The opportunities to help in the SRE classroom
SRE is returning in Term 3, but many schools will need extra teachers and volunteers! How can you get involved?
Andrew, an Assistant Minister in his first year at a new church, had been tasked with the duties of SRE coordinator. In the middle of the year, with university timetables changing, he found himself in need of a teacher for a Year 1 SRE class and did a promotional drive in his Sunday services. He had testimonies from current teachers and a table of CEP materials for prospective teachers to peruse after church.
He didn’t know who would volunteer but trusted that God would provide the teacher that he needed.
That teacher was me.
On paper, there was nothing about me that screamed ‘potential Year 1 SRE teacher.’ I was a part-time university lecturer, working on my PhD. The last time I had taught an SRE class, one student politely told me that my lessons were “boring!” I’d been on SRE teaching hiatus ever since.
But I did volunteer and I’m so glad I did! It was in that class that year where I found my love of SRE teaching, a love that has seen me now become a High School SRE Advisor for Youthworks.
I’ve never asked Andrew but I doubt he would have assumed that Primary SRE teaching was for me – but it was that year and is again this year.
What about you? Is SRE for you?
As we prepare for SRE to resume face-to-face teaching in early Term 3, there are some teachers who will choose not to return to their classes straight away. Be it for health reasons or other reasons, we want to support those who do not feel ready. We also want to support their classes by providing short-term replacement teachers.
Could this be you? Would you consider filling in for a few months to show love and care both to the teachers who cannot return and their students who long to hear God’s word again?
Below are four groups of people who might be able to help out with SRE for the remainder of 2020 – or until their regular SRE teacher feels able to return.
Are you a stay-at-home parent?
I’m as guilty as any parent of over-loading myself with commitments. Life with kids is a constant juggle and I’m not asking anybody with a full plate to take on more. I’m asking if you think you could help for half an hour or so a week for a short time. It depends on the age and stage of your kids, but if this is you, it would be a fantastic help.
Are you able to provide babysitting?
If you are available but absolutely cannot see yourself standing at the front of an SRE classroom, you could possibly team up with a parent you know who is comfortable in a classroom (maybe even a teacher on maternity leave) and offer to mind their kids for a few hours a week so that they can fill in for SRE.
Are you a university student?
In the 10+ years I was an on-campus uni student, I always found committing to a year of SRE really difficult. I wouldn’t know my first semester timetable until mid-March and there was always the chance that I wouldn’t be able to teach in second semester when the timetables changed again. Maybe this is you, too. But, if you know your class load for the rest of the year, you might be in the perfect position to fill in for those teachers who can’t return to class. Give it a go!
Are you on reduced work hours or working-from-home arrangements?
You might be like me, working as I am from my makeshift office in the corner of my lounge room. While many workplaces are returning in the coming weeks and months, there are still many others who will continue, in full or in part, to allow their employees to work from home. If this is you, perhaps you could sacrifice one lunch hour’s worth of time a week to teach SRE in your local primary school.
Even before COVID-19, my friend Steve, a builder, has faithfully been arranging his weekly schedule to be free to teach his Year 6 SRE class every single Tuesday for the last five years. He never misses it! Could you be like Steve, if not for five years, but perhaps in the next few months?
How do I get trained?
Hopefully I’ve convinced you to consider how SRE might be for you, at least in the short-term. If you’re keen to get trained, there are two ways to do it.
Your church’s SRE coordinator may be an accredited Youthworks Local SRE Trainer and they can take you through it – ask them and see.
Youthworks are running online training modules in the lead up to Term 3. You can find details about them here.
Wouldn’t it be great that when SRE returns in early Term 3, we can know that even though some teachers can’t return as yet, every single student whose parents want them to attend SRE classes will be able to do so. How can you be involved?