So, it was kind of interesting when I was being interviewed and asked if I would be willing to teach the 10-11 year olds in Primary. Afterward, when people would find out the age, everyone would say, "Oh, that is the EASY age to teach..." Uh huh...what planet are they on? If they mean easy as in...you can speak for more than five minutes without them interrupting you with how their shoe got eaten by a crocodile over the weekend, then they are correct. Yes. That part is a little easier...although the crazy little kid stories are quite a riot.
However there is a HUGE difference between teaching 5 year olds and 10-11 year olds. 5 year olds want to be in Primary...for the most part. Their lessons consist of basic things like...Families can be Forever, I want to go to the temple, God created animals, etc... you teach a 5-10 minute lesson, and then you get to color for the rest of the time.
After they turn 8 however, the lessons change (which in and of itself is not bad). The lesson books rotate and this year the lessons are all on church history, and they are AMAZING. How am I supposed to nitpick apart a very well written church history lesson about Adam-ondi-Ahman and the Millenium? How?
I bore them to tears making them look up scriptures and then READ them! Two students today kept saying toward the end of the lesson..."Is it time to go? We've been in here FOR-EV-ER!" They kept repeating it a few times until I finally stopped and told them it wasn't very nice to say that, and to please stop.
Every week I try to think of new things to do to make the lesson more interesting without changing the content. Sometimes it works okay...most times it's a lesson in patience and obedience on my part. I try, people. I REALLY try. This is one of the most difficult callings I have EVER had. I thought nursery leader was hard. This is in a completely different ballpark of difficulty.
I think I've made it through ONE Sunday without bawling. Although, interestingly enough, the crying happens AFTER class because I feel like such a failure. There's a reason why when I was actually pursuing an education degree, I was going into secondary ed and not elementary ed. Seriously.
Still, I do enjoy reading the lessons, and I continue to try and think about why I have this calling and what I am supposed to learn from it. I know there has to be something...there just has to be...
2 comments:
I don't know if you've tried these things already... but they've worked for me. I totally agree Senior primary is harder. The little kids lessons are SUPER easy and you can make kiddie handouts and stuff. :)
Whenever I've taught the 11-year-old boys, I always start the lesson by asking them how they're doing, how school is or their summer is... then they can tell stories and get excited and feel like I care about their lives. I have an interactive conversation with all of them for the first five or more minutes.
Then we start the lesson and I usually do a powerpoint presentation of it and bring it on my laptop. I never had them search for scriptures and read them. I just had them already written in the presentation. They really liked that I brought a computer and they could read off the laptop screen. I incorporated cool pictures, etc. of church history stuff.
I don't know if this helps... Powerpoint is SUPER easy to use. There's also a website, http://www.sugardoodle.net/mambo/... sometimes they have pp presentations already done... or handout ideas for the older kids.
I know it sucks, Mellie. I've totally been there. I hated teaching primary at first too. You can do this, I know you can!! I have faith in you and you'll be in my prayers.
hubby and i taught the 6 year olds for over a year and it was pure agony for me. it was a wild group, consisting mostly of boys, and it was difficult, if not impossible, to catch their attention. and just the same as you, i wanted to cry every week when i was done. it just felt pointless. like they werent listening so why was i trying. but i did it because i was called to and i said i would. sometimes it boils down to nothing more than that.
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