Come, Follow Me
Journal Excerpt from filming experience
Here is a journal excerpt that I wrote shortly after we filmed the video's for the new curriculum. We hadn't seen any of the footage yet and weren't quite sure what our role was going to be at this point. It's hard to put in words what this experience did for me.
25 April 2012
Our Stake is one of about four stakes in The Church that was chosen to do a pilot program for the new curriculum for the youth of the church. It has been an amazing experience. We began this curriculum in August of 2011 and I have seen miraculous changes in our youth. They have stronger, deeper testimonies, greater understanding of who they are, and a stronger desire to do what's right.
I am so grateful I have had this opportunity to be part of this transformation. It will be life changing to the youth of the church. There is no miracle manual we were given, in fact there's really no manual at all. It is teaching the way the Savior taught. He didn't stand up at the front of His followers and give them all of His knowledge. He did not lecture them. He had them ask questions. He invited them to practice what they learned. He spoke in parables. He invited them to testify. That is in essence what this program is as well.
About two weeks ago we were told that a film crew from SLC would be coming to film us. They felt we exemplified this training and they wanted to video us so we could train the world. Talk about a daunting task. They came a week ago and it has been an amazing experience. Exhausting, hard, emotionally and spiritually draining, but extremely worth it.
I feel very humbled that I have been chosen to be one of the leaders filmed for this project. I don't have much teaching experience, so I hope my contribution will be what they need.
The lessons that were filmed were great examples of what this teaching method is all about. I am excited to see what comes of all of this.
On the last night of interviewing, the girls were not very excited about it. It had been a long week and they were tired. It was late that night and they were trying to be spiritually ready for an hour long lesson that was to be filmed, but I could tell they were dragging a bit. Then one of the brothers walked in and says, "There's someone who wants to talk to you girls." He then holds out his phone and it's Sister Dalton! Immediately the Spirit came into the room and most of the girls became emotional. They were so excited to talk to her. She bore her testimony and said that she knew us in Basin City and that the Lord knew us. She said that one virtuous young woman can change the world and she said we will change the world with this curriculum and that our influence will be felt everywhere. As you can imagine, after that phone call the girls were completely focused and we went on to have an amazing lesson!It has been a fantastic journey. It has changed me. I am a different person. I think differently. I teach differently. I am a different mother. That is the power that truth can have.
Some insights:
Going through this process we were privileged to go to many training meetings. Some of which were incredible in teaching this new method. Here are some of my thoughts from these training meetings as well as from my experience with teaching the Laurels in my ward.
To the Youth:
You make all the difference. If you are prepared to come to class and feel the Spirit, you will learn. The learning doesn't necessarily happen on Sunday though, it happens all week. It happens when you are studying your scriptures before you go to bed at night. It happens when you are tempted at school to do something you know you shouldn't. It happens when the Spirit whispers to you of a truth that was taught the Sunday before. It happens when you see your fellow classmate or quorum member in the hallway at school and you smile and wave because you know you are going through the same thing. It happens when you serve others. Allow yourself this opportunity to
become something new, something better.
Allow yourself to be truly converted and you will feel the power of God
in your life daily. Take this new curriculum seriously and you will see
changes in your life that make you happier, more positive, and able to
withstand the temptations and trials that are ahead of you.
To the Teacher:
Throw out the old manual. In many ways, throw out your thoughts and experiences of the past way of teaching. If your lessons resemble the old style of teaching then something isn't connecting. One example from the scriptures that helps me illustrate this new curriculum is in 1 Nephi. After Lehi has his vision of the Tree of Life, Nephi is a little confused so he goes to the mountain and asks the Lord. He is then shown a miraculous vision from the Spirit. In this vision the Spirit does not just tell them what he needs to know, instead he asks him what he sees and lets Nephi direct which way the vision goes. We too need to teach that way. The youth need to have the lessons go a certain way, so let the Spirit direct you, let them ask questions, and be inspired to answer them.
The Purpose:
The purpose of this new curriculum is to help youth become converted while in their youth. It requires active participation on both the teacher and the youth, and it causes the youth to reflect personally on their lives.
The Old Vs The New
We all know what the old lessons were like. They were wonderful, however they were not very applicable to the youth today. We would read a story from the lesson about someone they didn't know, doing something that the youth didn't do. They couldn't relate. We all played the game, "Guess what's in my head" where the teacher would give a vague question and then wait while the class tried to guess what they were thinking. It's not a very smart game, it doesn't inspire confidence and there is nothing that shuts down communication more than telling a student that they gave the wrong answer. Now compare that to the new curriculum. This causes students to dig down deep and think about their lives. We don't expect them to guess what's in our head, instead we expect great and profound things out of them. In the new curriculum we adapt the materials to fit the students and not the students to fit the material. We build upon what we already know and encourage the youth to reflect on past experiences that they have had. These youth have had great spiritual experiences but sometimes it requires them to share those experiences and as the teacher we can help them see that they have felt His influence in their life and maybe they just didn't recognize it at the time.Preparing and Teaching
Before the Lesson:
- The Curriculum is very flexible, make it work for your class.
- Youth can access these lessons online, therefore they can prepare for the lessons. Give them opportunities to prepare.
- While preparing emphasis should be put on spiritual preparation more than lesson preparation.
- Teaching is not talking and telling, it is observing, listening, discerning and then saying the right thing with the Spirit.- Don't walk into a classroom clueless, but don't walk in knowing exactly what you're going to say.
- What's your real intent as a teacher? Be at the right place and the right time to bless someone else.
- Prepare a rough outline for the lesson and that's all.
- Don't prepare a lesson -- prepare yourself.
- Read, ponder, pray, prepare, then have faith and ask for a connection to be made.
- Don't tell them, help them.
- Read the lesson at least a week in advance and then put it away for a few days. Just think about it. Pray about it. Ponder about it. When I do this I always have experiences that week that relate to the lesson I am teaching. Things will come to mind that the youth need to hear. There were times that during the week experiences I had would come to mind and then during the lesson the youth would ask a specific question and I could answer it by relating that experience that had come to my mind earlier that week.
- Most importantly - pray. Pray all week long. I always said a prayer right before I taught as well. I prayed that the Lord would direct the lesson. I prayed and told Him I was willing to give up what I thought should be taught so that the Spirit could teach.
During the Lesson:
- Engage them immediately. For us the beginning of the class was the perfect time to follow up on the challenges that we gave them the week before. It brought the Spirit almost immediately and the girls grew together in the Spirit. (weekly challenge explained below)
- Ask questions that you don't know the answer to. You will be amazed at the insight and answers they give. Plus, if you know the answer then you will naturally give the idea that there is one right answer and they will try and guess what's in your head instead of them telling you what's in their head.
- Don't ask simple questions. Cause them to think.- Resist the urge to use cutesy handouts or something like that. Instead spend your preparation time studying the scriptures and pondering. Teach raw doctrine from the scriptures and words of the prophets. The youth will surprise you how insightful they are. They do not need the gospel "dumbed" down for them.
- Trust them to share. Expect them to share.
- Don't try and get through the lesson. One of the most important things I learned while preparing is that if I know exactly what I am going to say, I am not prepared. The lessons could take many directions depending on the youth's experiences and questions. Be flexible and ready to take it another direction if you feel so inspired.
- Sharing will great bonding between class members.
- Until they participate, it won't be "theirs"
- Conversion is personal and requires personal effort.
- Learn by doing.
- Quiet time is good. Silence is ok, it gives the youth an opportunity to reflect.
- Ask inspired questions through the Holy Ghost. For example, instead of saying, "Who is the third member of the Godhead and what are the ways we can feel Him?" Say something like, "When was the last time you felt prompted by the Holy Ghost?" Just a small change in your questions will make all the difference.
- Don't just share what you've learned. As teachers we want to just open up our students heads and pour our knowledge into it, but that has never and will never cause them to become truly converted. Instead, ask them inspired questions and cause them to reflect and learn.
- There is a danger in giving them too much. When we prepare the things that we learn are ours and we can't give it to them. They need to find out for themselves.
- The Holy Ghost is the teacher, we are just guides and facilitators.
- Try not to bail the youth out. The awkward and the pain will teach them. The silence will cause them to reflect.
- Use personal experiences or experiences from the scriptures followed by application.
After the Lesson:
- Stop telling these youth that they are the chosen generation and start treating them like they are.
- Love them. They need to know you love them.
- Become converted now. Encourage your students to do the same.
- Everything you do should lead the youth to pray, study, and apply the principles that are taught.
- The Weekly Challenge. One of the greatest things that our class did with this new curriculum is giving a weekly challenge. The challenge is issued by the teacher at the end of the class and throughout the week the class members work on that challenge. They are reminded about the challenge throughout the week by other class members (in our case it was the laurel class president) and they are expected to report on it at the beginning of the next class period the following Sunday. These challenges helped our class in so many ways. The original plan was to encourage the youth to think and ponder about the lesson and the principles taught throughout the week. This was accomplished as well as other great things. The youth had missionary opportunities throughout their week as they were working on these challenges, they discussed them with family and friends throughout their week, and it brought a spiritual aspect to their day to day activities. Reporting back at the beginning of class on Sunday was probably the best part of each of our classes. The Spirit came in to the class faster and stronger than anything else we could have done as a teacher because the youth were testifying from their own life on how this challenge helped them or changed them. By them vocally sharing these experiences with our class we grew together in a
way that none of us were expecting. The youth saw that they could rely on each other because they were going through similar things. It was also ingrained more fully in their heart because they were testifying of it. If nothing else, I would encourage everyone to begin doing something like this challenge as soon as they can. You will see remarkable changes. Note: there were times when the class members did not come prepared with their challenge because they forgot or weren't reminded or something. Try not to bail out these youth. They need to know that they are expected to come prepared. It wont take many weeks of being unprepared that you see a difference.Jump out of the Boat
This new curriculum can be very challenging for some. Especially for those who have taught for many years with the old manuals. It can be scary to walk into the classroom and not know exactly what you're going to say. But I can tell you from experience that when these lessons are taught correctly, miraculous things happen. The youth will surprise you. You as the teacher need to take the first step and "jump out of the boat" as we began to say when we started this in late 2011. We need to do as Peter did when he saw the Savior walking on water, he jumped out of the boat and started walking towards the Savior. He didn't know how it was going to work out, but he had faith in his Savior. The boat is safe. It is what we know, but If we aren't willing to jump out of the boat, we may never know the miracle of walking on water. So I encourage you to jump out of the boat with both feet, having faith and with your eyes fixed on the Savior. There were times as we did this that we felt like we crashed and burned with a particular lesson. It was discouraging. But as my wise bishop once told us, our crashing and burning with this new curriculum is still an improvement from our old way of teaching. The youth are still learning, they are slowly becoming converted. It will take time, but I know that you will see success.
