by Kandice Carnahan
Dear
Sisters,
With the
recent reorganization of the Gig Harbor Stake Relief Society Presidency, my
responsibilities have changed. As part of my new stewardship, I am over
education/teaching. A few weeks ago we had stake leadership training for those women
who have leadership positions in the wards, instructors, and sisters who have
humanitarian responsibilities. My focus during this training session was
teaching in Relief Society. Initially, we discussed how a teacher can prepare
for a lesson. The following information
can be applied to any teaching position, not just Relief Society instructors. Below
is a brief summary of some of what I presented during this training. I hope
that what I have shared will be food for thought, and it
can help you to consider how you approach lesson preparation and teaching in
the future.
*Be Prepared*
Great
teaching begins with great preparation. Our goal is to change lives rather than
just pass the time.
*Elder Oaks
notes that today “teachers can down load bales of information on any subject.”
But the result of such research can be “stacks of supplementary material [that]
impoverish rather than enrich, because they can blur students’ focus on the
assigned principles and draw them away from prayerfully seeking to apply those
principles in their own lives.”
How much time should I spend
preparing my lesson? A
guideline that is used is to spend twice as much time in preparation as you do
teaching, at least the first time through the curriculum.
Start
preparing early so that ideas have time to simmer. That percolating gives
teachers a chance to see or hear or read or experience something that triggers
a prompting from the Spirit that they can be used to improve their lesson.
Does preparation get in the way of
teaching by the Spirit? Elder Oaks said, “If we
slavishly tie ourselves to our own preparation or to someone else’s wisdom or
text—our teaching is not of God.” Sometimes if we over-prepare it can get in
the way of inspiration. However, “Preparation is a prerequisite to teaching by
the Spirit.” So following the Spirit doesn't mean winging it.
Focus on two or three doctrines
rather than trying to cover every verse in every chapter. One of the keys to great lessons is
to narrow breadth and allow for depth. Elder Richard G. Scott emphasized this. “Remember, your highest priority is not to get through all the material if that
means that it cannot be properly absorbed. Do what you are able to do with
understanding….Determine…what is of highest priority.”