Where Was God on September 11?

Seeds of Faith and Hope

edited by Donald B. Kraybill, Linda Gehman Peachey

Study Guide written by Cynthia Hockman-Chupp of Canby,Oregon. Hockman-Chupp currently home schools two of her three children. She says she “loves to write curriculum” and extends thanks to the adult class at Zion Mennonite Church, Hubbard, Oregon, who tested parts of this leader’s guide material.

This Study Guide are also available for download in PDF format.

See also Where Was God on September 11? in the MPN online catalog.

Introduction and Learning Styles
Lesson 1	Chapter 2	Chapter 3
Chapter 4	Chapter 5 & 6	Chapter 7

Introduction

Before September 11, 2001, what was your experience with war? My generation was in diapers during the Vietnam War. My mom was just an infant during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Even for those who remember WWII, the war was distant. No television. No instant messaging on computer networks. No attack on North American soil.

Then came September 11. New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania. As passenger jets became missiles, things we had assumed about our lives suddenly changed. Or did they?

The message of Jesus on September 10 was still the same on September 12. Jesus’ message remains true today. But just what is that message? What does it mean to us in light of the events of September 11?

This six-week lesson plan is designed to guide a Sunday school class or small group through a short study of the book, Where Was God on September 11? Seeds of Faith and Hope (Herald Press, 2002). As you read, you will discuss topics stirred up by the events of September 11.

The discussions will take you to the heart of Christian faith. Emotions may be raw. You may witness anger, fear, sorrow, or disbelief. Some students may be reluctant to share inner thoughts and feelings, especially if they hold a minority opinion. As a leader, your job is to create a safe environment. When a lesson asks you to put students into small groups, limit group size to three to five people. The intimate group size will feel less intimidating, helping the reluctant to feel less vulnerable than they would in front of a large group.

Use a variety of learning styles in class. Educational research tells us that there is “not just one ‘best’ way of learning, and not all smart people learn the same way. The lecture is right for Julie but small-group discussion allows Steve to learn more effectively. When we teach to our students’ learning styles, they learn more quickly and carryover into real life is greater. Learning-style information can be a tool that God can use to help us better do the important job he has assigned” (Good Ground Writers Manual, Marlene LeFever, p. 35). For more on learning styles see the pages that follow and one on the www at http://www.csrnet.org/csrnet/articles/student-learningstyles.html.

We pray that you will use these lessons to learn, to challenge, and to seek God’s will.

A six-week study
Plan to use this study guide for six sessions. Writer Cynthia Hockman-Chupp, who tested the process and infor mation in her congregation, notes that it is a “heavy, heavy topic. Six weeks are enough.”

Applying What We Know

Student Learning Styles

By Dennis W. Mills, Ph.D.

You and I receive new information every day that we live. Understanding how we naturally take in and process that information will go a long way toward making us lifelong learners. Helping our students understand how they naturally take in and process information will go a long way toward making them lifelong learners.

There are many approaches to individual learning styles. One of the most effective models for use in learning comes from the research of Anthong F. Gregorc and Kathleen A. Butler. The Gregorc model provides an organized way to consider how the mind works.

There are two perceptual qualities: concrete and abstract.

Concrete
This quality enables you to register information directly through your five senses: sight, smell, touch, taste, and hearing. When you are using your concrete ability, you are dealing with the obvious, the “here and now.” You are not looking for hidden meanings, or making relationships between ideas or concepts. “It is what it is.”

Abstract
This quality allows you to visualize, to conceive ideas, to understand or believe that which you cannot actually see. When you are using your abstract quality, you are using your intuition, your imagination, and you are looking beyond what is to the more subtle implications. “It is not always what it seems.”

Although all people have both concrete and abstract perceptual abilities to some extent, each person is usually comfortable using one more than the other. The person whose natural strength is the concrete, for example, may communicate in a direct, literal, no-nonsense manner. The person whose natural strength is the abstract may use more subtle ways to get a point across.

There are two ordering abilities in Gregorc’s model:

Sequential
Allows your mind to organize information in a linear, step-by-step manner. When using your sequential ability, you are following a logical train of thought, a traditional approach to dealing with information. You may also prefer to have a plan and to follow it, rather than relying on impulse.

Random
Lets your mind organize information by chunks, and in no particular order. When you are using your random ability, you may often be able to skip steps in a procedure and still produce the desired result. You may even start in the middle, or at the end, and work backwards. You may also prefer your life to be more impulsive, or spur of the moment, than planned.

Again, both ordering abilities are present in each person, but usually a pattern emerges for using one over the other more comfortably. (See chart for the four combinations of the strongest perceptual and ordering ability in each individual.)

4 Combinations of Perception and Ordering
CS-Concrete Sequential	AS-Abstract Sequential
AR-Abstract Random	CR-Concrete Random

No one is a “pure” style—CS, AR, AS or CR. Each of us has a unique combination of natural strengths and abilities. By learning some of the common characteristics of each of the four combinations used by Gregorc, we can recognize and value what our students do best. We can help them to improve in areas that are least used and understood.

It is my hope that by understanding your students’ learning styles, you will be better able to adapt your teaching styles and strategies to meet their needs. It is not as important to figure out what a person is as it is to recognize how and why a person is doing something.

Mennonite Publishing Network