When Learning is Fun!

And they are singing…. jumping and moving around the room….climbing on top of the table…. crawling under the table…cheering and jeering on the others…and marking charts with crayons. These are not children in a nursery class. No, these are Cambodian church leaders and community development workers – ADULTS highly engaged and having fun in my training class.



I always believe that learning must be an enjoyable experience. This is true for all ages and certainly, the adult learners included. The “child” in the adult, must be encouraged and allowed to “play”. The creative instinct and experimenting-inquisitive mind are resource that adult learners bring with them, which can be harnessed in the right learning environment. Sadly, the opposite seems to be true among most adult learning events. Learning has become anything but ENJOYABLE.

Most of the time adults go through the motion of listening (and sitting it out) to a litany of ideas that subject matter specialists sincerely believe they need to know. As such, a typical room can be filled with participants and yet have only ONE voice – that of the teacher. These participants called as such but whose PARTICIPATION is limited to warming their sits and passive listening.

When the learning environment is fun, participants feel relax and more “open” to new ideas and possibilities. They are able to interact and engage each other in a non-threatening atmosphere of play. Like children, they begin to ask questions that matter to them and articulate it to the group – even if the questions seem “stupid” to adults. They freely share their thoughts on the questions asked without fear of what others may think. As such, what usually happens in a typical adult learning environment is the complete opposite. Here, the teacher doesn’t dominate but is among the many voices that resonates.

Who ever said that “play” is meant only for children? Oh may we never grow up…

A Reading in Reverse

During a devotional time in my training class in Cambodia, I suddenly remembered a Youtube video where a reading in reverse of the same article drastically changed the entire meaning. Suddenly, I felt the urge to do the same in this passage of 1 Timothy 4:12-15

The Passage:

Don't let anyone think less of you because you are young.
Be an example to all believers in what you teach,
in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.
Until I get there,
focus on reading the Scriptures to the church,
encouraging the believers, and teaching them.
Do not neglect the spiritual gift you received through the prophecies spoken to you
when the elders of the church laid their hands on you.
Give your complete attention to these matters.
Throw yourself into your tasks
so that everyone will see your progress.

Now the reading in reverse:

So that everyone will see your progress
throw yourself into your tasks
Give your complete attention to these matters
when the elders of the church laid their hands on you
Do not neglect the spiritual gift you received through the prophecies spoken to you
Focus on reading the Scriptures to the church
until I get there
Encouraging the believers, and teaching them
in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity
Be an example to all believers in what you teach
Don't let anyone think less of you because you are young

Notice the difference?
The first started with a negative assertion.
The reading in reverse begun with a positive assumption.
Both, like bookends, laid down the instructions and reasons for asserting and assuming such.
But at the center of both readings, is the admonition to "Focus on public reading of the Word."
Hmmmmm.... what more can I say.