Effective Teaching

Being a nursery teacher is no different than being any other teacher, in that it requires study, preparation and relying on the spirit to help you teach.  I will be studying The Church of Jesus Christ's, "Teaching no Greater Call" Book to help me learn to be a better teacher.   A few weeks ago I was using the "Preach my Gospel" Manual to help me with my personal scripture study.  On page 19 it states,

. . . you are responsible to thoroughly understand the lessons and teach by the Spirit in your own words. Teach so that others will strengthen their faith in Jesus Christ, Desire to repent, and enter into covenants with God.

Effective teachers are always working to improve their knowledge and abilities. Although you will not teach all you know about the doctrine, your increased knowledge will build your testimony and your abiltiy to teach with spiritual power. You will know you are using the lessons as intend when you:

• Help others make and keep commitments taht lead to baptism and confirmation.
• Strive to consistently study, treasure up, and apply the doctrines in your life.
• Seek and follow the Spirit as you prepare and teach the lessons
• Work with your companion to make specific plans for each person you teach.
• Focus on the central messages and doctrines as you teach.
• Adjust the order, length, and pace of the lessons to meet the needs of those you each.
• Teach often from the scriptures with clairty and conviction.
• Bear testimony frequently

I think to be effective as a teacher in Nursery we need to apply all of this as it is appropriate. We need to be studying the subject of the lesson in our personal study, as the manual points out, we WILL NOT teach everything we learn, but we will better be able to bare testimony of it, we will be better prepared for questions, and most importantly we will be more open and capable of knowing what the spirit wants us to teach.