From Kathy K. Clayton’s book “Teaching to Build Faith and Faithfulness'”
Continuing from a previous post, and under the title *Teaching to Build Faith and Faithfulness:”
As we seek to assist others in their Quest to defend against spiritual identity theft and find themselves and their faith, the most critical starting place for teachers and parents may be to know their audience. A parent or teacher may be less likely to influence a person deeply who he knows only superficially. We must acquaint ourselves with where our students and children are and how they see themselves in order to assist them in charting a course to where they need to go. As we commit ourselves to knowing the needs, desires, fears, challenges, successes, hearts and identities of the people with whom we interact, we will be much better prepared to offer customized instruction and counsel that is truly responsive to the recipient’s reality. What do our students or children worry about? What are their goals, beliefs, and dreams? Who are their friends and what are their pet peeves? What keeps them awake at night and what are they looking forward to or fearful of in the future?
Activities that invite students to search their hearts and share themselves can provide poignant glimpses into their reality. Teachers who desire to address the actual needs of their students can utilize those glimpses to craft lessons responsive to their students’ sense of self. They can assist their students as they work to turn weaknesses into strengths.
A young teenage student once shared with me a poem he had written in response to an assignment I had given to the class. The poem was entitled “I Am, by James.”
I am uncool yet unique
I wonder why some others mock me
I hear their laughter
I see their jeering faces
I want to be left alone
I am uncool yet unique
I understand who I am
I say what I feel
I hope to remain true to myself
I am uncool yet unique
With the insight the poem provided me, I understood some of the pressures on James’s sense of self and could be more sensitive to him as I sought opportunities to bolster his confidence. I hadn’t required that young man to write more than he felt to share. His having trusted me obligated me to honor the trust by receiving it with loving care and an interest in utilizing it for his benefit.
One seminary teacher uses a class period during the first week of seminary each year to ask her students to complete a brief questionnaire. Her questions reflect her interest in knowing their favorites, including food, classes, books, movies, and scripture verses. She asks about their birthdays and families as well as for recollections of experiences they have had in previous seminary classes that have blessed them. In order to assure the students that she has noted their responses, she brings their favorite candy bars to them on their birthdays.~ Kathy K. Clayton, Teaching to Build Faith and Faithfulness (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2012). 30-32
