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I think that is what it will be called. New letter from SLC says that ALL teachers are to meet once a month during the church hour for … training or discussion or something.
That means that 2nd hour teachers will meet during the 3rd hour and the 3rd hour teachers will meet during the 2nd hour once a month.
All under the direction of the Sunday School President. He finally has a real job to do.
😆 To me this feel like overkill on administration.
:wtf: When I was involved with PTA, we met once a month.
We were able to pull off incredible activities and programs for hundreds of students who met 5 days a week AND their teachers, counselors, staff.
We were able to communicate with parents and the community very effectively.
That’s it.
Once a month…and it all got done.
Our church?
We meet. To. Death.
And for what?
To plan more meetings?
Glad I’m not a teacher! I might boycott.
:silent: Well the good news is that the meetings take place during the 3 hour block, it’s not one more meeting that people are expected to attend, it’s an alternate meeting. It’s got that going for it. I am curious as to what effect holding the new meeting will eventually have. IMO the “Teaching, No Greater Call” lessons weren’t very productive.
Sounds to me like someone listened to Silent Dawning. They have went so far as to carve out a time for him to do exactly what he hoped. Kind of Crazy. On one sense I actually love the idea. I get jealous of my friends churches who have non-lay instructors. I also hope that maybe we can uncorrelate. Maybe the church itself won’t do it, but individual wards could. I know it’s pipe dream, but something has to keep me hopeful.
In reality it can’t fix everything. Being talked to do death doesn’t fix thing, but maybe good brainstorming might help people who want to be better but don’t know how.
They’re called teacher councils, and if done properly I’m optimistic about them and the program overall. https://www.lds.org/manual/teaching-in-the-saviors-way/teacher-council-meetings?lang=eng ” class=”bbcode_url”> https://www.lds.org/manual/teaching-in-the-saviors-way/teacher-council-meetings?lang=eng I love the idea. The effectiveness will vary, obviously, but the effort is critical. My favorite part is that it will not require any additional time in meetings. That is huge.
Old Timer wrote:My favorite part is that it will not require any additional time in meetings. That is huge.
To me, this sends a good signal. We get it. We’re not asking you to have an outside meeting that no one attends because they’ve heard it all before.
I don’t see it as a burden at all. First, they are using the 3 hour block to hold the meetings so there isn’t another meeting to attend — its something in place of meetings that already exist. Second, I have been asked to facilitate the council (not correlation) and it will hopefully be lively and full of discussion. No one will be talking at the participants; they will drive the discussion . They will be sharing meaningful thoughts, concerns, and we will be collaborating to address them. Hopefully each Ward will select people who have a passion for teaching. I also plan to model the ongoing self-evaluation I would like to see teachers do, by having them do the same for the teachers’ council experience for my own feedback…
The first part will be a frame-up where they learn what the purpose of the meetings are, but after that, the bulk of the meeting will be the teachers council meeting and discussion.
I would say that the vast majority of what happens on Sunday is teaching, and like many here, the whole experience is very boring to us. Being part of something that allows me to help other teachers, in a neutral, process kind of role, is a good match for where I stand right now. At least I am contributing to improving the Sunday experience rather than being a bored recipient of it…
QA, I get your point and agree that meetings don’t solve all (or even most) problems. But if you think about PTA, those are all people who have voluntarily stepped up to take action. In our Church, a new couple moves into a ward and wammo, they are now teaching the 14-year-olds. I hate to say it because I try not to be critical all the time, but teaching in our Church has gone WAY down in recent years. I cannot believe some of the lack of any kind of ability or even trying that some of the teachers exhibit. I think a little accountability wouldn’t be a bad thing at all. I think it’s a great idea. Finally, the SS President has something to do, and the teachers who struggle will get some advice in a council setting. I had gone to church to support DH. Sat through SM. It was “okay”. Went to SS with DH. Everyone had gone the the new teaching class. DH teaches HP, so he needed to go too. I looked around at the empty SS class .. I got up and went home. The new teaching class is great for members. It also assumes that everyone is included somehow.
Wards can too often be very insular. There are so few visitors that they are often not warmly welcomed, they are treated too often as interlopers. More teacher training is great .. But who is being taught? The same members teach the same correlated lessons to each other. Now, the teaching style will be better but content isn’t going to change. I don’t see real open discussion happening.
I’m channeling my inner Eeyore tonight .. “It’ll never work…”
Quote:The same members teach the same correlated lessons to each other. Now, the teaching style will be better but content isn’t going to change. I don’t see real open discussion happening.
That’s why I still stand with it’s the materials fault. Our ward has an awesome GD teacher. I am bored because I know all the required answers. I use second hour to connect with other people. Better time spent.
See, here is where I hope to open their minds. I want to stress that
a) you don’t have to teach everything that is there in the lesson — just the main idea. Feel free to weave in material that comes to mind when you ponder the main idea.
b) Don’t be afraid to digress into PRACTICAL advice about how to solve problems. I do that regularly and it is always a big hit. The scriptures are good at generalities — specifics are often appreciated.
A couple weeks ago, I explained how to (brace yourself) use the same techniques Satan uses, but for good. Instantly had everyone’s attention because of the wording. And then explained the Foot In the Door Technique where you tell yourself you will do only a little bit of a worthy task that requires discipline. The same way Satan tries to ensnare you in a bit of sin in hopes it will amplify. So, get yourself started by telling yourself only to do a little bit of good. And then see how after you get started, you end up doing more good than you originally intended. I gave examples from my life, and it worked really well. People want novelty — not heretical, apostate novelty, but practical novelty that helps them be better.
c) Do allow banter between sections of the lesson — interesting stories, almost like commercials at the super bowl interesting stories from history, or anecdotes…
d) Allow the lesson to go into directions the class seems really engaged in, even if it’s not in the manual.
e) Don’t be afraid to invite experts — like marriage counselors, parenting experts, talented people in the stake to be a guest in your class for part or all of a lesson — just tell the BP and or SS President you are doing it.
f) Strive to teach lessons where there is almost no lecture and discussion at all — there is small group work work, panels, guests, object lessons, videos.
g) Remember the best teachers normally find the class talks more than they do….this introduces new content as people express their opinions and experiences.
Just a few ideas — I will probably imply that you should deviate from the given materials “when the spirit moves you” in favor of teaching what you are…with that comes power and engagement…
Sounds interesting. Did you cover how they can try to get the spirit into classes? Teachers may ask about that.
Yes, that is a given … but it is found in the 5-7+ ways of inviting the spirit that I learned on my mission — music, scripture, expressions of love to god and man, spiritual experiences, testimony, prayer, expression of righteous desires for the people in the class. Praying in the middle of your lesson also can help before a particular activity in which you want to engage the class. I also believe there is a spiritual preparation before the class where you put yourself into a state of deep humility before you teach the lesson. I find there is a general attitude of reliance on God when you step up to the front of the class that empowers you to speak with the spirit, be sensitive to how the class if feeling, where to take the lesson etcetera. Heber13 wrote:Sounds interesting.
Did you cover how they can try to get the spirit into classes? Teachers may ask about that.
That is one of the main topics of discussion in the manual, with the following subsections:
Teach by the Spirit
Prepare yourself spiritually
Live the Gospel of Jesus Christ
Create an environment that invites the Spirit
Take advantage of spontaneous teaching moments
Make a plan
Each of these subsections could be topics for one or more meetings.
The other main topics are love those you teach, teach the doctrine, and invite diligent learning, each with several subsections of their own. The “teach the doctrine” section does make a reference to the essays, FWIW.
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