The teaching of the youngest children in the Christian Science Sunday School is a blessed privilege. The teacher is entrusted with the feeding of these lambs, who are largely untouched by material education.
One approaches the budding thought confidently, knowing that its purity, simplicity, and teachableness render it receptive to Truth, which plants the child's footsteps in the path of reality. What shall be taught the children is indicated by Mary Baker Eddy in the Manual of The Mother Church (Art. XX, Sect. 2), which reads, "The Sabbath School children shall be taught the Scriptures, and they shall be instructed according to their understanding or ability to grasp the simpler meanings of the divine Principle that they are taught." Thus the teacher needs prayerfully to seek divine guidance that he may feed the little flock with simple food, which will ensure steady growth Godward.
What is required of the teacher of the first class? The first requirement is love, and love for God must be first. This love for Him must be so great that we are willing to cast out a false sense of selfhood in order to become a clearer transparency for Truth. Another asset required of the teacher is childlike simplicity of thought—a quality which characterized the master Christian. His simple statements of truth put to shame the intellectualism that would materialize and confuse the worship of God. The tiniest child accepts the thought of God as Love and is ready to respond to Jesus' precept (John 13:34), "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another."
In order to reach the child thought, the teacher must stay close to God, for in the presence of divine Love His children meet and share His blessings. "Nearer, my God, to Thee," should be the constant prayer of the teacher. Any idols of false selfhood that stand in the way of feeling the divine ever-presence must be cast out of thought in order better to behold the true selfhood of all of God's children. In this perception of all true individuality we find the unity in which the teacher and pupils join hands in journeying together.
The teacher must be on guard against any suggestions that the children are too young to grasp the truth. Defining children in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 582), Mrs. Eddy presents the spiritual fact: "The spiritual thoughts and representatives of Life, Truth, and Love." Representing Him, God's children therefore reflect the intelligence of Mind; and even very small pupils prove this when the truth is presented to them in accordance with the section of the Manual quoted above. Human experience and passage of years are not really necessary to an understanding of God. Indeed, these must be set aside in order to keep our hand in the Father's and to gain a clearer sense of man's immortality as the reflection of God.
The suggestions that thought can be drawn away from the work of the class must be seen as powerless, since the only real attraction is Godward and the simplicity of the child thought responds quickly and naturally to the truth.
Perhaps the new teacher has a fear that she may not appeal to small children. She needs only to be assured that children are not so much interested in our human personality as in the Christlike qualities we express. They respond naturally to unselfed love, kindness, patience, wisdom, and the like. Mrs. Eddy writes in "The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany" (p. 131), "Where God is we can meet, and where God is we can never part."
To help impart the right sense of obedience to the children, the teacher must have a right sense of obedience herself. Obedience cannot be realized through fear, but obedience to Love is man's natural state. The children will learn joy in obedience to good. The writer cherishes an experience in which obedience was demonstrated during a session of the youngest class. A small boy seemed persistent in trying to disrupt the harmony of the class. The teacher had tried to unsee the error, but to no avail. Finally she took the child's hands in hers and said firmly, but lovingly, "You must not do that again, for you are really God's obedient child and as such you do obey God." The child drew away in anger, but the teacher smiled at him and went on talking with the class. Soon he came to the teacher's side, expressing a complete and loving sense of obedience.
Never should the suggestion be entertained for an instant that the class is slow in grasping the simple truths about God and man, or that progress is not being made. When small children do not speak well, there is often little audible sign of what they are learning, but the outward sign of growth will be evidenced in their joy. They must be taught to love the Sunday School; and in the first class, love of attending Sunday School can be acquired. It is often seen that as flowers long hidden in the earth bloom suddenly in the spring, the audible evidence of learning about God and His creation comes forth at the right time.
Sometimes the younger children cry when they are first brought to the class because they fear being separated from their parents. For these the love of the infinite Father-Mother God is present to comfort, and they find joy in learning that happiness lies in learning about God. The teacher can do much to quiet the concern of the parents by leading them to expect only joy in the first steps of the children in Sunday School. It is well to recommend that parents sit in their normal places in church, with thought on the service, expecting the child to remain happily in his right place also. One mother, whose little girl had cried in Sunday School on her first Sunday, voiced the thought that because the child was small she had a great adjustment to make. It was lovingly pointed out that the only adjustment needed was in the parent's thought. The mother worked to overcome her fear, and the next Sunday the child was happy and free.
The teacher must be alert not to accept a wrong concept of any child. To believe that a child is difficult and needs to be corrected, is as erroneous as to believe that man is sick and needs to be healed. She must keep out of thought any false belief that would mar her pure concept of man as in reality the image and likeness of God.
The teacher who humbly, with the children, takes the steps along the path Spiritward will find great growth in this loving work. The adult can learn much from the children in the way of childlike trust, simplicity, purity, and innocence. Sometimes the teacher will find her own problems solved through the recognition of a simple truth voiced by one of the children. The simple utterance, "One God," coming from the lips of a small child has helped to bring quiet and confidence to the writer when she seemed in need of healing. The lisping of our Leader's name has brought a sense of deep gratitude for her who has given so much to all the world.
We prepare for the class by living Christian Science every hour. We need to know our subject and how to present it simply to the children. We must listen constantly for the Father's voice, that His inspiration may keep our teaching ever spontaneous and fresh. Our best preparedness is found in the words (Ps. 19:14), "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer."
