In a society where sacred religious beliefs are increasingly being contested in the public domain, more and more young members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are frequently being put in circumstances where they need to communicate religious stances. Among other things, Church leaders have turned to its long-established religious education program to better prepare the rising generation for what unavoidably lies ahead. Traditionally, these classes are formatted similar to a typical high school or college class, with the teacher preparing a lesson and lecturing on course material. Although many religious educators have become accustomed to lecturing, teachers need to embrace change and structure their classes in a way that allows for students to learn by teaching; this new method will be most effective in preparing youth to confidently and accurately articulate their personal convictions in the heat of religious disputes.
History of Religious Education
According to the official website of the LDS church, the first released-time seminary program was launched well over 100 years ago at a local high school in Salt Lake City, Utah. What began as an experiment in a small unit of the Church has since rapidly grown into a worldwide system of religious education. The ultimate aim is to bring gospel instruction to young members of the Church throughout the entire world. From modest beginnings, the seminary program for high school students and the institute program for college students have gradually been developed to become the primary educational entities in the Church.
Every year the church employs religious educators to teach
in seminaries and institutes around the world.
While given some liberty to teach according to his or her own interpretation
of scriptural accounts, teachers are encouraged to stick to the lesson manuals
provided by the Church Education System.
These lessons are set up for the teacher to expound from the approved
text, and occasionally lead a discussion or have the students participate in a
learning activity.
Looking Back
My friends and I faithfully attended seminary for four years
and graduated from the program in 2013.
We loved having an hour each day away from school devoted to our
spiritual education. Shortly after graduating
high school, we all served two year missions to places around the world. Upon returning home, we engaged in a
discussion centered on the question: “Looking back, what do you wish you had
learned before your mission?” Each
participant of the conversation shared the same answer. “I wish I knew how to respond better to
questions and misunderstandings about our church.” We had all experienced teaching a Family Home
Evening lesson, presenting a short message during a home teaching visit, and on
occasion teaching a lesson in our priesthood quorums. However, we all agreed that seminary would
have been the perfect place for learning the art of teaching.
The Protégé Effect
About four years ago, Time
featured an article written by author Annie Murphy Paul titled “The Protégé
Effect: Why teaching someone else is the best way to learn”. The opening paragraph reads, “For thousands
of years, people have known that the best way to understand a concept is to
explain it to someone else. ‘While we
teach, we learn,’ said the Roman philosopher Seneca. Now scientists are bringing this ancient
wisdom up to date, documenting exactly why teaching is such a fruitful way to
learn — and designing innovative ways for young people to engage in
instruction.” After discussing various
scientific findings why teaching was the best way to learn, Paul concluded,
“It’s the emotions elicited by teaching that make it such a powerful vehicle
for learning.”
My friends and I completely agree with this scientific
discovery. Amazingly, when taking turns
sharing experiences of meaningful, faith-building moments, each of us had a
powerful story to share of when teaching a principle of the gospel, we gained
or deepened our own witness of that principle’s truth. We also all could share experiences of being
frustrated by not being able to respond persuasively and with confidence to
questions or criticism directed at our church.
Rhetoric's Place in Religious Education
Silva Rhetoricae, an online guide to rhetoric provided by
Dr. Gideon Burton, a professor at Brigham Young University, describes the art
of rhetoric as the art of persuasion. In
religious education, who is it that needs to be persuaded? The telos of religious education is
indisputably to assist students in acquiring a personal witness of the truthfulness
of the gospel. Religious instructors
want their students to be convinced the message they endorse will be necessary
in the pursuit of attaining divine intervention and blessings from above.
The role of a teacher is no longer to persuade students to
believe, but rather to persuade students to persuade themselves to believe. This is best accomplished by allowing them to
prepare thoughts and express those, only stepping in to add additional and
relevant commentary, to build upon the information shared, and to clarify any
misspoken or misrepresented doctrines.
Could Students Handle It?
Some present valid arguments that students would not respond
well to such a change. Many teachers struggle
to get students to participate as it is, and fear placing more responsibility in
the hands of students would produce less than desirable outcomes. In many parts of the world, seminary teachers
are volunteers who arise not long after dawn to teach a mere handful of
students. They feel they don’t have the
numbers to make the change. However, the
method presented for consideration is not a complete turnover of teaching to students;
rather, it is asking for a greater emphasis on student teaching and opportunities
for them to learn by explaining.
A handful of professors at Brigham Young University-Idaho
have already begun making the change.
The class focus is on becoming, not just learning. Periodically throughout the semester,
students are called upon to prepare lessons and share insights from their personal
reading of the scriptures. Students have
responded positively to the change, and have reported that the experience of
teaching has solidified doctrinal understanding and prompted further spiritual
investigation of the material.
Embracing Change
Youth around the world share similar view to those of my
friends and me. They want to be
confident in their gospel rhetoric as were the prophets and missionaries of
old. By placing a greater emphasis on student
teaching in the classroom setting, religious educators can do wonders for their
present students and for students to come.
What remains to be seen is if teachers will embrace the change.
Works Cited
Burton, Gideon. The Forest of
Rhetoric. Silva Rhetoricae:. Brigham Young University, n.d. Web. 07
Dec. 2015. <http://rhetoric.byu.edu/>.
"History of Seminary." Lds.org.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, n.d. Web. 7 Dec. 2015.
<http://seminary.lds.org/about/history?lang=eng>.
Paul, Annie Murphy. "The
Protégé Effect." Ideas The Protege Effect Comments. Time, 30 Nov.
2011. Web. 07 Dec. 2015.
<http://ideas.time.com/2011/11/30/the-protege-effect/>.
Image Credits
Walker, Joseph. Seminary Principal Donald D. Davis Teaches at Granite High School Seminary, the LDS Church's First Seminary. Digital image. Deseret News. Deseret News, 22 Jan. 2012. Web. 7 Dec. 2015. <http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700217854/LDS-seminaries-100-years-of-studying-learning-and-loving-the-Lord.html?pg=all>.
8 Ways to Make Seminary Great. Digital image. lds.org.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, n.d. Web. 8 Dec. 2015.
<https://www.lds.org/youth/article/8-ways-to-make-seminary-great?lang=eng>.
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