Local issues articles
Speaking to Teenagers at School
Here they come: two hundred teenagers into the school hall for assembly. First we have the year group notices. Now it is my turn. I am the guest speaker and have ten minutes or so for my talk. Am I nervous? No, because for ten years I have spoken at thousands of school assemblies. Many of the schools in our local area are open to visiting speakers. I currently visit over twenty schools, both primary and secondary, on a regular basis.
Why do I do it?
Because I still enjoy being with young people, having been some years ago a teacher in a large comprehensive school. More importantly, I have a message which I believe all people, including teenagers, need to hear, namely the Christian gospel, the best news of all.
How do I seek to communicate with teenagers?
I have no special technique. I certainly don’t try to be
‘trendy’ or ‘cool’. Young people do not react well to adults who patronize them.
I attempt to treat my young audiences with respect, seeing them as made in God’s
image, therefore possessing conscience and the capacity to think seriously about
deep issues. I try to be myself, and don’t pretend to be anything but a
grey-haired granddad who loves to talk about his wife and family, amongst other
things. Many teachers are present in assemblies too. This can be forgotten
when concentrating on the mass of young folk in front of you. The teachers’
reaction is key: it can make all the difference as to whether you are invited
back or not.
Four aims
Now, teachers like to talk about aims. Sometimes head-teachers in particular have asked me what my aims are when addressing their pupils. I have thought much about this, as I think all communicators should be clear about what they are trying to convey to their hearers, and how. I have four aims regarding assembly talks.
1. To be lively and animated. You cannot expect teenagers to listen to you at 9am when some of them are hardly awake, if you are dull and boring. Consequently, I seek to ‘hit the ground running’ at the outset, then to maintain momentum throughout. By the way, I don’t use Powerpoint. I am not very good with it and prefer to take in interesting objects and pictures drawn by my artistic wife. I don’t necessarily expect all my hearers to leave the school hall agreeing with all I have said, but I do my best to make sure they don’t leave yawning!
2. To be informative, to say something of educational value. For example, when talking this autumn about creation and harvest I described my days as a student with a holiday job picking apples on a large apple farm. The young people found the apple picking process fascinating. They enjoy hearing about personal experiences, especially about subjects beyond their own experiences. For another example, I regularly visit India to minister, and accounts of my Indian adventures are always welcomed. Teachers value these too, with their strong emphasis these days on the global community.
3. I aim to deliver a clear, spiritual message. I always have my Bible with me and leave the youngsters in no doubt as to my favourite book and favourite person, the Lord God. I am aware that I am not in a church meeting and that I have a captive audience. I therefore make it clear that I respect the right of my hearers to hold a different viewpoint from mine. I simply ask that they listen to what I have to say and weigh carefully my beliefs. With this approach, I find that I have the freedom to put over the Christian message clearly and directly. No teachers have yet complained, at least not to my face! In fact some have expressed their approval of what they consider to be a fair and balanced approach.
4. I aim to make a moral point. This is not hard to do, because although the Bible is primarily a book about the way of salvation, it also teaches the best morality. For example, when talking about apples and the way God reaches out to us in Jesus, just as we used to reach after the furthest apples, I exhorted the youngsters to reach out to others in friendship. I also pointed out that, just as we did not bruise the apples, so we should not bruise one another, whether with fists, feet or words. Teachers respond positively to such support of the ethos they are seeking to create and maintain in their schools.
I have finished speaking and thank the two hundred teenagers for their attention. They respond with appreciation. It is dangerous to look for applause because it can lead to compromise through seeking popularity. However, I value it because I believe it shows they have been listening. Sometimes one or two will even come and thank me personally. This takes courage in front of their schoolmates. Often these are Christians, who find it hard to stand for Christ in school and appreciate the encouragement of someone standing at the front and declaring the faith that they share. Before I leave the school, I often ask for feedback from the teacher in charge of the assembly. All teachers, of whatever kind, should be teachable and I value the comments of these expert communicators with the young, as many of them undoubtedly are. I do not in any way consider myself to be an expert in this field of assembly speaking and have much yet to learn.
I sign out at the school reception counter and leave the building with a spring in my step. I am rejoicing at once again having had the privilege of sharing the best message of all with so many young souls. How much will they remember? Perhaps not much but they will remember me for better or for worse. I am regularly made aware of this when I meet young people serving in shops who say, ‘I know you. You spoke in my school assemblies.’
I pray constantly for the grace of God and the help of the Holy Spirit to reveal Christ to these young people, not only with my words but also with my demeanour. What greater honour is there than being an ambassador for Christ – to young and old?
Tony Seager is pastor of Binfield Free Church, Bracknell, Berkshire