get you started.

What sections of the lesson do you find yourself adapting most often?
Where do you think the editor of your material always seems to "miss the mark"?