All in a day's work.......

So I've been substitute teaching this week for my friend who teaches seminary, and let me tell you, I've learned a lot.

First: I have learned great respect for those young kids. They show up for class at 6:00 every morning to participate in scripture study before heading off to the rather nasty environment called high school 2010.

Second: I have learned great respect for those who sacrifice 5 days a week to bring the gospel into the lives of these kids on a daily basis. It is no easy chore, especially on days where kids struggle to stay awake, or become disruptive.

Third: I have learned that I have a lot to learn to be a better teacher. I felt bad today because I got after the kids for talking too much. Frustrated, I resorted to threats such as "I'll kick you out of class", "I'll take that away from you" or "I'll rip your head off" etc. (and yes, i was kidding about the whole "rip your head off" thing). Once I lost my temper, it was difficult to get the spirit back, and the class suffered for my lack of patience. I talked about this with my friend Brian who taught at the MTC for years, and discussed other avenues I could have taken. I learned that letting the kids get me angry is the path of least resistance, requires no skill or patience on my part, and demonstrates my lack of planning and preparedness. A better method would be to have at the ready, methods to switch gears, to call the kids' attention back to what we are doing, to engage and reengage them, to keep them interested, and mostly, to maintain the Spirit. I realized that switching things up (like having them write down answers, participate in an object lesson, close their eyes, answer questions or participate in a way they have not previously done so) can call them back to the tasks at hand.

So, I am hoping to implement these ideas tomorrow. I am hoping to be able to convey to them my appreciation for their sacrifice, for the decisions they make, and the courage they exercise in world they encounter on a daily basis. I hope I can prepare sufficiently to keep them engaged at 6:00 in the morning, when most kids their age are just waking up.

It's been a tiring experience, but the learning and stretching has been good for me.

UPDATE: Class was fantastic today! What a great group of kids

PS. Fourth lesson learned: Sophomores love donuts (and oddly enough, you can use donuts to teach Alma 34) Woot!