Rock Paper Scissors in Primary
As of last Sunday, Howard and I started teaching a primary class at church. This means that each Sunday we are responsible for teaching a lesson to a group of five kids aged 9 & 10. So far the experience has been pleasant. The kids have been pretty well behaved, although there have been hints that they could get rowdy if we don’t handle things right. One important aspect of being a teacher is to earn the respect of your students. We’re willing to learn from people we respect. Howard and I already had a head start on these kids before we even walked in the door because some of them read Howard’s comic strip. But today after the lesson was over, but before it was time to move into the next section of meetings, Howard earned their awe. They were fidgety and so we decided to let them play Rock Paper Scissors. Howard systematically trounced all of them. They were playing two out of three, and only one time did a child win a round. When Howard was done, he stood back and said:
“So how did I do that?”
The kids all stared up at him, then one ventured “Because you can read our minds?”
Howard smiled. “Exactly.”
He then explained that he was predicting what they would throw next based on what they had already thrown. That was followed with a little bit of Rock Paper Scissors strategy theory. Then there were more games during which one of the kids managed to beat Howard. Then the kids wanted to see if Howard would beat me as well. I was pretty sure he would. He did. I just haven’t internalized enough strategy to really excel at high-speed Rock Paper Scissors.
So by the end of the day, we’d demonstrated that we’re smarter than the kids and that we can teach them cool stuff. I think the class is going to go really well. I know I’m looking forward to team teaching with Howard. I love teaching, he loves teaching. Teaching children is different than teaching adults, but I’m glad to find that some of the same emotional rewards are still there. This is a relief, because the last time I taught primary it was solo, and I felt like I was teaching to a brick wall.