[Teachldsseminary] [11]Re: Encouraging Class Punctuality (long)

Mon Oct 1 08:29:10 MDT 2007

50 as of this morning.    I'm hoping they will split the class.
Kim

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Marji" <king.attolia at gmail.com>
To: "Free Email list for LDS Seminary Teachers" 
<teachldsseminary at latter-dayvillage.com>
Sent: Friday, September 28, 2007 9:22 PM
Subject: [11]Re: [Teachldsseminary] Encouraging Class Punctuality (long)

> Wow - 23 students, you go girl.  May the Lord bless you always.
> Thanks for your note.
> Marji
>
> On 9/28/07, Mary Shipley <shipley0482 at yahoo.com> wrote:
>> Thank you for your words of encouragement! Great article.
>>
>>   -Mary
>>   w/23 daily seminary students & counting!
>>
>> Marji <king.attolia at gmail.com> wrote:
>>   I've thought about tardies a lot. It seems to me that the most fair way 
>> to
>> treat tardies IF the problem is chronic and disruptive to the class and 
>> the
>> student themselves is to keep track of the actual minutes the student is
>> late, and add it up. Ten minutes a day for a week is an entire class
>> period. Keep track of the minutes, not just the number of times a student
>> is late, and establish a policy that the time will need to be made up for
>> attendance purposes (within the 80% rule). That way, if the student's
>> tardies are endangering their credit for the class, it is an 
>> accountability
>> based on their actual requirement for make up.
>>
>> I lived way out in the country when I went to seminary. I came from a
>> recent convert family and my dad was a non-member who used to drive me in 
>> to
>> early morning seminary. I don't remember how many times I was late - I'm
>> sure there were more than a few. But I do NOT remember EVER being 
>> chastised
>> or reprimanded for being late to class. Sometimes we need to consider the
>> situation, and just be glad the student is there - not put any stumbling
>> blocks in their way. Welcome them to the feast of the Lord with open arms
>> and make the best use of your time while you have them in your presence.
>>
>> DO NOT HAVE your students come to seminary only to hear you "trifle with
>> words," as the scripture says. Do not ever trifle with your words or 
>> their
>> time! You are on a sacred stewardship to raise the bar. Make it 
>> worthwhile
>> to get up in the mornings and commune with the Lord prior to going out 
>> into
>> the world.
>>
>> Teaching with love sometimes means making allowances for tardies. Much as
>> we would like them to go away, they are not going to go away. Our 
>> challenge
>> is to encourage attendance - moreso, to encourage ATTENTION while in the
>> classroom by having something worthy and challenging to say to our very
>> bright and promising students. Work on eliminating tardies by having
>> something of the fruit of the tree of life for their nourishment every
>> single day.
>>
>> Fun and games are all fun and games, but they are not all seminary. Let 
>> us
>> focus on the things of the Lord. Remember prayer as a true force to
>> enlighten the mind and bring to pass much good in the hearts of our
>> students. Teach them the true power of prayer - do not let them go from
>> your classroom still saying rote, primary level prayers. As we bring them
>> to the feast of the Lord, and through his love and influence we touch 
>> their
>> minds and hearts, their own motivation will swell within them to get out 
>> of
>> bed and get to the "house of the Lord" together with their companions in
>> faith.
>>
>> We call it in our class "overcoming the gravitational pull of Jupiter" - 
>> the
>> gravitational pull of the mattress. Motivation them through personal
>> conversion, not tally marks, and not concussive, recursive 
>> confrontations.
>> This will prove to be less than optimal.
>>
>> Love the Lord and show forth his love unto them. They will love one
>> another, and their association will become a joy unto them that will
>> enlighten their understandings and begin to be delicious unto them. Your
>> tardies wil decrease dramatically. Your children (yes, they are our
>> children) will grow to love you, and you will be unto them a blessed
>> messenger of the power of God unto salvation.
>>
>> Sometimes, too, it is the PARENTS who need the additional motivation to 
>> help
>> their daughters and sons reach for the Son that early in the morning. I
>> have an article here http://www.lds-nha.org/mattress.php that I wrote on
>> that very topic. You might find it interesting and helpful. The
>> subheadings, you will note are: Winning the Battle of the Mattress, Of
>> infinite worth, Motivation, Imagine for a moment. These are some of the
>> things that we need truly consider if we are to truly help our students 
>> and
>> their families to grow in the gospel.
>>
>> The gospel net gathers of every kind, and we need to be sensitive to 
>> that.
>> Help them all to reach their fullest potential. I have one student (a
>> junior) who likes to close his eyes during class. I've taught him for 
>> three
>> years now. He is my "cave dweller". Sometimes he puts his head down, too.
>> Know what? He is always listening, and I've come to peace with that, and 
>> I
>> allow him that personal space. His home life is not ideal, and he has 
>> some
>> personal struggles. But he is there in seminary every morning, even if
>> sometimes he comes in late. My duty to this child (and our duty to one
>> another) is to bring him to the table of the Lord. Yesterday I asked my
>> class which of them had felt the prompting of the Holy Ghost at some time 
>> in
>> their spiritual growth. Yes, my 'cave dweller son' (for I do call them 
>> all
>> my sons [or daughters]) raised his hand high at that question. The Lord 
>> is
>> working with this young man, my son, and I will work with him also. All
>> growth is progressive, and some students are more ready for the feast of 
>> the
>> Lord than are others.
>>
>> Let us make sure they all know they are invited, nurture their talent to
>> know and recognize the truth as it is known to us today, and light the 
>> way
>> for them. The Lord will help us with the rest of the details. They are 
>> his
>> children to walk in the light, too. We are all partners in this holy 
>> walk.
>>
>> May the Lord bless us all in our classrooms and in our homes and in our
>> closets, I pray, as do we all.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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