More than following a rigid script, planning is about seeking meaning, connection and acceptance in activities with children and young people. Based on practical questions and Spiritist Philosophy inspirations, the text proposes ways to make meetings more meaningful, respecting the spiritual and emotional needs of each group. A read that combines reflection and practice, for those who want to sow with greater awareness, lightness and purpose.
By Lucia Moyses
Planning ahead is a fundamental part of the Spiritist education of children and young people.
As many coordinators and educators have no pedagogical training, they are not expected to plan very elaborately, going into details that sometimes require knowledge and time. However, it is essential that they know, in advance, the steps they need to take in order to clearly and safely guide their students’ learning process.
There are two important questions when it comes to planning. The first concerns how far in advance. Is it better for it to be an annual planning or is it better for it to be limited to a shorter period of time, such as one or two months? The other question relates to the content itself: faced with so many topics, how do you select them? What criteria should be adopted? Reversing this order, let’s start with the latter.
Sembradores de Luz reaches educators from different countries, each with its own specificities. In each of them there are very different stories about how Spiritist education for children and adolescents is carried out – some have been doing it for longer, others have not. And there are those who are just getting started. As for the families, there is a wide variety in terms of their acceptance and practice of Spiritism, the nationality of the parents of the children/young people, the language(s) they speak with their children, their availability to take them to the meetings, among other aspects. All of this makes us reflect on the context in which the Spiritist education meetings will take place.
Once you know the context, it’s time to think about the target audience for this educational practice. Who are your children or young people? What are their interests? What attracts them? What do they already know about Spiritism? What would they like to know? This survey needs to be carried out right from the first contact. If you start with ice-breaker activities, such as participatory games and group dynamics, you can set aside time to ask these questions, especially if the classes are small.
It’s worth remembering that there are subjects they already know and bringing them up again is a source of disinterest. But there are also those that arouse a lot of curiosity and require more time to plan. That’s how important your flexibility is.
As the meetings go on, the educator, using their sensitivity, paying attention to each of their children or young people, begins to realize that, beyond their interests, there are points in the Gospel and in the specifically Spiritist content that need to be presented and worked on to help them in their spiritual evolution.
So, considering these points, the very dynamics of life and events, let’s return to the question of planning in advance. Does planning for an entire year, or even a semester, meet these requirements? Our experience is that it doesn’t. Planning needs to be flexible. Ideally, it should be done collectively by the educators, who can talk about their previous experiences; listening to the parents and the children/young people themselves. Setting it up for a period that varies between one and two months, under the guidance of a coordinator (if there is one), favors the adaptations that arise along the way.
We know it’s a challenge, but we can assure you that it’s worth it, because it keeps the flame burning in children and young people who discover the joy of returning to the Spiritist Center for the meetings that take place there.
