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RE
Teacher Handbook 2007/2008 Unitarian
Universalist Society of Bangor
Introduction
We
would like to thank you for volunteering as a teacher for the 07/08
RE year. You are providing an invaluable service to our church community
because of the commitment you have made to raise the next generation
of Unitarian Universalists. This handbook is very basic and is an attempt
to answer some of the frequently asked questions that teachers have
about their responsibilities and resources as well as church policy
and helpful classroom guidelines to follow. This handbook will not cover
everything you may need or want to know so please make sure that you
keep asking questions as they arise. Let’s work together to make this
year an enriching one for the children in our church community and for
each other.
Support
We
want to make sure that you as teachers feel well equipped and supported
for this important task. Never hesitate to contact us with questions,
problems, suggestions, support, etc. We are here for you. Problems dealt
with immediately are generally easier to deal with than those that are
left to fester. We would like to do everything in our power to make
this a rewarding and positive experience for you but please remember
that we are not mind readers! It is up to you to express your needs
to us so that we know how to support you.
Sunday
Mornings
The
RE year here at the UUSB is broken down into trimesters. Please consult
the Sunday RE calendar to see when class dates, special Sunday RE activities/services,
and intergenerational services are occurring. With the exception of
the nursery, the children start out every Sunday morning upstairs in
the worship service with the adults. After the story for all ages children
are dismissed to go to their classes. Classrooms should already be set
up and ready to go at this point; it is helpful to arrive about 15-20
minutes before the service starts to do this. Please plan for lessons
that run for an hour (approximately 10:15-11:15AM). Involve children
in clean up of the space when the lesson is concluded each Sunday. There
are games and videos that are available for all groups to use as alternate
activities or if there is time left at the end of the morning. Some
teachers in the past have found that having consistent opening and/or
closing rituals that involve a brief check-in are useful in building
group unity and helping children and adults get to know one-another.
Parents will be instructed that they need to pick up their children
promptly after the worship service. Please do not release any children
from class unless a parent or guardian has come to pick them up. Please
fill out attendance forms each week and be sure to write down the names
of any new attendees. Blank RE registration forms will be available
in each classroom for teachers to give to parents of any new attendees.
We are also asking that you take a few minutes at the end of each class
to fill out a weekly report that contains information about what was
discussed in class, among other things. Every week information will
be posted that let parents know what their children are learning about
in RE and who their teachers are. Please place the attendance sheets
and weekly reports in the appropriately labeled folder attached to the
outside of the door to the DLRE office.
Safety
According
to the UUSB safe congregation policy there must be two teachers per
classroom every Sunday. These teams can consist of two adults or of
one adult and one approved teen. Please
make sure that your teaching team schedule for this accordingly as this
is not an optional policy. Children must never be left unsupervised.
Contact us as soon as possible when you know you need to arrange for
a substitute. Please
let us know if there will be any classroom activities that are taking
place outside of the classroom, elsewhere on church grounds. If any
classroom activities are taking place away from church grounds you must
get our approval for this at least two weeks in advance so that appropriate
permission slips and transportation can be arranged. All teachers must
have background checks run on them - no exceptions.
Please report any accident/illness/injury on the appropriate
forms that will be placed in every classroom. There is a First Aid kit
located in the DLRE office and another in the RE supplies room. Again,
please do not let children leave on Sundays from their classes until
their parents or guardians have come to pick them up. Children are not to leave their classrooms
during class time unless accompanied by their teachers.
Code
of Ethics for Adults and Older Youth who are in Leadership Roles With
Children/Youth (The UUA adopted this code of ethics in 1986)
The relationship between young people and their leaders must
be one of mutual respect if positive potential is to be realized. There
are no more important areas of growth than those of self-worth and development
of a healthy identity as a sexual being. Adults play a key role in assisting
children and youth we these areas of growth. Wisdom dictates that children,
youth, and adults suffer damaging effects when leaders become sexually
involved with young persons in their care; therefore leaders will refrain
from engaging in sexual, seductive, or erotic behavior with children
and youth. Neither shall they sexually harass or engage in behavior
with youth, which constitutes verbal, emotional, or physical abuse.
Teaching
Teams
One
goal of the RE program is to have teaching teams for every class. This
will ensure that every class will have two teachers per week, teachers
have the opportunity to also participate in the morning worship service,
and teachers will not get burned out. Please be in communication with
your teaching team- exchange e-mail addresses, phone numbers, etc. so
that you know how to get in touch with each other. Arrange a schedule
for your team at the beginning of each trimester of who will be on and
who will be off each week. Divide out the teaching responsibilities
so that no one member of the team feels overwhelmed. If there are any
Sundays that your team doesn’t have two teachers available to teach
please let us know as soon as possible so that we can help you arrange
for a substitute. If you need to call in to let us know that you will
not be able to teach at the last minute (Friday night, Saturday, or
Sunday morning) please call one of us directly; it is important that
you call and speak to a person and not the church answering machine
as we may not get the message in time. Some teaching teams still have
spots that need to be filled. If you are on a team that is missing a
member or two we would appreciate any suggestions for people that you
know in the church who might like to help out on your team. We will
work to fill those spaces but please bear with us while we work to make
that happen. Teacher breakfast meetings will be scheduled once per trimester
on Sunday mornings at 9:30 AM. Please make every effort to attend these
meetings.
Curricula
The
best guarantee for a productive class and engaged children is a clear
understanding of the material in the lesson and advance preparation
on the part of the teachers. The better prepared you are, the more relaxed
you will be. The lessons usually have more material than you need for
a single class. Choose at your discretion those activities
that you feel best match your interests and skills as well as the learning
styles of your students. The important thing is to accomplish the goals
of the lesson, not to complete every activity. The lesson plans are
generally well laid out so there shouldn’t be an excessive amount of
preparation time each week. Preparing early in the week will allow you
to know well in advance of what supplies and materials are recommended
and whether or not they are available to you. Feel free to make creative
changes or additions in the lesson plans.
You are likely to have ideas for discussion, activities, or projects
that are different from what is in the lesson plans.
That’s great - use them!
Guidelines
for Teachers on Classroom Behavior Policies
It
will be important that you and your class make a set of guidelines that
you stick with throughout the year so that everyone knows what to expect
from one another. As one of the fist things you do, have the class covenant
to a set of guidelines. We have sample covenants if you would like to
see one or you can make your own with input from your students. You
are teaching in teams and although there may be different teachers in
the classroom from week to week, expectations must remain the same.
As a teaching team, be sure to come to a consensus as to what the classroom
expectations for each other and the children should be. Here are some
suggestions that you may find helpful:
·
Make boundaries clear. Children
want to know what the limits are so let them know what is not ok with
you.
·
Be prepared. The more prepared
you are the more comfortable you will be with the class. When you are
comfortable, you are better able to deal with problems if they arise.
Plan more than enough activities for your class time so that if an activity
does not go over so well or ends much more quickly than anticipated,
you have a back up.
·
Be honest with your students
about how you feel when they are pushing your boundaries but avoid sarcasm.
Try to give your students a way out of a problem. Children will learn
a lot from your attitude and reactions.
·
It’s ok to have a sense of
humor!
·
Try to deal with problems
in private. Have one teacher lead the class while the other teacher
takes the disruptive child to the side to discuss the problem and how
to deal with it.
·
Let the children get to know
you. Let them know what you think and who you are.
Your
Classroom
Hopefully
you find that your classroom is neat, clean, and the supply room stocked
with any materials that you might need. However, even when a classroom
is neat, clean, and well stocked, it can still look rather uninteresting.
Claim your classroom space and get creative!
Please feel free to decorate your classroom. Also be sure to
display the artwork that your class creates throughout the year. Make
use of any bulletin boards that may be in your classroom. Display posters
or pictures. A creative space will make a better learning
environment for the children. If you need suggestions on how to decorate
or would like specific supplies to decorate with, do not hesitate to
ask.
Supplies
and Resources
The
RE supply room contains most basic supplies that are needed for crafts
and activities: glue, tape, pencils, scissors, glitter, paint, paper,
markers, etc. Supplies for the day can be gathered before class on Sunday
mornings. Please do your part to keep the supplies organized; return
supplies to their proper location when your class is finished with them.
It would be beneficial to you to know before Sunday morning what supplies
you need and whether or not they are available. There will be a list
posted on the supply room door where you can write down any requests
for supplies. If you purchase supplies on your own you can be reimbursed.
Be sure to check with the DLRE before you go ahead and purchase any
supplies in case they are already on hand to ensure that you will be
reimbursed. If you need copies made, please request them the week before
you need them. You can also be let in the office to make your own copies.
Please remember that the DLRE is quite busy on Sunday mornings and it
is difficult to search for materials and supplies and make copies for
all the classes (or even some of the classes) at the last minute. If
you request things at the last minute they may or may not be available
to you. There
is a children’s library that is available for you to use as a resource
if you would like stories to read during class time. These books are
available for teachers as well as children to check out for a week or
two. The DLRE office also contains resources so don’t hesitate to ask
to look through them. You can also make requests for resources that
we don’t currently have and if it fits in the budget and is pertinent
to the RE program as a whole, we will get it.
Snacks
Snacks
are stored in the RE supply room. There is one snack and one juice available
every week for each RE participant. Please make sure that it is limited
to one. Buying snacks can be
costly and it is hard to plan on an amount when more than one per child
is being consumed. If a child is thirsty after having had one juice,
offer a cup of water. You can gather snacks each Sunday morning for
your class. If there are unopened snacks left over after class time
is through, please return them to the RE supply room. You also have
the option of encouraging the parents of your students to make special
snacks to bring into your class.
At
the End of the Year
Please
return any curricula, supplies, and resources that you have used throughout
the year. There will be teacher feedback forms to fill out at the end
of each trimester - please take the time to fill these out as your comments
and suggestions will be helpful in improving the RE program and recognizing
current strengths and weaknesses. The
curriculum that has been chosen for this year is as follows:
1/2:
---------- “Around the Church, Around the World” 3/4:
--------- “A Stepping Stone Year” 5/6:
--------- “Travel In Time” |
