Over the weekend, I had a conversation with my son about what he had learnt at Sunday School children’s service, something I often do. He told me that he was taught the story of “God touched the dress of the sick woman.”
I tried correcting him, explaining that it was rather the sick woman who touched the dress of God and not the other way around, but chairman would not budge, insisting that this was what his children’s service teacher had taught him. He was so insistent that I began doubting myself, wondering whether I was the one missing the plot and that there was possibly a part of the Bible where Jesus touched the dress of a sick woman that I was unaware of.
To be sure I was not mistaken, I contacted the children’s service teacher of my own branch for confirmation (the unique thing about the Assemblies of God Church is that all branches use the same manual), and it turned out that I was right.
I do not know who got it wrong, whether it was his teacher or he did, but I believe the teacher may have got it right, and he probably did not pay attention. However, the most important thing is that he left the church believing what he thought he had heard his teacher say.
Credentials
I have been a member of the Assemblies of God Sunday School Department for years. I am currently the Sunday School Superintendent of the Kingdom Life Centre Assembly of God in the East Adentan District. I was a Schools Coordinator for the Assemblies of God Campus Ministries back at the University of Education, Winneba, where I studied for my first degree, coordinating, teaching, and preaching at about eight different pre-tertiary institutions under me.
Before that, I had been a Prayer Secretary for the AGCM. However, all these modest years of studying the Bible did not matter to this gentleman. To him, he had heard his teacher say “God touched the dress of the sick woman,” and that was final—I could go ‘to hell’ with what I thought I knew.
The ‘tenses’ debate
This brings us to the second point of our discussion on the day. He used the word “touch,” and I said it should be “touched,” BECAUSE THE PAST TENSE OF TOUCH IS TOUCHED. He instantly retorted, “What is past tense?” and added that his teacher at school had not taught him anything called tense.
At the risk of sounding repetitive and maybe overly boastful, let me state my academic credentials. I have two different degrees, both language-related—BA Ghanaian Language Education and Bachelor of Laws. I have a Master’s in Communication Studies, also language-related, majoring in Public Relations and Journalism, and I have an advanced certificate equivalent to an Executive Master’s Degree in Communication and Governance. I am currently a B.L. Candidate at the Ghana School of Law, with just about a year to be called to the Bar, all things being equal.
But my own son does not think I am qualified enough to teach him because I am not his teacher, and until he is taught tenses in school, he is sorry but cannot learn from me.
Studies
The purpose of this long narrative is to illustrate the level of trust children have in early childhood educators. Studies have found that children’s trust in early childhood educators (teachers) often surpasses their trust in parents, particularly in the context of learning and social development. This phenomenon is rooted in the unique dynamics of teacher-student relationships, the structured learning environment, and the role educators play as facilitators of trust.
A 2020 study by the Erikson Institute found that 78% of children aged 3–5 displayed secure attachment behaviours (e.g., seeking comfort, sharing emotions) with educators—particularly those who consistently responded to their needs—more than with their parents, mirroring attachment theory principles, where reliability fosters trust.
A 2022 report published by the US National Library of Medicine on the grounded model of how educators earn students’ trust in high-performing U.S. urban schools found that the structured environment in which educators operate is designed to foster trust and learning as teachers are trained to create safe spaces that encourage exploration and intellectual growth, building trust in educators among students. This contrasts with the informal and varied interactions children have with parents.
Children often perceive teachers as reliable sources of knowledge and emotional support due to the reciprocity embedded in teacher-student relationships. Studies show that children with higher interpersonal trust expect teachers to fulfil promises and statements, leading to stronger bonds—a dynamic less pronounced with parents, whose role may involve discipline or conflicting priorities.
Further studies have found that teachers are viewed as professionals whose primary role is to educate and guide children academically and socially, a perception that fosters trust because children associate educators with authority and credibility in learning contexts. Thus, one can be a professor in any field, but as long as you are not your child’s teacher, you do not have the requisite knowledge—at least in their minds—to teach them.
Additionally, active engagement in mutual discernment processes between students and teachers, which addresses unspoken queries about their motivations and respect for students, helps children feel valued and understood, enhancing their trust in educators over parents.
In their study on “How Children Feel Matters: Teacher–Student Relationship as an Indirect Role Between Interpersonal Trust and Social Adjustment,” Yan Dong et al. (2021) of the Department of Psychology, Renmin University of China, found that teacher-student relationships play a critical role in children’s social adjustment as positive interactions with teachers indirectly influence children’s ability to navigate social situations more effectively than parental interactions do, instilling in them a high level of trust.
Getting It Right
This high level of trust children have in their teachers demands that teachers get it right the first time when teaching, as the wrong thing taught and the wrong impression created could get stuck with them forever.
For several years, I pronounced the word classic as classes because the first person who taught me how to pronounce that word pronounced it as such. Until I checked it myself during secondary school, I always challenged people who pronounced it correctly, believing they were getting it wrong.
Parents may be the best experts in their fields, but children will still trust their teachers, even on matters relating to their parents’ field of expertise, necessitating that early childhood educators try their best to get it right on the first attempt every time to avoid feeding children incorrect information.
While saying this, I do not downplay the hard work of early childhood educators and the effort they put into getting it right, particularly when dealing with large class sizes.
This underscores the need for institutions that train young people (schools, churches, play centres, etc.) to put in place measures that ensure proper student-teacher ratios, proper motivation systems for educators to give their best, and the provision of relevant teaching and learning tools to make their job less difficult but more effective.
God bless all teachers.
